Abstract: A solid phase extraction (SPE) combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed for the determination of the migration of 25 primary aromatic amines (PAAs) from food contact plastic materials and articles. The samples were extracted by deionized water and 30 g/L acetic acid, and the pH value of the solution was adjusted to 8-10 with ammonia. The extracts were cleaned up and concentrated on an SPE column, then eluted by equal volume of methyl-tert-butyl ether and ethanol. The analysis of the target compounds was performed by GC-MS. The results indicated that the limits of detection were in the range of 0.4-2.0 μg/kg for different PAAs. The recoveries and relative standard deviations (n=7) of 10 μg/kg PAAs ranged from 51.6%-118.4% and 0.5%-9.8%, respectively, except the 2,4-diaminoanisole in the acid simulant. The effects of different experimental conditions such as the pH value and volume ratio of methyl-tert-butyl ether and ethanol were studied. The results showed that the method is accurate and stable, and could meet the requirement of the European Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 for the determination of primary aromatic amines. It can be applied in the analysis of the primary aromatic amines in real food contact plastic material and article samples.

Key words: food contact materials, primary aromatic amines, solid phase extraction (SPE), specific migration limits, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)