Determination of Organic Acids in Food by HPLC Using Phase Transfer Catalyst

A new method for the determination of some organic acids by HPLC is described. The acids are directly converted to their phenacyl esters in aqueous solution using 18-crown-6 as phase transfer catalyst. The esters are then analyzed on a C₁₈ column with UV detector. The detection limits of the acids analyzed are 5-20 μg/L and the variation coefficients are 1.4～5.6%, the recoveries are 90.9～103.3%.