Mass spectrometry analysis of maternal urinary phthalates for correlation study with adverse birth outcomes

Phthalates are synthetic compounds that have been extensively used as plasticizers in various industrial and consumer products. Prenatal exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors (EDCs) may significantly increase the risk of various diseases and adverse birth outcome. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is a powerful tool for the analysis of organic pollutants in environmental and biological samples. This project will develop MS-based methods and apply to investigate the possible influence of phthalates embryo exposure associated with adverse birth outcomes from endocrine disruption. The main research focuses include: (1) Development of a LC-Orbitrap MS (high resolution) method for the identification of phthalates in human urine; (2) Development of a rapid, sensitive and high-throughput method of UPLC-triple quadrupole MS for quantifying phthalates and metabolites in maternal urine samples; (3) Investigation of correlation of the phthalates exposure with birth outcome changes (birth weight, gestational age, etc). The differences among groups with various phthalate exposure levels, and groups of adverse birth outcomes vs controls will be compared. The correlation analysis among the urinary phthalate concentrations in pregnant women and adverse birth outcome cases such as premature delivery and low birth weight will be investigated. Comparisons of the determined level of phthalates in the maternal urine with the known birth outcome data may benefit better understanding on the influences of developmental programming induced by prenatal exposure to phthalates and other EDCs. This project may provide important information for further investigation of EDCs associated toxicity.