Novel approach for the rapid screening of banned aromatic amines in dyed textiles using a chromogenic method

A novel and simple method utilizing a chromogenic reaction on filter paper is introduced for the rapid screening of banned aromatic amines released from azo dyes. The proposed method involves the sample preparation protocols outlined by the current standard method and the chromogenic reaction of extracted aromatic amines on filter paper. Based on the principle of the reaction between primary amines and aldehydes, p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB) was used as the chromogenic reagent for the rapid screening of 24 carcinogenic aromatic amines and aniline without any chromatographic instruments under optimized experimental conditions. The detection limit for all the aromatic amines in this study was less than 15 mg/kg. A total of 727 dyed textile samples were analyzed using both the present standard method and the proposed method simultaneously. Using the proposed method, a total of 471 samples did not require further instrumental analysis, which can dramatically save instrumental detection time (61.2%), can decrease instrumental detection costs, and can avoid the use of large amounts of toxic reagents. The proposed method has been applied to detect banned aromatic amines in some inspection institutions and dye factories and has large social and economic benefits. Graphical abstract Chromogenic reaction methods.