Analysis of polyfluoroalkyl substances and bisphenol A in dried blood spots by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Dried blood spots (DBS), collected as part of the newborn screening program (NSP) in the USA, is a valuable resource for studies on environmental chemical exposures and associated health outcomes in newborns. Nevertheless, determination of concentrations of environmental chemicals in DBS requires assays with great sensitivity, as the typical volume of blood available on a DBS with 16-mm diameter disc is approximately 50 μL. In this study, we developed a liquid-liquid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and bisphenol A (BPA) in DBS. The method was validated for accuracy, precision, and sensitivity, by spiking of target chemicals at different levels on Whatman 903 filter cards, which is used in the collection of DBS by the NSP. Contamination arising from collection, storage, and handling of DBS is an important issue to be considered in the analysis of trace levels of environmental chemicals in DBS. For the evaluation of the magnitude of background contamination, field blanks were prepared from unspotted portions of DBS filter cards collected by the NSP. The method was applied for the measurement of PFOS, PFOA, and BPA in 192 DBS specimens provided by NSP of New York State. PFOS and PFOA were detected in 100 % of the specimens analyzed. The concentrations of PFOS and PFOA measured in DBS were similar to those reported earlier in the whole blood samples of newborns. BPA was also found in 86 % of the specimens at concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 36 ng/mL (excluding two outliers). Further studies are needed to evaluate the sources of BPA exposures and health outcomes in newborns.

Temporal Trends of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in the Blood of Newborns from New York State during 1997 through 2011: Analysis of Dried Blood Spots from the Newborn Screening Program

“…20 For the characterization of levels of PBDE contamination, two types of blanks, procedural blanks and field blanks, were analyzed. The procedural blanks were prepared by passage of all solvents and reagents through the entire analytical procedure.…”

Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in archived dried blood spots and its application to track temporal trends of environmental chemicals in newborns

“…Studies have suggested the utility of DBS in epidemiologic and clinical studies (la Marca et al 2012; Lawson et al 2012). Several studies evaluated the use of DBS for the determination of environmental chemicals, which is a measure of exposure in newborns (Burse et al 1997; Dua et al 1996; Kato et al 2009; Lu et al 2012; Ma et al 2013a; Otero-Santos et al 2009; Spliethoff et al 2008; Suyagh et al 2010). Nevertheless, the application of DBS in the assessment of temporal trends of environmental chemicals in newborns is limited.…”

Performance and storage integrity of dried blood spots for PCB, BFR and pesticide measurements

“…Applications of DBS measurements for bioanalyses and pharmaceutical residues (and their derivatives) have been recently reviewed [4, 5, 7, 10–14]. The number of reports describing the methods and experience with DBS for exposure assessment purposes is comparatively sparse.…”

“…However, DBS have been used for other analytes. For example, in mostly pilot studies, human and avian DBS samples were used to measure additional trace metals [15], cotinine [19], perchlorates [20], cysteinyl adducts of benzene oxide [21], bisphenol A [14, 22], and persistent organic compounds, e.g., pesticides [23–25], PCBs [24, 26], PBDEs [9, 24, 26], and fluorinated compounds like PFOS [14, 24, 27, 28]. …”