Liquid chromatographic determination of residual isocyanate monomers in plastics intended for food contact use.

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method was developed for the analysis of 10 isocyanates in polyurethane articles and laminates intended for food use. Residual isocyanates are extracted by dichloromethane with concurrent derivatization by 9-(methylaminomethyl)anthracene. The resultant derivatives are analyzed by reversed-phase LC with fluorescence detection. Separation of the isocyanates was studied and optimized. Quantitation uses 1-naphthyl isocyanate as internal standard and standard addition to the food package. Validation demonstrated the method to have good precision (+/- 2-5%) and recovery (83-95%) for samples spiked with isocyanates at 0.1 mg/kg. The limit of detection was 0.03 mg/kg. Analysis of 19 commercial polyurethane or laminate food packages demonstrated that the method was not prone to interferences. Residues of diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate were detected in 5 packages and ranged from 0.14 to 1.08 mg/kg.