Simultaneous Determination of Ethyl Carbamate and Urea in Alcoholic Beverages by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Fluorescence Detection

On the basis of the similar fluorescence of ethyl carbamate (EC) and urea derivatives, a high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with fluorescence detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of EC and urea in alcoholic beverages. The chromatographic separation and derivatization conditions of EC and urea were optimized. Under the established conditions, the detection limit, relative standard deviation, linear range, and recovery were 4.8 mu g/L, 1.0-4.2%, 10-500 mu g/L, and 93.8-104.6%, respectively, for EC; the corresponding values were 0.003 mg/L, 1.2-4.8%, 0.01-100 mg/L, and 90.7-104.8%, respectively, for urea. The method showed satisfactory values for precision, recovery, and sensitivity for both analytes and is well-suited for routine analysis and kinetic studies of the formation of EC from urea alcoholysis in alcoholic beverages.