High-pressure liquid chromatographic determination of sec-butylamine residues in potatoes

Fluorescamine, 4-phenylspirofuran-2(3H), 1′(3′H)-isobenzofuran]-3,3′-dione, derivatives of primary aliphatic amines were separated by high-pressure liquid chromatography using a reverse-phase system with fluorescence detection. This technique was applied to the determination of residues of the fungicide sec-butylamine in potato tubers; the limit of detection was 0.36 pmol, equivalent to a residue of 0.1 mg kg^?1 in potato samples. A second amine, phenethylamine, was identified in extracts from artificially rotted potato flesh but this did not interfere with the analysis of sec-butylamine residues.