Biomonitoring of 21 endocrine disrupting chemicals in human hair samples using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

- The analysis of 21 endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in human hair is proposed.
- The target analytes belong to four different families of compounds.
- A very simple 2-step extraction procedure prior to UHPLC-MS/MS is optimized.
- This is the first validated method that allows the biomonitoring of this large number of EDCs.
- The method is a potent analytical tool for further human exposure studies to EDCs.

Rapid industrial growth has increased human exposure to a large variety of chemicals with adverse health effects. These industrial chemicals are usually present in the environment, foods, beverages, clothes and personal care products. Among these compounds, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have raised concern over the last years. In the present work, the determination of 21 EDCs in human hair samples is proposed. An analytical method based on the digestion of the samples with a mixture of acetic acid/methanol (20:80, v/v) followed by a solid-liquid microextraction and analysis by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed and validated. The most influential parameters affecting the extraction method were optimized. The method was validated using matrix-matched calibration and recovery assays. Limits of detection ranged from 0.2 to 4 ng g−1, limits of quantification from 0.5 to 12 ng g−1, and inter- and intra-day variability was under 15% in all cases. Recovery rates for spiked samples ranged from 92.1 to 113.8%. The method was applied for the determination of the selected compounds in human hair. Samples were collected weekly from six randomly selected volunteers (three men and three women) over a three-month period. All the analyzed samples tested positive for at least one of the analyzed compounds.