DETECTION OF HETEROCYCLIC AROMATIC-AMINES IN FOOD FLAVORS

The successful determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines in trace amounts (ng/g) in processed flavours depends largely on the detection sensitivity and selectivity. As part of a systematic study of possibilities for the determination of these mutagenic amines, different detection modes in high-performance liquid chromatography were evaluated. Depending on the quality of the clean-up the identification of a peak by UV spectrophotometry (diode-array detection) might be necessary for a higher level of confidence. UV detection with gradient elution is the only method for the separation and determination of all the amines formed. However, electro-chemical detection gives the best signal-to-noise ratio for isocratically eluted mutagenic amines.