Rationale: Plasticisers are used in the PVC gaskets of metal closures on glass jars and bottles used for foods and beverages. They may migrate and so contaminate the packed foodstuff. The plasticisers are present in a high proportion and are often a complex mixture of substances leading to time-consuming analytical methodologies. This work describes a rapid screening method to identify the plasticisers used.
Methods: Analysis was carried out by direct sampling of the gaskets using atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe (ASAP) with time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) using a SYNAPT G2 HDMS system. The accurate mass information collected was then compared to a user-prepared database of plasticisers to aid identification.
Results: The rapid identification approach was shown to be successful for 24 gasket samples previously analysed by alternative more lengthy gas chromatographic (GC) methods. Quantification by dissolution followed by standard addition was also demonstrated to be reliable.
Conclusions: The ASAP-TOFMS method is a useful technique for rapidly screening gaskets for the presence of plasticisers. It can be used to identify specific gaskets deserving of further quantitative analysis by chromatographic methods, saving time and money by avoiding unnecessary analyses. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.