Simultaneous determination of eight additives in polymer food packaging materials by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was proposed for the simultaneous determination of eight additives (Irgafos 168 (tri(2.4-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphite), Irganox 1076 (octadecy1-beta-(4-hydroxy-3, 5-di-tert-butyl-phenyl) propionate), Irganox 1010 (pentaerythritol tetrakys 3-(3,5-di-tert-buty14-hydroxyphenyl)propionate), BHA (butyl hydroxy anisole) , TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone), PG (propyl gallate), DG (dodecyl gallate) , UV-326 (2-(2'-hydroxy1-3'-tert-buty1-5'methylpheny1)-5-chlorobenzotriazole) in food packaging materials. After extracted by chloromethane through ultrasonic extraction, the samples were analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. The chromatographic conditions were optimized, and the best separation was obtained on a Waters BEH-C18 column (50 mmx2.1 mm, 1.7 mu m) with gradient elution of 0.05% acetic acid solution and methanol. The analysis was performed by UPLC-MS/MS with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in switching between the positive and negative ion modes in one run for multiple reaction monitoring. The eight additives showed good linear relationships in the ranges with all the correlation coefficients (R-2) more than 0.993. The limits of detection (LODs, S/N = 3) and limits of quantitation (LOQs, S/N = 10 ) of this method were 0.13-5. 50 mu g/L and 0.45-17. 50 mu g/L, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 63. 9% -127.0% with all the RSDs 15. 8% (n = 6). This method is simple, accurate and effective for the analysis of the eight additives in food packaging materials.