Identification and quantification of TBBPA and its metabolites in adult zebrafish by high resolution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is extensively used as brominated flame retardant. TBBPA and some of its metabolites had been identified as endocrine disrupter with potential health risk. Understanding the distribution characters of TBBPA and its metabolites in fish is essential to evaluate the potential impacts of TBBPA on aqueous ecosystem. This study developed a simple method to identify and quantify TBBPA and its metabolites simultaneously in tissues of alult zebrafish by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography couple with Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS). Six TBBPA metabolites were identified in liver, kidney, gill and muscle of adult zebrafish exposed to water containing different TBBPA levels, two of them, 1,3-dibromo-2‑methoxy‑5-vinylbenzene and 2,6-dibromo-4-nitrophenol were first detected. TBBPA and its metabolites were mainly distributed in the livers and kidneys of zebrafish. The levels of TBBPA and metabolites reached maximum on exposed day 3, then decreased gradually in liver and kidney. TBBPA oxidative cleavage products and TBBPA-monosulfate were the dominant metabolites. UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS provided an effective solution to study the distribution and metabolite characters of TBBPA in aquatic organisms.