Capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry analysis of bisphenol A and its analogues in bottled tea beverages with dynamic pH focusing

A simple and sensitive method for the determination of bisphenol A and its analogues at the ng/mL level in bottled tea beverages is presented. This method utilized a dynamic pH junction to focus the analyte into a more concentrated zone, based on the electrophoretic mobility difference of analytes in the sample matrix and background electrolytes in capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS). The optimised analyte focusing led to enhanced signal detection with average peak heights for five bisphenols of 53 – 170 folds higher than conventional injections. Under optimised conditions, the method showed good linearity in the range of 0.1 – 100 ng/mL, excellent limits of detection (0.03 – 0.04 ng/mL), good analyte recovery (80.3 – 118.1%) with acceptable relative standard deviations (< 12%). The limits of quantifications were below the maximum permissible content of bisphenol A set by the European Commission for this product. This method was used to quantitatively analyse bisphenols in six different kinds of bottled tea beverages, making it a promising tool for practical applications.