Direct determination of trace phthalate esters in alcoholic spirits by spray-inlet microwave plasma torch ionization tandem mass spectrometry

J Mass Spectrom. 2018 Mar;53(3):189-194. doi: 10.1002/jms.4055.

Abstract

A direct analytical method based on spray-inlet microwave plasma torch tandem mass spectrometry was applied to simultaneously determine 4 phthalate esters (PAEs), namely, benzyl butyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dipentyl phthalate, and dodecyl phthalate with extremely high sensitivity in spirits without sample treatment. Among the 4 brands of spirit products, 3 kinds of PAE compounds were directly determined at very low concentrations from 1.30 to 114 ng·g-1 . Compared with other online and off-line methods, the spray-inlet microwave plasma torch tandem mass spectrometry technique is extremely simple, rapid, sensitive, and high efficient, providing an ideal screening tool for PAEs in spirits.

Keywords: ambient mass spectrometry; microwave plasma torch ionization; spirits; spray-inlet; trace phthalate esters.

MeSH terms

  • Alcoholic Beverages / analysis*
  • Esters / chemistry
  • Limit of Detection
  • Microwaves
  • Phthalic Acids / analysis*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / instrumentation
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods

Substances

  • Esters
  • Phthalic Acids
  • phthalic acid