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Z. Yang, Varian, Inc.
Introduction
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a primary raw material used for the production of polyacrylates, epoxy resin, phenolic resin, and polycarbonate plastic. 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP) is a degradation product of alkylphenol ethoxylate detergents used in household and industrial cleaning products. Alkylphenol ethoxylate is also widely used as an additive in plastics that are used for food packaging and used as carriers in the application of pesticides to increase the absorption of these substances in the target organism.
BPA and 4-NP can leach from food containers and plastic tableware and can be ingested by humans through chronic exposure during eating and drinking. The chemicals have been found in drinking water supplies and wastewater.
Both BPA and 4-NP mimic the effect of natural estrogen hormones. This phenomenon raises the level of concern about the adverse health effects of these compounds on both humans and wildlife.
Instrumentation
Varian ProStar 430 AutoSampler
Varian ProStar 210 Isocratic Solvent Delivery Modules
Varian ProStar 510 Column Oven
Varian 1200L LC/MS equipped with ESI source
Materials and Reagents
Bisphenol A (Part No. 442840) and 4-Nonylphenol (Part No. 442873) supplied by Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.).
All other chemicals are reagent grade or HPLC grade.
Sample Preparation
Samples were provided by a water company in Japan. The concentration of 4-NP and BPA were approximately 10 to 100 ng/mL and 1 to 10 ng/mL, respectively.
The samples were extracted with dichloromethane. The extracts were dried by a N2 stream and restored in the same volume of methanol/water (1:1, v/v) prior to analyses.
