A VALIDATED UPLC-UV METHOD FOR BISPHENOLA (BP-A) LEVELS DETECTION IN IMPORTEDPLASTIC TOYS AND DRINKING BOTTLED WATER IN KUWAIT

Abstract

Objectives: Bisphenol A (BP-A) is an essential component of polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, phthalates and polycarbonate plastics linked by ester bonds, and it can leach out of plastics at high temperature, acid and basic medium. BP-A is known to have an endocrine disrupting effect and recent studies have started to link its levels as causative factors in many diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and other endocrine diseases. Kuwait is considered one of the hottest countries in the world, and measurements of BP-A levels due to leakage from plastics have never been reported from this Middle-Eastern country. This study measures the levels of BP-A in four randomly selected plastic toys and two plastic water bottles from two different companies after storage at 45 °C for four days.Methods: An ultra-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector (UPLC-UV) analytical method was established to investigate BP-A levels in four of randomly chosen plastic toys (plastic tiger-plastic Lego blocks-plastic doll-small dolls) stored at 45 °C for 4 days. BP-A was extracted with 1 L of water and samples were analyzed by UPLC-UV.Results: The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the established analytical method were equal to 0.4 ppb and 1 ppb, respectively. The analytical method was able to measure accurately and precisely traces of BP-A in all randomly selected toys. BP-A levels was239 ppb in plastic tiger, 30 ppb in plastic Lego, 4 ppb in plastic doll, 3 ppb in small dolls and 59 ppb in drinking bottled water.Conclusion: The importance of BP-A level in plastics analysis raised due to its health concerns. Heat is a major factor for bisphenol leakage from plastics. However, Kuwait is considered one of the hottest countries, where high level leakage of BP-A from plastic toys and plastic water bottles for drinking water could pose significant health risks. Surprisingly, BP-A was detected in all randomly selected plastic toys and one out of two randomly selected polyethylene terephthalate (PET) drinking bottled water. Therefore, imported mineral water should be filled in a glass container rather than plastics due to high climate temperature. Moreover, Toys manufacturers should use BP-A free plastics or clearly specify storage conditions of their plastic products in order to prevent potential health risks resulting from BP-A leakage.Â

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