Determination of residual glycol ethers in leather and leather products by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

An effective method was established for the simultaneous determination of residual glycol ethers in leather and leather products by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Glycol ethers in leather and leather products were ultrasonically extracted at 45 ℃,using ethyl acetate as the extraction solvent. The extracts were purified by solid phase extraction( SPE) columns,and then analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode.The content of each analyte was calibrated by external standard method. The limit of detection of ethylene glycol ethyl ether( EGEE) was 0. 10 mg/kg under the condition of signal to noise( S/N) of 3 and the limits of the other 11 glycol ethers were all less than 0. 05 mg/kg. The spiked recoveries varied from 81. 2% to 95. 5% at three different spiked levels with the relative standard deviations( RSDs) ranged from 1. 4% to 6. 6%. The proposed method is simple,rapid and accurate,with the limits of detection much less than the requirements of the Regulation Concerning Registration,Evaluation,Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals( REACH) of European Union. It is applicable to the determination of residual glycol ethers in leather and leather products,and provides a reference for the relevant testing standards.