• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.225-231
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• 2018

Benzoic acid, methyl paraben, and butyl paraben are preservatives that have been used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food products. However, as their toxicities for human have been reported, many nations and organizations including Korea have established a regulation limit for thier usage of these preservatives in food products. The present study developed the isotope dilution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method for accurate determination of three target preseratives in soysauce. In this study, the isotope dilution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method was developed for accurate determination of three target preservatives in soy sauce. LC separation was optimized considering the pKa of benzoic acid which is lower than those of methyl and butyl parabens. A C18 column was used with 5 mM ammonium acetate and methanol as mobile phases. Mass spectrometry was operated in negative mode and selected reaction monitoring mode (SRM). Soy sauce sample was cleaned-up with C18 SPE cartridge for removing matrix inferences and color material. Optimized conditions and the method were validated with soy sauce reference materials for the analysis of food preservatives from Health Science Authority in Singapore. The measured values of benzoic acid, methyl and butyl paraben agreed well with reference values within their uncertainties.