Bisphenol A, octylphenols and nonylphenols in fish muscle determined by LC/ESI-MS/MS after affinity chromatography clean up

Abstract

An analytical method is applied to simultaneously determine bisphenol A, 4-octylphenol, 4-<i>tert</i>-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol and <i>tert</i>-nonylphenol in fish muscle. The method consisted of a cleanup on molecularly imprinted polymers cartridges (MIPs) followed by liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer. The method is rapid, specific, reliable and very sensitive, allowing for quantification down to 0.5 ng/g for all studied compounds. After in-house validation, the method was employed to monitor the concentration levels of BPA and four target alkylphenols in 44 marine fish, collected from third countries in the frame of official control activities. The results showed that 27 samples (61.4%) were contaminated by at least one target compound. Bisphenol A was determined in 11 samples in the range 0.6-7.1 ng/g, 4-<i>tert</i>-octylphenol in 8 samples (0.5-1.6 ng/g) and <i>tert</i>-nonylphenol in 14 samples (0.8-8.9 ng/g). 4-Octylphenol and 4-nonylphenol were not detected at all.