Abstract: An HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 16 phthalate esters (PAEs) in drinks. Methanol was used to extract PAEs in drinks. The separation was performed on an Aglilent Eclipse plus C18 (2.1 mm ×150 mm, 3.5 μm) column with a gradient mobile phase mixture composed of water containing 0.1% fomic acid and methanol containing 0.1% fomic acid. A tandem mass detector was used for the detection and quantification of PAEs in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The results showed that the limit of detection of the developed method was in a range of 0.005－0.051 mg/kg. The average recovery rates of 16 PAEs across three spike levels were 89.1%－105.1% with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.8%－4.1%. This method could meet the requirements for the determination of PAEs in drinks.

Key words: PAEs, HPLC-ESI-MS/MS, drinks