Rapid and sensitive analysis of phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A, and endogenous steroid hormones in human urine by mixed-mode solid-phase extraction, dansylation, and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

Steroid hormone levels in human urine are convenient and sensitive indicators for the impact of phthalates and/or bisphenol A (BPA) exposure on the human steroid hormone endocrine system. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method for determination of 14 phthalate metabolites, BPA, and ten endogenous steroid hormones in urine was developed and validated on the basis of ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The optimized mixed-mode solid phase-extraction separated the weakly acidic or neutral BPA and steroid hormones from acidic phthalate metabolites in urine: the former were determined in positive ion mode with a methanol/water mobile phase containing 10 mM ammonium formate; the latter were determined in negative ion mode with a acetonitrile/water mobile phase containing 0.1 % acetic acid, which significantly alleviated matrix effects for the analysis of BPA and steroid hormones. Dansylation of estrogens and BPA realized simultaneous and sensitive analysis of the endogenous steroid hormones and BPA in a single chromatographic run. The limits of detection were less than 0.84 ng/mL for phthalate metabolites and less than 0.22 ng/mL for endogenous steroid hormones and BPA. This proposed method had satisfactory precision and accuracy, and was successfully applied to the analyses of human urine samples. This method could be valuable when investigating the associations among endocrine-disrupting chemicals, endogenous steroid hormones, and relevant adverse outcomes in epidemiological studies.