Simultaneous determination of bisphenol A and alkylphenol in plant oil by gel permeation chromatography and isotopic dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A simple analytical method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol (NP) and octylphenol (OP) in plant oil. The target compounds were extracted by cyclohexane/ethyl acetate (1:1), purified by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and analyzed by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS) in the negative ion mode. An isolator column was attached in front of the injection valve of the LC to separate background contaminants. Recovery studies were performed at three fortification levels. Mean recoveries were from 92.9% to 119.0%, with an acceptable coefficient of variation (4.4–18.5%, n = 6). The limits of quantification of the method were 2, 2 and 0.5 μg/kg for BPA, NP and OP, respectively. This method can be applied for screening and confirming target compounds in plant oil.