Abstract:A simple and rapid method was developed for the determination of seven acrylates (methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and n-octyl methacrylate) in the paper materials used for food packaging by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) following dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE). The paper sample was extracted with acetone under ultrasonication, and the extract was purified by a simple d-SPE using mixed adsorbents (10 mg of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and 50 mg of Celite (kieselguhr). The purified extract was fractionated using AQ C18 column chromatography and the components were detected with an ultraviolet (UV) detector. The calibration curves of the seven acrylates were linear in the concentration range of 0.10~100 mg/L, with correlation coefficients above 0.999. The limits of detection (LODs) were in the range of 0.027–0.066 mg/kg; the mean recoveries of acrylates in spiked samples ranged from 83.9 to 109 %; the intra-day precisions (n = 6) and inter-day precisions (n = 5) were in the ranges of 1.4 to 5.5%, and 4.7 to 9.3%, respectively. The method developed in this study is sensitive and rapid and can be used for the purification and accurate quantitation of the acrylates It has application in the detection and analysis of the seven acrylates in paper materials used for food packaging.
