CHARACTERIZATION OF LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT POLYETHYLENEIMINES USING GC CI-MS AND GC/

Pure and modified polyethyleneimines with molecular weights of up to a bout 400 were characterized using gas chromatography (GC)/chemical ion ization mass spectrometry (CI-MS) and GC with a flame ionization detec tor (FID). Relatively stable molecular ions produced by CI-MS provided information for identifying each polyethyleneimine homolog. FID-GC pr ovided more accurate quantitative information on the distribution of t he homologs identified by GC/CI-MS. The levels of various ethyleneamin es, potential genotoxicants, could be simultaneously obtained by this approach, providing information used to evaluate the human safety of p olyethyleneimines from various sources and synthetic routes.