Analytical method for the biomonitoring of bisphenols and parabens by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry in human hair

Bisphenols and parabens are endocrine disruptors families widely used in daily life. They are known to be linked to numerous pathologies such as reproductive disorders, obesity, breast cancer, hypertension and asthma. Bio-monitoring is an essential tool for assessing population exposure to environmental pollutants. Blood and urine are the main matrices used in human biomonitoring. However, they are not suitable to evaluate long-term exposure to endocrine disruptors with a short elimination half-life such as parabens or phenols. Hair appears to be an interesting alternative matrix allowing a wide window of exposure due to an accumulation of xeno-biotics during hair growth. This study presents the development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of bisphenol A, its chlorinated derivatives, bisphenol F, bisphenol S and parabens in human hair. An optimised sample preparation based on acidic hydrolysis followed by liquid-liquid extraction was performed, before an analysis by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. To validate the method, recognized bioanalytical guidelines were used and calibration and quality control samples were prepared in human hair samples. Linearities were over 0.996 in the whole range of concentrations. Trueness and precision were demonstrated for each target analyte with intra-day and inter-day bias values ranging from 86 % to 118 % and relative standard deviation values ranging from 0 % to 19 %. At the same time, limits of quantification were set at 0.25 ng/g for bisphenol A and parabens, 0.05 ng/g for bisphenols F and S and 0.00625 ng/g for the chlorinated derivatives of bisphenol A. This reliable method was applied to hair samples taken from hospital professionals and allowed the quantification of these endocrine disruptors in this population. Chlorinated derivatives of bisphenol A were quantified here in hair for the first time.