Determination of primary aromatic amines in crayons by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of nine primary aromatic amines in crayon by solid phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed. The alkanes in the sample were removed with n-hexane. Then the sample was extracted twice with ultrasonic extraction by methanol. The extract was evaporated, then the concentrated solution reacted with the reducing agent (sodium hydrosulfite) for 30 min at 70 degrees C. After the extraction with a diatomite SPE column, the aromatic amines were collected and separated on an HP-5M column, determined by MS. The nine primary aromatic amines can be separated and determined successfully. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits were 5 mg/kg and the spiked recoveries of the samples were in the range of 86.02%-102.43%. The method is accurate and stable. It can be applied in the analysis of the primary aromatic amine of real crayon samples.