Determination of volatile organic contaminants in bulk oils (edible, injectable, and other internal medicinal) by purge-and-trap gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Abstract

Purge-and-trap gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is evaluated for the quantitation of part-per-billion levels of volatile organic contaminants in bulk vegetable oils. Results using 2 purge techniques (direct purging of the heated oil and purging after dispersing the oil on an aluminum oxide powder) and 2 quantitative methods (standard curve and deuterium-labeled internal standard addition) are reported. Twenty volatile compounds and 8 vegetable oils were investigated. Recovery data and estimated detection limits for each compound are reported for each purge technique. Generally acceptable recoveries (70-130% for more than 90% of the analyte spikes) and acceptable detection levels (approximately 4-10 ppb) were obtained for all compounds using either the external standard curve or the deuterium-isotope-labeled internal standard. The use of a dispersant (such as alumina) for sample purging resulted in poor recoveries of the highly volatile contaminants.