Analysis of ethyl carbamate in wines using solid-phase extraction and multidimensional gas chromatography/mass...

The method describes a rapid and accurate procedure for the analysis of ethyl carbamate in wines. The separation of the ethyl carbamate (EC), the target analyte, from alcohol and the sample matrix is a challenge to many analytical chemists. After alcohol removal from the sample, EC was extracted and concentrated by solid-phase extraction. For analysis of EC, large-volume injection on a programmable temperature vaporization (PTV) inlet was used followed by multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (MDGC/MS) using electron-impact ionization (EI). For quantitation, the ratio of ions produced during EI at m/z 62 (EC) and 64 (isotopically labeled EC) was monitored. The use of solid-phase extraction and MDGC/MS removes the majority of the matrix interference encountered in other methods. A linear dynamic range was established from 0.387 to 1160 ng/mL, with a limit of detection at 0.1 ng/mL and limit of quantitation at 1 ng/mL.