Microextraction with polyethersulfone for bisphenol-A, alkylphenols and hormones determination in water samples by means of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis

Otolith shape and elemental signatures provide insights into the connectivity of euryhaline Chelon labrosus inhabiting two close estuaries with different burdens of xenoestrogens in the Southern Bay of Biscay

Intersex gonads have been observed in thicklip grey mullet Chelon labrosus, inhabiting estuaries with high burdens of xenoestrogens in the Southeast Bay of Biscay, but knowledge of population connectivity among estuaries is lacking for this euryhaline fish species. This study investigates the population structure of C. labrosus using otolith shape and elemental signatures of 60 adults (overall length ∼ 38 cm) from two estuaries 21 nautic miles apart, one with a high incidence of intersex condition (Gernika), and the other one pristine (Plentzia). Otolith shape analyses were performed using elliptical Fourier descriptors, while elemental signatures of whole sagittae were obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometry. Univariate and multivariate statistics were applied to determine if otolith signatures show patterns of homogeneity between estuaries. The data indicated significant differences in the otolith shape and elemental composition between mullets of Gernika and Plentzia. Elemental differences were mainly driven by Sr, Li (both higher in Plentzia) and Ba (higher in Gernika). The 98% re-classification success rate obtained from stepwise linear discriminant function analysis suggests that Gernika and Plentzia individuals form separated population units. The limited connectivity between these two close estuaries would indicate a different life history of exposure to chemicals, which might explain the high prevalence of intersex condition in Gernika and its absence in Plenztia.

Lack of genetic structure in euryhaline Chelon labrosus from the estuaries under anthropic pressure in the Southern Bay of Biscay to the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Over the last decade, xenoestrogenic effects have been reported in populations of thicklip grey mullet Chelon labrosus from contaminated estuaries in the Bay of Biscay, resulting in intersex condition. To understand the level of gene flow in individuals of different Basque estuaries microsatellite markers were used to evaluate the population structure and connectivity of C. labrosus from estuaries of the Basque coast. 46 microsatellites were tested and 10 validated for the analysis of 204 individuals collected from 5 selected Basque estuaries and 2 outgroups in the Bay of Cadiz and Thermaic Gulf. The polymorphic microsatellites revealed 74 total alleles, 2-19 alleles per locus. The mean observed heterozygosity (0.49 ± 0.02) was lower than the expected one (0.53 ± 0.01). There was no evidence of genetic differentiation (F_ST = 0.0098, P = 0.0000) among individuals or sites. Bayesian clustering analysis revealed a single population in all sampled locations. The results of this study indicate widespread genetic homogeneity and panmixia of C. labrosus across the current sampling areas spanning the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The hypothesis of panmixia could therefore be well supported so individuals inhabiting estuaries with high prevalence of intersex condition should be considered as members of the same single genetic group as those inhabiting adjacent estuaries without incidence of xenoestrogenicity.

The hazardous threat of Bisphenol A: Toxicity, detection and remediation

Bisphenol A (or BPA) is a toxic endocrine disrupting chemical that is released into the environment through modern manufacturing practices. BPA can disrupt the production, function and activity of endogenous hormones causing irregularity in the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal glands and also the pituitary-adrenal function. BPA has immuno-suppression activity and can downregulate T cells and antioxidant genes. The genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of BPA is paramount and therefore, there is an immediate need to properly detect and remediate its influence. In this review, we discuss the toxic effects of BPA on different metabolic systems in the human body, followed by its mechanism of action. Various novel detection techniques (LC-MS, GC-MS, capillary electrophoresis, immunoassay and sensors) involving a pretreatment step (liquid-liquid microextraction and molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction) have also been detailed. Mechanisms of various remediation strategies, including biodegradation using native enzymes, membrane separation processes, photocatalytic oxidation, use of nanosorbents and thermal degradation has been detailed. An overview of the global regulations pertaining to BPA has been presented. More investigations are required on the efficiency of integrated remediation technologies rather than standalone methods for BPA removal. The effect of processing operations on BPA in food matrices is also warranted to restrict its transport into food products.

A green molecular imprinted solid-phase extraction protocol for bisphenol A monitoring with HPLC-UV to guarantee the quality and safety of walnuts under different storage conditions

Monitoring the residual toxicant concentrations in foods is the key step for minimizing potential hazards. The huge interest about food contamination and exposure to endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A has emerged the development of sensitive analytical methodologies to guarantee the safety and quality of foods. In this work, a green molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction protocol coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was optimized following the principles of green analytical chemistry. An imprinted sol-gel silica-based hybrid inorganic-organic polymeric sorbent was used to monitor the leaching of bisphenol A from different packaging materials (glass vessels, cans, and polypropylene containers) in walnuts stored within a period of 6 months at 25 and 4°C. Extraction parameters including loading time (5-20 min), solvent type (acetonitrile, ethanol, methanol, acetone, acetonitrile:methanol, 50:50, v/v), and elution flow rate (0.2-1 mL/min) were optimized with one-factor-at-a-time method. The selected extraction optimum parameters incorporated elution with acetonitrile at 0.2 mL/min flow rate, for 10 min sample holding time. The imprinting factor was equal to 4.55 ± 0.26 (n = 3). The optimized method presented high recovery (94.3 ± 4.2%, n = 3), good linearity (>0.999), intra-assay repeatability (90.2-95.6%, n = 3), and interassay precision (86.7-93.1%, n = 3).

The quantification of bisphenols and their analogues in wastewaters and surface water by an improved solid-phase extraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method

The study focused on the application of GC in the quantitative analysis of bisphenols and their analogues (12 analytes), and the improvement of solid-phase extraction for the whole water analysis of complex water samples. The role of silylation in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of bisphenols was investigated. Partial degradation occurred for selected targets during hot injection with the presence of a silylation agent. A PSA (primary and secondary amines) sorbent placed on the top of the solid-phase extraction (SPE) column sorbent was found to be a matrix component trap, mostly for humic acids. The whole water analysis was performed by washing the filters with methanol and recycling the extract to the sample. The validation of SPE-GC/MS(SIM) gave limits of detection of 1-50 ng/L for ten target bisphenols with a method recovery of between 87 and 133%. The application of the method was tested by the analysis of wastewater sampled from three wastewater treatment plants located in Poland, and municipal surface waters. The only analytes found were BPA and BPS, within the range of 16-1465 ng/L and < MDL-1249 ng/L in wastewater, and 170-3113 ng/L and < MDL-1584 ng/L in surface water, respectively.

Short-term stability assessment for the analysis of emerging contaminants in seawater

This paper describes the stability study performed in seawater and seawater extracts (spiked at ~ 200 ng/L) for 23 emerging contaminants. Four different alternatives were tested at six different times (0, 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 days): (i) seawater at 4 °C, (ii) mixed-mode solid-phase extraction cartridge (Bond Elute Plexa and Strata X-AW) stored at - 20 °C, (iii) polyethersulfone hollow fibre stored at - 20 °C and (iv) methanol extracts once the samples were extracted from PES hollow fibre and stored at - 20 °C. Moreover, the integrity of the supporting polymeric phases was studied by Raman, optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetric and thermogravimetric analysis. As may be expected, seawater samples showed the lowest stability (losses between 21 and 99%) while methanol extract provides stable results (losses < 30%) over the tested period. In the case of solid-phase cartridges, the stability profile showed an average loss of 7% while, in polyethersulfone hollow fibres, losses up to 58% were observed. Finally, we were able to relate the lower efficiency of polyethersulfone fibres with the wettability of this material based on the thermogravimetric analysis.

Multiresidue analytical method for the determination of 41 multiclass organic pollutants in mussel and fish tissues and biofluids by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

In this work, the full optimisation and validation procedure to analyse a wide set of emerging organic contaminants in biotissues (mussel and fish muscle, liver, gills and brain) and biofluids (fish plasma and bile) is described. The target families include artificial sweeteners, industrial products, hormones, pharmaceutical and personal care products, pesticides and phytoestrogens. Different clean-up strategies (hydrophilic-lipophilic-balanced (HLB) solid-phase extraction, Florisil solid-phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction followed by HLB solid-phase extraction and microextraction based on polyethersulfone polymer) were evaluated for the clean-up of focused ultrasonic solid-liquid extraction (FUSLE) extracts before the analysis by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QqQ-MS/MS). The methods afforded satisfactory apparent recovery values (71-126%) using isotopically labelled analytes and matrix-matched calibration approach, regardless of the matrix. Method detection limits in the range of 4-48 ng/g and 0.3-111 ng/L were obtained for biotissues and biofluids, respectively. The developed method was applied to determine the uptake and tissue distribution in juvenile gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata) during 7 days in seawater, and unexpectedly, perfluoro-1-butanesulfonate tended to accumulate in liver and, to a lesser extent, in muscle and gills. Furthermore, real mussel samples collected in the Basque coast were also analysed and the presence of the highly consumed valsartan (7 ng/g) and telmisartan (6.8 ng/g) compounds in bivalves is reported for the first time here. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Recent advances and progress in the detection of bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an important industrial chemical used as a plasticizer in polycarbonate and epoxy resins in the plastic and paper industries. Because of its estrogenic properties, BPA has attracted increasing attention from many researchers. This review focuses primarily on analytical methods for BPA detection that have emerged in recent years. We present and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sample preparation techniques (e.g., solvent extraction, solid-phase extraction, molecularly imprinted polymer solid-phase extraction, and micro-extraction techniques) and analytical methods (e.g., liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, immunoassay, and several novel sensors). We also discuss expected future developments for the detection of BPA. Graphical Abstract This review focuses primarily on the recent development in the detection of bisphenol A including sample pre-treatment and analytical methods.

Azo dye functionalized graphene nanoplatelets for selective detection of bisphenol A and hydrogen peroxide

A new electrochemical sensor is developed based on graphene nanoplatelets functionalized with tri-azo dye (direct blue 71) for selective and highly sensitive detection of bisphenol A and hydrogen peroxide in pH 7 phosphate buffered saline solution.