Determination of phthalates released from paper packaging materials by solid-phase extraction-high-performance liquid...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Phthalic acid esters are common plasticizers found in various materials.
• Concerns exist regarding the migration of phthalates from food packaging into food products.
• Accurate methods are needed to quantify phthalate migration for food safety assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simultaneous determination method for 10 phthalic acid esters.
• To investigate the migration of phthalates from food paper packaging materials into food simulants.
• To establish a reliable analytical technique for phthalate analysis in food packaging.

Main Methods:

• Solid phase extraction (SPE) using a C18 column for sample enrichment and purification.
• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detector for quantification.
• Optimization of chromatographic and extraction conditions, including the use of four food simulants.

Main Results:

• The method successfully quantified 10 phthalic acid esters with high correlation coefficients (>0.9999).
• Detection limits ranged from 6.0-23.8 ng/mL, with recovery values between 71.27% and 106.97%.
• Relative standard deviations were low, ranging from 0.86% to 8.00%, indicating method precision.

Conclusions:

• The developed SPE-HPLC method is simple, fast, and reliable for determining 10 phthalic acid esters.
• This method is suitable for studying phthalate migration from food paper packaging into food.
• The findings contribute to ensuring the safety of food contact materials.