A fast-multiclass method for the determination of 21 endocrine disruptors in human urine by using vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (VADLLME) and LC-MS/MS

A fast method for the determination of personal care product chemicals in human urine using dispersive liquid-liquid extraction and ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Personal care product chemicals (PCPCs) are the chemicals used in personal care products. Many of them are endocrine disruptors and have potential adverse effects on humans. The concentrations of PCPCs in urine are the main biomarker for assessing human exposure.

METHODS

A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 14 PCPCs in human urine using dispersive liquid-liquid extraction combined with ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS).

RESULTS

Compared with liquid-liquid extraction, this method had the advantages of time efficiency, sensitivity, and limited organic solvent consumption. It produced good linearity (0.9965-0.9996), limits of detection (2.82-36.36 pg mL-1 ), limits of quantitation (9.39-121.08 pg mL-1 ), matrix effect (-0.90%-2.55%), intra-day precision (relative standard deviations [RSDs] <15%), and inter-day precision (RSDs <19.9%). The method had satisfactory relative recovery at three concentration levels.

CONCLUSIONS

A rapid method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of 14 PCPCs in human urine. The practicability of the method was verified with 21 urine from university students. It is expected that this method will provide a powerful reference for the assessment of exposure to PCPCs in large populations.

Evaluation of exposure to multiple organic pollutants in riparian communities of the Brazilian Amazon: Screening levels and potential health risks

Organic pollutants are widely distributed in the environment. Due to their physical and chemical characteristics, they tend to be biomagnified in food chains, mainly in aquatic organisms. Therefore, food consumption is a significant route of lifelong exposure. Although the Amazon River basin contains the highest freshwater biodiversity on Earth, there is scarce literature focusing on the levels of organic pollutants in the local population. The present study was aimed at assessing the levels of several environmental pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, bisphenols, parabens, and benzophenones) in urine samples from riverside communities along the Tapajós and Amazon Rivers in the Brazilian Amazon region. The results show a 100 % detection of naphthalene metabolites (namely, 1-hydroxy-naphthalene (1OH-NAP), 2-hydroxy-naphthalene (2OH-NAP)), with the highest levels belonging to benzylparaben (BzP) (17.3 ng/mL). Gender-specific analysis revealed that women had significantly higher levels of certain PAH metabolites (i.e., 1OH-NAP and 2-hydroxy-fluorene (2OH-FLU)) than men. In turn, most of the evaluated compounds were higher in urine samples from people living near the Amazon River, which presents increased traffic of boats and ships than the Tapajós River. On the other hand, the human health risk assessment suggested that all communities are at risk of suffering non-carcinogenic effects from exposure to PAHs. At the same time, they are also at risk of carcinogenic effects from exposure to benzo[a]pyrene metabolites. Thus, further studies are needed in order to evaluate the potential health effects of exposure to a mixture of these organic pollutants and other contaminants present in the area, such as mercury.

Recent Advances in Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction for Pharmaceutical Analysis

Sample clean-up and pre-concentration are critical components of pharmaceutical analysis. The dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique is widely recognized as the most effective approach for enhancing overall detection sensitivity. While various DLLME modes have been advanced in pharmaceutical analysis, there need to be more discussions on pre-concentration techniques specifically developed for this field. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the different DLLME modes used in pharmaceutical analysis from 2017 to May 2023. The review covers the principles of DLLME, the factors affecting microextraction, the selected applications of different DLLME modes, and their advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, it focuses on multi-extraction strategies employed for pharmaceutical analysis.

An eco-friendly sample preparation procedure based on air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction for the rapid determination of phthalate metabolites in urine samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Urinary phthalate metabolite (mPAEs) analysis is a reliable tool for assessing human exposure to phthalates. With growing interest in urinary biomonitoring of these metabolites, there is a need for fast and sensitive analytical methods. Therefore, a simple, rapid procedure for simultaneous determination of fifteen phthalate metabolites in human urine samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed. The novelty of the present procedure is based on the use of diethyl carbonate as a green biobased extraction solvent and air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (AALLME) as a sample preparation step. A Plackett-Burman design was used for screening the factors that influence the AALLME extraction efficiency of mPAEs. The effective factors were then optimized by response surface methodology using a central composite rotatable design. Under the optimized conditions, good linearity can be achieved in a concentration range of 1.0-20.0 ng mL-1 with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. The repeatability and reproducibility precision were in the range of 2-12% and 1-10% respectively. Recoveries ranging from 90% to 110%. This, and the low limits of detection, ranging from 0.01 to 0.05 ng mL-1, make the proposed procedure sensitive and suitable for human biomonitoring of phthalate exposures. For proof-of-principle, the new method was used to measure the urinary concentrations of mPAEs in 20 urine samples from Brazilian women. The high frequency of detections and in part high concentrations of mPAEs indicate to widespread exposure to several phthalates among Brazilian women.

Comprehensive profiling and semi-quantification of exogenous chemicals in human urine using HRMS-based strategies

Chemicals infiltrate our daily experiences through multiple exposure pathways. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is routinely used to comprehensively understand these chemical interactions. Historically, HBM depended on targeted screening methods limited to a relatively small set of chemicals with triple quadrupole instruments typically. However, recent advances in high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) have facilitated the use of broad-scope target, suspect, and non-target strategies, enhancing chemical exposome characterization within acceptable detection limits. Despite these advancements, establishing robust and efficient sample treatment protocols is still essential for trustworthy broad-range chemical analysis. This study sought to validate a methodology leveraging HRMS-based strategies for accurate profiling of exogenous chemicals and related metabolites in urine samples. We evaluated five extraction protocols, each encompassing various chemical classes, such as pharmaceuticals, plastic additives, personal care products, and pesticides, in terms of their extraction recoveries, linearity, matrix effect, sensitivity, and reproducibility. The most effective protocol was extensively validated and subsequently applied to 10 real human urine samples using wide-scope target analysis encompassing over 2000 chemicals. We successfully identified and semi-quantified a total of 36 chemicals using an ionization efficiency-based model, affirming the methodology's robust performance. Notably, our results dismissed the need for a deconjugation step, a typically labor-intensive and time-consuming process.

Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Brazilian pregnant women: Urinary levels and health risk assessment

Over the years, humans have been continuously exposed to several compounds directly generated by industrial processes and/or present in consumed products. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are legacy pollutants ubiquitous in the environment and represent the main chemical pollutants in urban areas. Worldwide, studies that aim to understand the impacts of exposure to these chemicals have gained increasing prominence due to their potential toxicity profile, mainly concerning genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Human biomonitoring (HB) is an analytical approach to monitoring population exposure to chemicals; however, these studies are still limited in Brazil. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the exposure of Brazilian pregnant women to PAHs through HB studies. Besides, the risk characterization of this exposure was performed. For this purpose, urine samples from 358 Brazilian pregnant women were used to evaluate 11 hydroxylated metabolites of PAHs employing gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The 1OH-naphthol and 2OH-naphthol were detected in 100% of the samples and showed high levels, corresponding to 16.99 and 3.62 μg/g of creatinine, respectively. 2OH-fluorene (8.12 μg/g of creatinine) and 9OH-fluorene (1.26 μg/g of creatinine) were detected in 91% and 66% of the samples, respectively. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) metabolites were detected in more than 50% of the samples (0.58-1.26 μg/g of creatinine). A hazard index of 1.4 and a carcinogenic risk above 10-4 were found for BaP metabolites in the risk characterization. Therefore, our findings may indicate that exposure to PAHs poses a potential risk to pregnant women's health and a high probability of carcinogenic risk due to their exposure to BaP. Finally, this work shows the need for more in-depth studies to determine the sources of exposure and the implementation of health protection measures regarding the exposure of the Brazilian population to PAHs.

Microextraction of Tigecycline Using Deep Eutectic Solvents and Its Determination in Milk by LC-MS/MS Method

The occurrence of tigecycline (TGC), a new first glycylcycline antibiotic residues in food products harmfully influences potential human consumers health. Therefore, analysts are forced to develop new microextraction methods connected with modern extractants for effective isolation of this compound. For this purpose, deep eutectic solvents (DES) as the extraction media were used. Liquid-liquid microextraction (LLME) of tigecycline from milk samples with application of the hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents: decanoic acid:thymol (1:1), thymol:camphor (2:1), dodecanoic acid:menthol (2:1), and dodecanoic acid:dodecanol (1:1) was developed. The studied samples were subjected to a deproteinization process using trichloroacetic acid solution and acetonitrile. The optimal microextraction parameters, molar ratio of DES components, amount of extraction solvents, pH of milk sample, shaking, and centrifugation time, were chosen. Tigecycline in the obtained microextracts of deep eutectic solvents was analyzed using a liquid chromatographic technique connected with a tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system. The limits of detection and quantification values for TGC determination followed by DES-LLME-LC-MS/MS method were in the 1.8 × 10^-11 mol L^-1 (0.01 μg kg^-1) to 4.0 × 10^-9 mol L^-1 (2.28 μg kg^-1) and 5.5 × 10^-11 mol L^-1 (0.03 μg kg^-1) to 1.2 × 10^-8 mol L^-1 (6.84 μg kg^-1) ranges, respectively. The RSD values of precision were in the range 1.4-7.8% (intraday) and 5.4-11.7% (interday). The developed procedures were used for the determination of tigecycline in different bovine milk samples.

Influence of mobile phase composition on the analytical sensitivity of LC-ESI-MS/MS for the concurrent analysis of bisphenols, parabens, chlorophenols, benzophenones, and alkylphenols

Phenols are significant environmental endocrine disruptors that can have adverse health effects on exposed individuals. Correlating phenol exposure to potential health implications requires the development of a comprehensive and sensitive analytical method capable of analyzing multiple phenols in a single sample preparation and analytical run. Currently, no such method is available for multiple classes of phenols due to electrospray ionization (ESI) limitations in concurrent ionization and lack of sensitivity to certain phenols, particularly alkylphenols. In this study, we investigated the influence of mobile phase compositions in ESI on concurrent ionization and analytical sensitivity of liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) during the analysis of multiple classes of phenols, and we propose a comprehensive and sensitive analytical method for various classes of phenols (i.e., bisphenols, parabens, benzophenones, chlorophenols, and alkylphenols). The proposed method was affected by 0.5 mM ammonium fluoride under methanol conditions. It enabled the concurrent ionization of all the phenols and significantly improved the analytical sensitivity for bisphenols and alkylphenols, which typically have poor ionization efficiency. This method, combined with a "dilute and shoot" approach, allowed us to simultaneously quantify 38 phenols with good chromatographic behavior and sensitivity. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to the analysis of 61 urine samples collected from aquatic (swimming) and land (indoor volleyball and outdoor football) athletes.

From target analysis to suspect and non-target screening of endocrine-disrupting compounds in human urine

In the present work, a target analysis method for simultaneously determining 24 diverse endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in urine (benzophenones, bisphenols, parabens, phthalates and antibacterials) was developed. The target analysis approach (including enzymatic hydrolysis, clean-up by solid-phase extraction and analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)) was optimized, validated and applied to volunteers’ samples, in which 67% of the target EDCs were quantified. For instance, benzophenone-3 (0.2–13 ng g⁻¹), bisphenol A (7.7–13.7 ng g⁻¹), methyl 3,5-dihydroxybenzoate (8–254 ng g⁻¹), mono butyl phthalate (2–17 ng g⁻¹) and triclosan (0.3–9 ng g⁻¹) were found at the highest concentrations, but the presence of other analogues was detected as well. The developed target method was further extended to suspect and non-target screening (SNTS) by means of LC coupled to high-resolution MS/MS. First, well-defined workflows for SNTS were validated by applying the previously developed method to an extended list of compounds (83), and then, to the same real urine samples. From a list of approximately 4000 suspects, 33 were annotated at levels from 1 to 3, with food additives/ingredients and personal care products being the most abundant ones. In the non-target approach, the search was limited to molecules containing S, Cl and/or Br atoms, annotating 4 pharmaceuticals. The results from this study showed that the combination of the lower limits of detection of MS/MS and the identification power of high-resolution MS/MS is still compulsory for a more accurate definition of human exposome in urine samples.

Improved method for the determination of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in urine of school-age children using microliquid-liquid extraction and UHPLC-MS/MS

The presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our daily life is increasing every day and, by extension, human exposure and the consequences thereof. Among these substances are bisphenols and parabens. Urine is used to analyze the exposure. The determination of 12 bisphenol homologues and 6 parabens is proposed. A procedure based on a method previously developed by our research group in 2014 is improved. The extraction yield is higher, because the new protocol is 5 times more efficient. Also, a comparison between calibration with pure standards and matrix calibration, to calculate the matrix effect, was also made. A high grade of matrix effect for all analytes was observed. In terms of validation, the limits of detection (LOD) were between 0.03 and 0.3 ng mL^-1 and limits of quantification (LOQ) 0.1 to 1.0 ng mL^-1, respectively, and the recovery is higher than 86.4% and lower than 113.6%, with a RSD lower than 13.5% in all cases. A methodology for accurate and sensitive quantification of bisphenol homologues together with parabens in human urine using UHPLC-MS/MS was developed. The method was successfully applied to 30 urine samples from children.

Recent advances in analysis of bisphenols and their derivatives in biological matrices

Biomonitoring is a very useful tool to evaluate human exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), like bisphenols (BPs), which are widely used in the manufacture of plastics. The development of reliable analytical methods is key in the field of public health surveillance to obtain biomonitoring data to determine what BPs are reaching people's bodies. This review discusses recent methods for the quantitative measurement of bisphenols and their derivatives in biological samples like urine, blood, breast milk, saliva, and hair, among others. We also discuss the different procedures commonly used for sample treatment, which includes extraction and clean-up, and instrumental techniques currently used to determine these compounds. Sample preparation techniques continue to play an important role in the analysis of complex matrices, for liquid matrices the most commonly employed is solid-phase extraction, although microextraction techniques are gaining importance in this field, and for solid samples ultrasound-assisted extraction. The main instrumental techniques used are liquid and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Finally, we present data on the main parameters obtained in the validation of the revised methods. This review focuses on various methods developed and applied for trace analysis of bisphenols, their conjugates, halogenated derivatives, and diglycidyl ethers in biological samples to enable the required selectivity and sensitivity. For this purpose, a review is carried out of the most recent relevant publications from 2016 up to present.

Magnet integrated fabric phase sorptive extraction of selected endocrine disrupting chemicals from human urine followed by high-performance liquid chromatography - photodiode array analysis

In current paper, a new advanced modification of fabric phase sorptive extraction is introduced for the first time. This advantageous configuration that integrates the stirring and extraction mechanism into a single sample preparation device was originated by equally considering the beneficial role of the increase of extraction kinetics and more specifically of diffusion on the extraction efficiency of the equilibrium based microextraction techniques and the need for integrating and unite processes for better promotion and implementation of the principles of Green Analytical Chemistry. The resulted magnet integrated fabric phase sorptive extraction (MI-FPSE) device was the spearhead to develop a new analytical methodology for the determination of selected very common endocrine disrupting chemicals as model analytes in human urine by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array analysis. More specifically, the sol-gel Carbowax 20 M coated on hydrophilic cellulose fabric substrate, MI-FPSE device was efficiently employed for the establishment of a new extraction protocol before the chromatographic determination. The sample preparation workflow was methodically optimized in terms of the elution solvent mixture, the volume of the sample, the extraction and the elution time, the stirring speed during the extraction, the ionic strength, and the pH of the sample matrix. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Spherisorb C18 column and a gradient elution program within 14 minutes. Mobile phase consisted of 0.05 ammonium acetate aqueous solution and acetonitrile. The method was validated towards linearity, sensitivity, selectivity, precision, accuracy, and stability. LOD and LOQ ranged between 1.05-1.80 and 3.5-6.0 ng/mL, while %RSD values were found lower than 9.0% in all cases. The method was efficiently applied to the bioanalysis of real samples. All the chosen EDCs were measured at high detection levels. The new MI-FPSE device has demonstrated its performance superiority as a magnet integrated stand-alone extraction device and could be considered as a significant improvement in the field of analytical/bioanalytical sample preparation.

A simple, rapid and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of eighteen environmental phenols in human urine

Environmental phenols are a typical group of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and have caused growing concerns upon the potential adverse effects on humans. Urinary concentrations of phenols can be used as valid biomarkers for the assessment of human exposure. A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eighteen environmental phenols (six parabens, seven bisphenols, four benzophenones and triclosan) in human urine using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) coupled to high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The optimized LLE was time saving and required low volumes of organic solvents. A volume of only 0.2 mL urine sample was extracted and analyzed. The method yielded good linearity (0.9925-0.9994) and satisfactory limit of detection (LOD) (≤0.08 ng mL^-1). The relative recoveries ranged between 76.7% and 116% at three spiked levels, with intra- and inter-day precision less than 8.04% and 13.5%, respectively. Our method has been proved to be simple, rapid and sensitive by a comprehensive comparison between methods. This proposed method provides a large-scale biomonitoring tool for exposure assessment of human population to environmental phenols.

An Overview of the Analytical Methods for the Determination of Organic Ultraviolet Filters in Cosmetic Products and Human Samples

UV filters are a group of compounds commonly used in different cosmetic products to absorb UV radiation. They are classified into a variety of chemical groups, such as benzophenones, salicylates, benzotriazoles, cinnamates, p-aminobenzoates, triazines, camphor derivatives, etc. Different tests have shown that some of these chemicals are absorbed through the skin and metabolised or bioaccumulated. These processes can cause negative health effects, including mutagenic and cancerogenic ones. Due to the absence of official monitoring protocols, there is an increased number of analytical methods that enable the determination of those compounds in cosmetic samples to ensure user safety, as well as in biological fluids and tissues samples, to obtain more information regarding their behaviour in the human body. This review aimed to show and discuss the published studies concerning analytical methods for the determination of organic UV filters in cosmetic and biological samples. It focused on sample preparation, analytical techniques, and analytical performance (limit of detection, accuracy, and repeatability).

A method for the analysis of 121 multi-class environmental chemicals in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Biomonitoring of human exposure to environmental chemicals has gained momentum in recent years. Biomonitoring methods often include analysis of a single class of chemicals with similar chemical properties. In this study, we describe a method that involves solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and capable of measuring 121 environmental chemicals comprising plasticizers (PMs; n = 45), environmental phenols (EPs; n = 45), and pesticides (n = 31) through a single extraction of urine. Urine samples were incubated with 20 µL of β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase (4000 units/mL urine) (from Helix pomatia) buffered at pH 5.5 for 2 h at 37 °C for optimal deconjugation conditions. We compared two extraction methods, namely liquid-liquid extraction and SPE, and the latter with ABS Elut NEXUS® cartridges was optimized to yield best extraction efficiencies. For increased resolution and chromatographic separation, two methods involving Ultra AQ C18® and Betasil™ C18® columns were used. The MS/MS analyses were performed under both negative and positive ionization modes. The optimized method yielded excellent intra- and inter-day variabilities (relative standard deviation: 0.40-11%) and satisfactory recoveries (80-120%) for >95% of the analytes. The limits of detection were ≤ 0.1 ng/mL for 101 analytes and between 0.1 and 1.0 ng/mL for 18 analytes. The optimized SPE LC-MS/MS method was validated through the analysis of standard reference materials and proficiency test urine samples and further applied in the analysis of 21 real urine samples to demonstrate simultaneous determination of 121 environmental chemicals in urine samples.

Simultaneous Determination of Isothiazolinones and Parabens in Cosmetic Products Using Solid-Phase Extraction and Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Diode Array Detector

Isothiazolinones methylisothiazolinone (MI) and methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI), and parabens methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP) and butylparaben (BP) are the most common synthetic preservatives. They are all known to be potential skin allergens that lead to contact dermatitis. Thus, the identification of these unsafe chemicals in cosmetic products is of high importance. In the present study, solid-phase extraction (SPE) based on HyperSep reversed-phase C8/benzene sulfonic acid ion exchanger (HyperSep C8/BSAIE) and Sep-Pak C18 sorbents, and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/diode array detector (UHPLC/DAD) were optimized for the simultaneous determination of MI, MCI, MP, EP, PP and BP in cosmetic products. HyperSep C8/BSAIE and UHPLC/DAD with the eluting solvent mixture (acetonitrile/methanol, 2:1, v/v) and detection wavelength (255 nm) were found to be the optimal conditions, respectively. The method illustrates the excellent linearity range (0.008–20 μg/mL) with coefficient of determination (R², 0.997–0.999), limits of detection (LOD, 0.001–0.002 μg/mL), precision in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD < 3%, intra-day and <6%, inter-day) when examining a standard mixture at low (0.07 µg/mL), medium (3 µg/mL) and high (15 µg/mL) concentrations. A total of 31 cosmetic samples were studied, achieving concentrations (MI, not detected (nd)-0.89 µg/g), (MCI, nd-0.62 µg/g), (MP, nd-6.53 µg/g), (EP, nd-0.90 µg/g), (PP, nd-9.69 µg/g) and (BP, nd-17.80 µg/g). Recovery values ranged from 92.33 to 101.43% depending on the types of sample. To our knowledge, this is the first specific method which covers the theme and describes background amounts of such preservatives in cosmetics.