Specific determination of primary aromatic amines in aqueous migration solutions from food contact articles

A screening method using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed to determine specifically the migration of primary aromatic amines from food contact articles. It gets its high sensitivity by an enrichment step, using a cationexchange solid-phase-extraction column and by a focussing step, using HPLC with an integrated precolumn-backflush procedure. The method has been optimised with respect to amines being hydrolysed from isocyanate monomers after migration from plastic materials or laminates. It can also be applied to amines being derived from azodyes, which are possibly used as colourants in plastic material. The method is appropriate to control the restriction in the 6th amend-mend of the plastic directive. According to this directive the concentration of amines in migration solutions or foodstuff should not be detectable using an analytical method with a detection limit of 20 mug/l migration solution.