Determination of 36 non-phthalate plasticizers with the QuEChERS method in milk powder by gas chromatography coupled with quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method involving gas chromatography coupled with quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS) with the QuEChERS method was developed to analyze 36 non-phthalate plasticizers in milk powder products. The samples were dissolved in 20% NaCl, extracted with acetonitrile, and purified using silica, PSA, and C₁₈. The results showed the excellent linear relationship of the calibration curves of 36 non-phthalate plasticizers in the range of 10–1000 ng mL⁻¹, with correlation coefficients (r) not less than 0.995. The limit of detection (LODs) of 36 non-phthalate plasticizers ranged from 0.02 to 0.04 mg kg⁻¹, and the limit of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.04 to 0.08 mg kg⁻¹. The recovery rates were between 64.1% and 116.5%, with the relative standard deviation less than 10%. The proposed method was applied to the detection and analysis of 36 non-phthalate plasticizers in 50 milk powder samples. The findings indicate that this highly sensitive, accurate, and high-throughput method is suitable for the rapid screening and identification of 36 non-phthalate plasticizers in milk powder products.