Identification of oligomers in polyethyleneterephthalate bottles for mineral water and fruit juice. Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of first series cyclic trimer.

Cyclic oligomers were identified in PET bottles used for mineral water and fruit juice using MS and (1)H and (13)C NMR: a first series cyclic trimer, a first series cyclic tetramer, a first series cyclic dimmer and a second series cyclic trimer. An analytical method to determine first series cyclic trimer in these bottles was developed and validated, using HPLC. The first series cyclic trimer levels were 316-462 mg/100g of PET bottle.