title: Analysis of melamine resins by capillary zone electrophoresis with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometric detection.
abstract: A method for the determination of the major components of (methoxymethyl)melamine resins, with quantitative analysis of unreacted melamine by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is presented. Using a low background electrolyte (BGE) pH, components are separated according to their charge/ionic radius ratio with a distinctly different separation selectivity compared to the HPLC methods commonly employed in melamine-resin analysis. The use of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) was concluded to be necessary, as the complex samples studied required maximum sensitivity and resolution, which is clearly superior for TOF-MS detectors over their quadrupole counterparts. A standard curve of free melamine was determined with an R(2) = 0.999 over a concentration range of an order of magnitude. This method offers the unique separation selectivity of CZE as well as a quicker analysis time, especially for dimers compared to the HPLC methods used to date.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria. analytical@jku.at
authors.forename: Helmy A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Christian W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Klampfl
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Buchberger
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary / Q000379:methods*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014227:Triazines / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D014227:Triazines; C011907:melamine