Separation and thin-layer chromatographic determination of denatonium benzoate and other quaternary ammonium denaturants in spirituous preparations

Abstract

Denatonium benzoate is an effective partial denaturant at 2 mg 1^–1 concentration in alcoholic preparations such as toiletries. While its presence is easily detected by tasting the preparation, an analytical procedure for its identification and determination is desirable. Denatonium salts are separated by ion exchange on carboxymethylcellulose and are determined by using thin-layer chromatography, which also separates other quaternary ammonium compounds. Some other methods that have been applied to solve this problem are briefly described.