Use of Cold On-Column Injection for the Analysis of Putrescine and Cadaverine by Gas Chromatography

Putrescine and cadaverine are biogenic diamines that are produced during fermentation or spoilage of different food products. Therefore, they are used as indicators to determine food quality. Unfortunately, their chemical analysis is not an easy task. The use of “cold on-column” gas chromatographic (GC) injection together with a new base-deactivated fused silica capillary column is evaluated for the direct GC analysis of putrescine and cadaverine. Multiple injections of standard mixtures containing putrescine, cadaverine, and heptylamine are made in order to determine reproducibility. Standard mixtures at concentrations from 20 to 400 ppm are also injected to determine the linearity of response with both the column and the flame ionization detector. Excellent resolution of the three amines is achieved as well as symmetrical peaks. Multiple injections produce reproducibilities of 1% for peak areas and 0.03% for retention times. A good linear response is obtained between concentrations of 20 to 400 ppm.