Objective To develop a sensitive method based on high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) for detecting bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), and nonylphenol (4-n-NP) in human urine, and to assess the exposure to these three chemicals in men of reproductive age in Shanghai.
Methods Pretreatment method and HPLC-MS/MS detection method for BPA, TCS, and 4-n-NP were developed. Linearity recovery, and intra-and inter-batch relative standard deviations of the proposed method were assessed. The established HPLC-MS/MS method was applied in male volunteers of reproductive age for quantitative analysis on BPA, TCS, and 4-n-NP in urine samples.
Results The BPA, TCS, and 4-n-NP in urine were linear over the range of 0.1-50ng/mL (r2=0.999), 0.1-50ng/mL (r2=0.998), and 0.01-10ng/mL (r2=0.998), respectively; the limits of detection (LOD) were 0.1, 0.1, and 0.01 ng/mL, respectively; the recoveries were 97.6%, 76.9%, and 33.2%, respectively; and all the relative standards of intra and inter batch precisions were less than 15%. The detectable rates of BPA, TCS, and 4-n-NP in the urine samples of 200 men of reproductive age in Shanghai were 99%, 96%, and 62.5%, and the geometric means of concentrations were 1.17, 1.57, and 0.021 ng/mL, in the range of
Conclusion The proposed HPLC-MS/MS method is sensitive, accurate, and specific for determination of BPA, TCS, and 4-n-NP in human urine. All the three environmental pollutants are highly detectable in the urine samples of men of reproductive age in Shanghai.
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