Abstract: A GPC-HPLC-DAD method was established for the simultaneous determination of 14 kinds of phthalate esters (PAEs) in chili sauce. Samples were extracted with petroleum ether in an ultrasonic field, followed by clean-up by gel permeation chromatography and concentration by nitrogen gas blowing. The chromatographic separation was achieved on  Waters-C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5μm) using an acetonitrile-water mobile phase. A HPLC system coupled with a diode array detector (DAD) was used to analyze the analytes. The developed analytical method exhibited a linear correlation coefficient of more than 0.998 and detection limits ranging from 0.25 to 2.0 mg/kg. Spike recovery rates between 85.7% and 100.8% were obtained, with relative standard deviations (RSD) of 0.37%－4.57%. Therefore, this method is a sensitive, rapid high throughout method and has good suitability to be used to analysis 14 kinds of PAEs in chili sauce.

Key words: gel permeation chromatography (GPC), high preformance liquid chromatography (HPLC), chili sauce, phthalate esters