Derivatization of aromatic amines with bromine for improved gas chromatographic determination

Summary For improved determination of aromatic amines by gas chromatography and detection with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD) a derivatization method based on the bromination of the aromatic ring in an acetic acid medium was developed. In general, all free ortho and para-positions relative to the amino group undergo electrophilic substitution. Separation of at least 30 compounds in a single chromatographic run in 30 min is possible. With this method, 56 aromatic amines were studied and only in 6 cases were no derivatives obtained. Quantitation limits determined from calibration data are 1.2–40 μg L⁻¹ for a 100 mL sample and an injection volume of 1 μL. Previous experiments suggest that both sample and injection volume may be increased to lower the quantitation limit.