Scientists at the University of Crete have used HPLC in combination with a Thermo Scientific XSeriesII to produce a method allowing the separation and measurement of antimony species in fruit juices. The method allowed the separation and determination of inorganic antimony III and V species. The research showed that juices stored in PET bottles showed an elevated level of total antimony when compared to juices stored in cartons. Some correlation was observed between the period of storage in the bottle and the antimony concentration. The presence of the elevated antimony level is thought to be due to the leaching of the antimony from the polymer, since antimony trioxide is commonly used in the production of such polymers. The speciation analysis showed that antimony was present mainly in the inorganic Sb III state and as an Sb V -citrate complex. Further studies were performed by diverting 25% of the flow to electrospray ionisation and a Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum triple quad mass spectrometer. This was used for structural elucidation of the citrate species.

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