Determination of Phthalate Esters in Textiles by Solid Phase Extraction and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A sensitive and rapid method was developed for the determination of seven phthalate esters in baby waterproof fabrics, decorated waterproof tarpaulins, and printed textiles by solid phase extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The method showed good linearity with correlation coefficients between 0.9958 and 0.9999 and limits of quantification and detection from 23 to 274 micrograms per liter and 7 to 82 micrograms per liter, respectively. The maximum recoveries were between 96.2 and 100.9 percent with relative standard deviations from 1.06 to 6.87 percent. The protocol was applied to the determination of phthalate esters in textiles: the samples contained more than 0.1 percent phthalate esters, which exceed relevant standards.

Keywords::

• Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
• Phthalate esters
• Solid phase extraction
• Soxhlet extraction
• Textiles

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University.