BPA (bisphenol A)

[banyen]

Hello,

I am doing a science fair project on how temperature effects BPA (bisphenol A) release and how the chemical effects micro-organisms such as brine shrimp. I have done some research and have found out that I need to conduct a HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) test. I have found a place that does this test and they wanted to know what solvent is needed to identify the presence of BPA. Any help or suggestions would be beneficial to me and I greatly appreciate your help. Thanks a lot for your time!

[davidkallman]

Hi banyen,

As solvents, I found alcohol and acetonitrile.

Alcohol is mentioned at http://www.bisphenol-a.org/pdf/M5.pdf
Acetonitrile is mentioned at http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/cgi/conten ... 33/11/1748

As background, you may want to read the wikipedia entries for
BPA at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
Acetonitrile at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetonitrile

Note particularly the safety section in the acetonitrile write-up. It may be best to use the 10% alcohol.

Per your question of how to do a great project, please consult:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ?From=body

[banyen]

Hi!!

Thanks for your help. Would purified water work as well???

[agm]

Hi Banyen,

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A) and some other sources report that BPA has a solubility of 120-300 ppm (approx 120-300 mg/L) in water around room temperature. Other resources report the solubility as "none" or "zero":

http://apps.kemi.se/flodessok/floden/ke ... _a_eng.htm
http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0634.htm

so it seems like that solubility is generally considered pretty low. However, solubility almost always increases with temperature, and you are planning to heat the water -- so you might want to look for info on solubility at higher temps and maybe even do some tests at home to see how hot the water gets with the microwave times you were planning to use, or perhaps how hot a particular food gets Some things you might want to consider when deciding whether it's appropriate: What solvents are present in food (e.g. is BPA soluble in oils?)? What concentrations need to be present in food to pose a health risk? What volume of solvent will you place in the container? What is the lowest concentration that can be detected with your chosen method of analysis? How does the water solubility compare to solubility in other solvents you were considering (at the appropriate temp)?

Something a bit more complicated to think about: I think someone mentioned, for example, a 10% solution of alcohol -- this means 10% alcohol, 90% purified (distilled or maybe deionized) water. Alcohols (not sure what was intended -- isopropyl, ethyl, methanol, etc) evaporate faster than water, so especially since the mixture would be heated, I'd be worried that you'd end up with something like 1 % alcohol, 99% water at the end, and that could make your data hard to interpret. Also, most usual laboratory solvents aren't present in foods that are microwaved (one would hope). So, assuming that the amount of BPA that dissolves in water is solidly in the measurable range, using just water probably creates the situation most relevant to the problem you're interested in. You could always do some trials with other solvents just to see what happens, though.

Best wishes,
Amanda

[Angel7]

Hello,

I am also starting to work on BPA and of course dissolution matter comes...

I wanna get rid of BPA in water via ozone at room temperature (for water treatment concern).
And the analysis method I picked up is HPLC-UV to follow degradation and to do kinetic studies.
I was thinking to use 10% methanol / 90% water to prepare 1000ppm of BPA.
But I am wondering whether the methanol could be influence by ozone or not?
Does anyone have an idea about that?

(difficult to find info about!)

Thanks a lot.

[Craig_Bridge]

But I am wondering whether the methanol could be influence by ozone or not? Does anyone have an idea about that?

Please note that it has been a VERY long time since I had chemisty so don't count on my answer being definitive!

Ozone is a strong oxidizing agent; however, CH3-OH doesn't have any carbon-carbon bonds that can be oxidized directly, the OH ion is a negative ion which doesn't want an oxygen, so unless there is some metalic catalyst and a strong acid (proton donor) that will cause a carboxyl / carbonyl reaction, I don't see any viable prediction of a reaction involving the methanol. HPLC columns are metalic so if you are concerned about a breakdown of the methanol, you need to avoid low pH situations. But you already need to avoid low pH situations or you will break down BPA chemically via an acid-base reaction and invalidate your experiment. You probably want to insure that the pH of your test solution is near normal especially if you want to extrapolate your results to what might happen in animals.

[Angel7]

Thank you Craig for your fast response.

After several talks, it seems that ozone may not have an influence on methanol.
And your detailed response confirmed that as well.
I will also care a lot about the pH during experiments.

Another question is, I am trying to prepare 100ppm of BPA (purity>99%) in DDI water(because 1000ppm in pure water is impossible to prepare)
After one night magnetic stirring, almost all the solid is not visible anymore...
BUT:
- it is because it is fully dissolve in DDI water?
- or just because the tiny particles (non visible through eyes) are dispersed in aqueous medium?
The second option could be a problem for HPLC analysis...
Some people advise me to dissolve BPA in MeOH first and dilute with water then to avoid this situation...

[Craig_Bridge]

Some people advise me to dissolve BPA in MeOH first and dilute with water then to avoid this situation...

Based on what I read on BPA solubility to answer your previous question, BPA is far more soluble in an acqueous methanol solution than in water, particularly cold water. Count me as one who would advise disolving the BPA in a methanol solution instead of water as long as a methanol solution will work for the rest of your experimental proceedure. Since you have already mixed BPA and water and you are cocerned about the possibility of a partial suspension, just add methanol and mix for half a minute. Any suspended BPA will quickly disolve. Note: By using methanol as your solvent, it won't take very long to disolve your BPA the next time you mix up a solution.

[banyen]

Heyyy!

My project is regarding how temperature affects the chemical Bisphenol A release. I know that you can use a HPLC to detect the prescence of BPA, but can you use a thin layer chromatography test as well????

Thanks

[barretttomlinson]

Hi,

Yes, Thin Layer Chromatography has been used to analyze Bisphenol A. Here is a paper abstract on it:

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15867127

Best wishes,

Barrett Tomlinson

[ChrisG]

Hi banyen,
I merged your old topic with your new one so that the experts can follow the progress of your project. To ask new questions related to this project, please post in this topic using the "add reply" button.
Good luck!
Chris

[banyen]

Do you know of any common brand bottles that for sure contain BPA, and are still available to buy?
By the way, can you tell me HOW to do the TLC at home?


thanks

[Craig_Bridge]

Do you know of any common brand bottles that for sure contain BPA, and are still available to buy?

No. The fundamental problem is that once some country has a problem with a material that requires labeling or discontinuation, manufacturers will usually eliminate the use of that material rather than deal with making sure they don't accidentally ship the wrong thing to the wrong place. Additionally, the regulatory requirements become a legal basis for any potential legal actions in other jurisdictions. Once people stop using a given plastic, then the plastic manufacturers will quickly drop the production of it so even containers for non-food items will quickly change to something else as well.

[banyen]

Are there any methods other than an HPLC that I can do at home to detect the chemical Bisphenol A in plastics?

Thanks for your help

[Craig_Bridge]

I did a quick web search for "detecting Bisphenol A" and found several very interesting methods, all of which are beyond what could be done outside of a college or industrial research lab with the exception of HPLC / GC spetrographic approaches that can be done with expensive but still more general purpose scientific equipment.

If you were a graduate student or post doctorial interested in this specific area, you would probably have to move to a lab that was interested in funding this kind of research in order to conduct it.

As a junior high student, you don't have those kinds of options unless there just happens to be a local college or university that is doing work in this area and has people who are willing to help out young scientists unless you live in a community where there is a specialized advanced science program highschool that happens to have HPLC / GC spectrographic equipment. Short of that, your best option is to find something that can be done with what you have available to you.