Effect of amines in the release of bisphenol A from polycarbonate baby bottles

Abstract

The key block for the production of polycarbonate (PC) is bisphenol A (BPA). Recent studies have proven that this monomer is able to migrate from PC baby bottles into food simulants and, although this is a polemical subject, numerous investigations indicate that BPA may have an effect on the human health. For these reasons, BPA safety regarding human exposure has recently become an alarming issue. Amines are a class of chemicals which are present in foodstuffs, such as milk. For this reason PC baby bottles, while being used, are continuously in contact with several amines, some of which are able to cause PC aminolysis, resulting in the release of BPA. In this work, 16 substances (14 with amine groups and 2 with amide groups) were tested in order to verify if they were able to increase BPA release by increasing PC depolymerization. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (FLD) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were used to quantify and identify the BPA, respectively. Although most of the substances tested did not increase the release of BPA from PC, some of them had a significant effect and high levels of this monomer were measured in the solutions. Of all of the amines tested that originating the worst case of BPA release was 1,4-diaminobutane. Also known as putrescine, 1,4-diaminobutane is a biogenic amine that results from protein degradation and it may be present in milk. In this case, BPA concentration in the solution was more than 5000 times the level found in the control sample.