Effect of amines in the release of bisphenol A from polycarbonate baby bottles

In this work, 16 substances (14 with amine groups and 2 with amide groups) were tested in order to verify if they were able to increase BPA release by increasing PC depolymerization. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (FLD) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to quantify and identify the BPA, respectively. Although most of the substances tested did not increase the release of BPA from PC, some of them had a significant effect and high levels of this monomer were measured in the solutions. Of all of the amines tested that originating the worst case of BPA release was 1,4-diaminobutane. Also known as putrescine, 1,4-diaminobutane is a biogenic amine that results from protein degradation and it may be present in milk. In this case, BPA concentration in the solution was more than 5000 times the level found in the control sample.