Automated Salting-out Assisted Liquid-Liquid Extraction and Determination of Bisphenol A in Beverage Samples

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely produced chemical used as a precursor in the formation of plastics (polycarbonate) and coatings for food and beverage containers (epoxy resin coatings)[1]. Bisphenol A is classifi ed as an endocrine disruptor since it mimics the actions of hormones. Since bisphenol A can migrate from the packaging material into beverages, the presence of bisphenol A in readyto-consume beverages has the potential to pose a health risk. With the wide variety of beverage types on the market, sample preparation could constitute a bottleneck to the reliable analytical methods and high throughput analysis needed for quantifi cation of bisphenol A.

Here we show that a robotic sampler can be used to automate the extraction and determination of bisphenol A from various beverage samples. Automating the entire extraction and subsequent analysis by LC-MS/MS provides high throughput analysis for bisphenol A in beverage samples. Using the GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler MPS roboticPRO, syringe transfer of all liquids involved in the liquid-liquid extraction as well as the controlled mixing and centrifugation of the samples for defi ned periods was performed. The resulting extracts from the automated extractions were then introduced into the Agilent Ultivo triple quadrupole LC/MS system for detection and quantifi cation.