Determination of Six Phenolic Compounds in Urine of Girls by UPLC-MS/MS

Objective To established a method for determination of six phenolic compounds in the children's urine by by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).

Methods UPLC-MS/MS was used to determine Bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (NP), 4-n-octylphenol (OP), 4-heptylphenol (HP), 4-pentylphenol (NAP), and 2-propylphenol (NPP) in the urine of girls. The urine was test after enzymatic hydrolysis, liquid-liquid extraction, nitrogen blowing to almost dryness, and diluting to volume with methanol.

Results The six compounds had good linear relationship within the concentration range of (0.5-20)ng/mL, with correlation coefficients all above 0.999. The limit of detection (LOD) was (0.16-0.30)ng/mL. At spiking levels of 1, 10, and 20 ng/mL, the recoveries of samples were 88% - 118%, and the relative standard deviations (RSD) were 2.1% - 8.9%. Using this method to examine the urine samples of girls with central precocious puberty (case group) and healthy girls (control group), the detection rate of six phenolic compounds in the case group was higher than that in the control group.

Conclusion The method is applicable to determination of six phenolic compounds in the children's urine.