Solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry determination of fragrance allergens in baby bathwater

Experimental study for inorganic and organic profiling of toy makeup products: Estimating the potential threat to child health

Inorganic elements are added to toys as impurities to give desired stability, brightness, flexibility, and color; however, these elements may cause numerous health issues after acute or chronic exposure. In this study, the inorganic profile of 14 elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Se, Sb, Pb, and Zn) in 63 toy makeup products was identified by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after microwave acid digestion method. Additionally, organic allergen fragrance was investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The systemic exposure dosage (SED), margin of safety (MoS), lifetime cancer risk (LCR), hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard indices were used to assess the safety evaluation. Then, 57 out of 63 samples (90.48%) exceeded the limits at least for one toxic element with descending order Ni > Cr > Co > Pb > Sb > Cd > As > Hg. The SED values were compared with tolerable daily intake values and remarkably differences were found for Al and Pb. The MoS values for 57.15% of samples exceeded the limit value for Al, As, Cd, Co, Hg, Mn, Sb, and Zn elements. The LCR values were observed at 100% (n = 63), 79.37% (n = 50), 85.71% (n = 54), 77.78% (n = 49), and 18.87% (n = 10) for Cr, Ni, As, Pb, and Cd, respectively. Also, the skin sensitization risks were obtained for Cr and Ni at 26.980% (n = 17) and 9.52% (n = 6), respectively. The HQ values for 80% of samples were found to be ≥ 1 at least for one parameter. The investigation of fragrance allergens in samples did not show any significant ingredients. As a result, toy makeup products marketed in local stores were found to be predominantly unsafe. Children should be protected from harmful chemicals by regular monitoring and strict measures.

Analysis of Fragrance Allergens in Personal Care Products, Toys, and Water Samples: A Review

Fragrance allergens (FAs) refer to these volatile or semi-volatile fragrance compounds that can cause irritation and negative reactions. A large number of emerging FAs are widely used in household goods, and cause contact allergy or allergic contact dermatitis in eczema population and the general population. It shows an increasing prevalence and is regarded as a concern to public health. Recently, more and more studies have focused on the analytical methods of FAs in a variety of samples with different matrices. Therefore, a systematic and comprehensive overview of recent progress of analysis of FAs in various samples is needed. In this review, the physical and chemical properties, applications, hazards, and the recent advances of sample preparation and determination methods of common FAs in personal care products, toys, and water samples are systematically and comprehensively summarized. Meanwhile, this review also discusses the advantages and limitations of different sample pretreatment and detection methods, thus offering a deep-going discussion of the development and future trends in this area.

Estimating infants' and toddlers' inhalation exposure to fragrance ingredients in baby personal care products

Fragrance ingredients are commonly added to many personal care products to provide a pleasant scent, including those intended for babies. While fragrance chemicals have a long history of safe use, at sufficiently high concentrations some may act as respiratory irritants or sensitizers. Little data have been reported on the inhalation exposures to fragrance compounds to infants and toddlers during bathing and lotion applications. This study demonstrates an in vitro method for measuring breathing zone air concentrations of fragrances from bath products and lotions. It employed simulated infant bathing and lotion application events and a robot to mimic a toddler's movement within a bathroom setting. The air concentrations in an infant's breathing zone were between <1 and 5 μg/m³ for each of seven common fragrance ingredients, while that in the breathing zone of toddlers in the bathroom was ≤ 1μg/m³. The air concentrations from the bathing additive were linearly related to their Henry's law constants and from the lotion inversely related to their octanol-air coefficients. The proposed approach can help refine risk estimates from inhalation exposure to fragrances used in baby products and guide future risk assessments of new products' safety for their use in baby bath products.

Optimizing Mass Spectrometry Analyses: A Tailored Review on the Utility of Design of Experiments

Mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a tool that can analyze nearly all classes of molecules, with its scope rapidly expanding in the areas of post-translational modifications, MS instrumentation, and many others. Yet integration of novel analyte preparatory and purification methods with existing or novel mass spectrometers can introduce new challenges for MS sensitivity. The mechanisms that govern detection by MS are particularly complex and interdependent, including ionization efficiency, ion suppression, and transmission. Performance of both off-line and MS methods can be optimized separately or, when appropriate, simultaneously through statistical designs, broadly referred to as "design of experiments" (DOE). The following review provides a tutorial-like guide into the selection of DOE for MS experiments, the practices for modeling and optimization of response variables, and the available software tools that support DOE implementation in any laboratory. This review comes 3 years after the latest DOE review (Hibbert DB, 2012), which provided a comprehensive overview on the types of designs available and their statistical construction. Since that time, new classes of DOE, such as the definitive screening design, have emerged and new calls have been made for mass spectrometrists to adopt the practice. Rather than exhaustively cover all possible designs, we have highlighted the three most practical DOE classes available to mass spectrometrists. This review further differentiates itself by providing expert recommendations for experimental setup and defining DOE entirely in the context of three case-studies that highlight the utility of different designs to achieve different goals. A step-by-step tutorial is also provided.

Monitoring of sixteen fragrance allergens and two polycyclic musks in wastewater treatment plants by solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography

A methodology based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) determination was developed for the monitoring and evaluation of the removal efficiency of 16 common fragrance allergens and two polycyclic musks in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). An experimental design with a full factorial model was applied to evaluate the effects of the experimental parameters on the extraction (e.g., salt content, time and extraction temperature). After determining the optimum conditions (2.4 g NaCl, 45 min at 90 °C), an external calibration was performed and quality parameters of the proposed method were evaluated. Method detection limits in the range of 0.01-1.7 μg L(-1) were obtained. Satisfactory inter-day precision values between 4% and 23% (n=5) were obtained for most compounds. The method was applied to the monitoring of the target analytes in samples from two WWTPs. Seven target compounds were detected at the primary effluent of both plants at μg L(-1) levels. Limonene, linalool and eugenol were quantitatively eliminated during the secondary treatments of both WWTPs, while lilial, benzyl salicylate, galaxolide, and tonalide were still detected at the effluent waters.

New insights into the microemulsion-based chromatographic NMR resolution mechanism and its application to fragrance/flavor molecules

The NMR chromatography method is applied to a class of molecules with similar physical properties. We correlate the separation ability of microemulsions to the physical properties of the analyzed molecules. Flavor and aroma compounds are very widespread. Compositional analysis is in many cases tedious. Any new method of analysis is always useful and challenging. Here we show a new application to a class of fragrance molecules, with only a moderate variation in their chemical and physical characteristics. Up to 11 selected compounds in one mixture are resolved in one spectrum by NMR chromatography, despite the similarity of the compounds. The differences between O/W and W/O microemulsions and their resolution mechanism as applied to fragrance molecules are explained in terms of hydrophilicity and lipophilicity and effective critical packing parameters of the microemulsions. The observed diffusion rates are shown to correlate with solvation parameters. These results can be used to estimate the diffusion rates of molecules to be separated, allowing selection of the microemulsion or NMR chromatography solvent appropriate for each specific application.

Fast screening of terpenes in fragrance-free cosmetics by fluorescence quenching on a fluorescein-bovine serum albumin probe confined in a drop

A headspace single drop microextraction procedure is proposed for terpene screening in fragrance-free cosmetics. The drop is composed by an aqueous solution of a fluorescence probe formed by bovine serum albumin and fluorescein. Extracted volatile terpenes produce a fluorescence quenching that can be monitored by microvolume-fluorospectrometry. This quenching is observed on the fluorescein fluorescence only when it is linked to bovine serum albumin. A mechanism of contact quenching is proposed. Variables related to the terpene microextraction procedure were carefully studied, namely drop composition and volume, microextraction time, sample volume and temperature, stirring rate and salt addition. The only sample treatment is the dilution of cosmetic with 40% (v/v) ethanol. Citronellol was selected as a representative terpene for calibration purposes. According to the European legislation, the probability-concentration graph of the screening system was established using 0.001% (w/w) as the cut-off level. Low limits of detection with simple instrumentation, absence of matrix effects and high sample throughput can be emphasized.

Ultrasound-assisted emulsification-microextraction of fragrance allergens in water

A method based on ultrasound-assisted emulsification-microextraction (USAEME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been developed for the analysis of regulated fragrance allergens in water. Extraction conditions such as the type of solvent, extraction temperature, irradiation time, and salting-out effect were optimized using a multivariate approach. Compounds were extracted during 2 min in an acoustically emulsified media formed by 100 μL chloroform and 10 mL sample. The USAEME process provided an efficient and exhaustive extraction (enrichment factor ∼100) and, after centrifugation, the extract was ready for GC analysis. Validation was performed using spiked ultrapure water as well as other most complex matrices such as sewage water. Recoveries between 75% and 110% were generally obtained, and precision was characterized by RSD values <10% in most cases. The limits of detection (LODs) were at the sub-nanogram per millilitre level. The proposed procedure was applied to the determination of allergens in several real samples including tap water, baby bathwater, recreational place water, public washing place water, and sewage water. The presence of some of the target compounds was confirmed in all the samples excluding tap water, demonstrating the ubiquity of this group of cosmetic and personal care products ingredients.