Sensitive BPA Analysis in Food with Solid Phase Microextraction

Analytix Reporter journal from the Supelco® portfolio of Merck is now on its fourth issue. Inside you’ll find method optimisation and solutions to challenging analytical problems raised by the scientific community. Articles range from potency testing of cannabinoid compounds in edibles by HPLC-UV, via and overview on Ionic Liquid GC columns to high purity carbons for analytical use. Feature article in this latest issue details the use of SPME (Solid Phase Microextraction) coupled with GC/MS/MS as a quick, easy and sensitive method for analysis of Bisphenol A (BPA ) in a variety of food matrices. BPA is often a common laboratory contaminant, which means that managing background is a major challenge. Since SPME requires only minimal sample preparation steps and materials, the isolation of contamination sources can be far less time consuming than other approaches such as liquid extraction or SPE. A direct immersion SPME- GC/MS/MS method using an overcoated PDMS/DVB fiber was developed for low level analysis of BPA from various food matrices: A fruit flavored beverage, canned pumpkin, pureed carrot baby food, and cream of chicken soup. overcoating of this new SPME fiber allowed for an efficient wash step after sampling ensuring, matrix removal, fiber integrity and method reproducibility. The final SPME GC/MS/MS method required only few steps, was easy to automate and showed to be highly sensitive, providing a feasible means of BPA determination in food samples.

Read more on our feature article "Analysis of Bisphenol A in Food by Solid Phase Microextraction Using an Overcoated Fiber" by Katherine Stenerson, Principal Scientist here.