Abstract: An accurate quantitative determination and confirmative method for bisphenol diglycidyl ether residues, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (BFDGE), bisphenol A (2,3-dihydroxypropyl)glycidyl ether (BADGE•H2O), bisphenol A bis(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) ether (BADGE•2H2O), bisphenol A (3-chloro-2-hydroxy propyl)(2,3- dihydroxypropyl) ether (BADGE•H2O•HCl), bisphenol A (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl)glycidyl ether (BADGE•HCl), bisphenol A bis(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) ether (BADGE•2HCl), bisphenol F bis(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) ether (BFDGE•2H2O), bisphenol F bis(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) ether (BFDGE•2HCl) in canned foodstuffs by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) has been established. The sample was extracted with tert-butylmethyl ether and the extract was cleaned-up and concentrated on a Waters Oasis HLB column. The target compounds were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS on a C18 column by the gradient elution with methanol and 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate containing 0.1% formic acid in a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) scan mode. External matrix standard solutions were used for the quantitative determination and the calibration curves showed good linearity in the concentration range of 10.0~2000.0 μg/L for the nine target compounds. The limits of quantification of the nine compounds were 10.0 μg/kg (S/N≥10). The average recoveries of the nine compounds ranged from 79.6% to 100.9% at the spiked levels of 10.0, 100.0, 1000.0 μg/kg with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 6.3%~12.1%. The method is sensitive, accurate, and suitable for the rapid determination of bisphenol diglycidyl ether residues in canned foodstuffs.

Key words: bisphenol diglycidyl ethers, canned foodstuffs, high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS)