Determination of phthalate esters in vegetable oils using direct immersion solid-phase microextraction and fast gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry
Abstract(#br)Phthalates are a group of synthetic compounds mainly used as plasticizers, which have been classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals and potential human-cancer causing agents. They can be found in high amounts in foods, deriving mainly from plastic packaging. The analytical determination of these compounds is very challenging since they are ubiquitous. Therefore, minimization of sample manipulation is highly desirable.(#br)The present work exploited the application of a solid-phase microextraction method for the analysis of phthalates in vegetable oil.