Improvement of the Material Tests Method for Amines in Polycarbonate Food Apparatuses, Containers, and Packaging

A validation study was performed on the modified analytical method for the determination of amines (triethylamine: TEA and tributylamine: TBA) content in polycarbonate food apparatuses, containers, and packaging, by using a mass spectrometer (MS) and a tandem mass spectrometer (MS/MS) to obtain higher selectivity, after solving problems such as TEA volatilization and TEA and TBA adsorption on the apparatuses. The repeatability, within-laboratory reproducibility and trueness of the LC-MS method was estimated in the range of 1.0-3.4%, 1.5-4.8%, and 96-98% for TEA and of 1.1-2.4%, 2.4-4.4%, and 96-97% for TBA, respectively. The repeatability, within-laboratory reproducibility and trueness of the LC-MS/MS method was estimated in the range of 1.2-3.5%, 1.7-7.3%, and 96-98% for TEA and of 1.1-2.4%, 2.2-5.7%, and 95-97% for TBA, respectively. These results showed that the method is useful as an analytical method for the determination of amines content.