Bisphenol A, bisphenol F, and bisphenol S – Determination of bisphenol A, bisphenol F, and bisphenol S in urine by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS
Biomonitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2023
Thomas Jäger1 (Method development)Michael Bader1 (Method development)
Katharina Sander2 (External verification)
Katharina Blümlein2 (External verification)
Thomas Göen3 (Method development; Head of the working group “Analyses in Biological Materials” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Andrea Hartwig4 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission5
1 BASF SE, Corporate Health Management, ESG/CB – H306, Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
2 Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM), Department of Bio- and Environmental Analytics, Nikolai-Fuchs-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
3 Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Henkestraße 9–11, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
4 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
5 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
The working group “Analyses in Biological Materials” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area developed and verified the presented biomonitoring method. Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS) are co-monomers for producing engineering plastics used in the automotive, food, and household sectors and are also used in paper chemicals and leather-tanning agents. Due to the wide range of applications, exposure to these bisphenols can occur both at the workplace and via the environment. The aim of this work was to develop a selective method for the determination of BPA, BPF, and BPS in human urine. This method has been comprehensively verified, and the reliability data have been confirmed by replication and validation of the procedure in a second, independent laboratory. The internal standards are added to the buffered urine samples, which are then subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis and processed via dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The analytes are separated from matrix components by liquid chromatography and detected by tandem mass spectrometry using electrospray ionisation. Quantitative evaluation is carried out via external calibration in water. The good precision and accuracy data show that the method provides reliable and accurate measurement values. The method is selective and sensitive, and the quantitation limits of 0.25 μg/l, 0.10 μg/l, and 0.05 μg/l urine for BPA, BPF, and BPS, respectively, are sufficient to determine occupational as well as background exposure.
