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Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatographic Analysis of Historic Dyes and Their Photofading Products

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Abstract

Since the early 20th century, the Monroe Chemical Company’s Putnam Fadeless Dyes were used by consumers to dye numerous types of textiles. In this work, we describe a novel micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) method employing sodium cholate and acetonitrile in the background electrolyte that can be used to analyze these dyes. Specifically, Putnam Fadeless Dyes were successfully extracted from linen samples colored with them and the components of each dye were separated and detected using MEKC. These results compared favorably to MEKC data from standard dye solutions. Dyed linen samples were also exposed to simulated sunlight and MEKC was used to analyze dyes extracted from them. The resulting data showed that photofading altered the amount of dye in the fabric but not its chemical composition.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Professor Joseph Lomax, United States Naval Academy, for his assistance with this work. They also appreciate the funding provided by the Office of Naval Research via the United States Naval Academy Research Office.

Funding

The Office of Naval Research via the United States Naval Academy Research Office provided funding for supplies used in this work.

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Copper conceived of the project, Dervishian, Goodwin, and King carried out experimental work. All four authors contributed to the initial writing of the manuscript. Copper finalized the manuscript and all authors approve of this submission.

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Correspondence to Christine Copper.

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Dervishian, A., Goodwin, J., King, C. et al. Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatographic Analysis of Historic Dyes and Their Photofading Products. Chromatographia 84, 979–983 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-021-04080-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-021-04080-5

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