Target analysis of primary aromatic amines combined with a comprehensive screening of migrating substances in kitchen utensils by liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract

An analytical strategy including both the quantitative target analysis of 8 regulated primary aromatic amines (PAAs), as well as a comprehensive post-run target screening of 77 migrating substances, was developed for nylon utensils, using liquid chromatography–orbitrap-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) operating in full scan mode. The accurate mass data were acquired with a resolving power of 50,000 FWHM (scan speed, 2Hz), and by alternating two acquisition events, ESI+ with and without fragmentation. The target method was validated after statistical optimization of the main ionization and fragmentation parameters. The quantitative method presented appropriate performance to be used in official monitoring with recoveries ranging from 78% to 112%, precision in terms of Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) was less than 15%, and the limits of quantification were between 2 and 2.5µgkg−1. For post-target screening, a customized theoretical database was built for food contact material migrants, including bisphenols, phthalates, and other amines. For identification purposes, accurate exact mass (<5ppm) and some diagnostic ions including fragments were used. The strategy was applied to 10 real samples collected from different retailers in the Valencian Region (Spain) during 2014. Six out of eight target PAAs were detected in at least one sample in the target analysis. The most frequently detected compounds were 4,4′-methylenedianiline and aniline, with concentrations ranging from 2.4 to 19,715µgkg−1 and 2.5 to 283µgkg−1, respectively. Two phthalates were identified and confirmed in the post-run target screening analysis.