Determination of bisphenol A-glucuronide in human urine using ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

RATIONALE: Used widely as a plasticizer and as a monomer for plastics, bisphenol A (BPA) is under investigation as a possible endocrine disrupter. As an indication of systemic exposure, a fast and accurate assay was developed for the major BPA metabolite in human urine, BPA-monoglucuronide (BPA-G), using ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS/MS). METHODS: Urine samples were prepared using solid-phase mixed-mode reversed-phase/anion-exchange extraction. BPA-G was measured using UHPLC/MS/MS with an amide UHPLC column interfaced to a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with negative ion electrospray, collision-induced dissociation and selected reaction monitoring. [C-13(12)]-BPA-G was used as a surrogate standard. RESULTS: By measuring the glucuronide metabolite of BPA, potential interference due to BPA contamination from containers, solvents, pipette, etc., was avoided. The standard curve had a linear regression coefficient of 0.999, and the intra-and inter-assay variations were less than 10%. The assay was validated according to FDA guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: A fast, accurate, and highly selective method for the determination of BPA-G in human urine was developed and validated using UHPLC/MS/MS. This method is suitable for assessing human exposure to BPA. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.