Among phthalates used as plasticizers, there are several that are currently regulated. An updated directive for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) published in 2015 (2015/863/EU) includes four phthalates as hazardous substances. Using a GC oven with direct heating technology, technicians were able to extract and analyze phthalates from two plastic samples in under six minutes time, a method that is particularly useful for prioritizing samples for in-depth analysis.

Download this application note to learn how the Agilent Intuvo 9000/5977B GC/MSD system provides a fast screening workflow for the qualitative detection of phthalates in plastics.