Rapid screening and identification of multi-class substances of very high concern in textiles using liquid chromatography-hybrid linear ion trap orbitrap mass spectrometry

Suspect and non-target screening of chemicals in clothing textiles by reversed-phase liquid chromatography/hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry

The global manufacturing of clothing is usually composed of multistep processes, which include a large number of chemicals. However, there is generally no information regarding the chemical content remaining in the finished clothes. Clothes in close and prolonged skin contact may thus be a significant source of daily human exposure to hazardous compounds depending on their ability to migrate from the textiles and be absorbed by the skin. In the present study, twenty-four imported garments on the Swedish market were investigated with respect to their content of organic compounds, using a screening workflow. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization/high-resolution mass spectrometry was used for both suspect and non-target screening. The most frequently detected compound was benzothiazole followed by quinoline. Nitroanilines with suspected mutagenic and possible skin sensitization properties, and quinoline, a carcinogenic compound, were among the compounds occurring at the highest concentrations. In some garments, the level of quinoline was estimated to be close to or higher than 50,000 ng/g, the limit set by the REACH regulation. Other detected compounds were acridine, benzotriazoles, benzothiazoles, phthalates, nitrophenols, and organophosphates. Several of the identified compounds have logP and molecular weight values enabling skin uptake. This pilot study indicates which chemicals and compound classes should be prioritized for future quantitative surveys and control of the chemical content in clothing as well as research on skin transfer, skin absorption, and systemic exposure. The results also show that the current control and prevention from chemicals in imported garments on the Swedish market is insufficient.

Liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry based method for target analysis and suspect screening of non-ionic surfactants in textiles

In this study, we describe a high-throughput and sensitive method for textiles analysis, using liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS), for the simultaneously quantitative analysis of 40 target alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEO) oligomers with reference standards and screening of 160 alcohol polyethoxylates (AEO) oligomers without standards in textiles. The APEOs contain nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) and octylphenol ethoxylates (OPEOs) with an EO number of ethylene oxide of 1-20, while AEOs focus on C₁₁EOs-C₁₈EOs with an EO number of 1-20. After ultrasonic extraction in methanol, the extract was directly separated using a core-shell CORTECS C₁₈⁺ column and analyzed by Full MS/dd-MS² (data dependent acquisition) scan in ESI positive mode. Two best sensitivity experimental conditions for APEOs with short EO chains (AP(EO)_1-2) and long EO chains (AP(EO)_3-20) were investigated, respectively. Most APEO oligomers had wide concentration ranges and the correlation coefficients (R²) were higher than 0.999. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) values for NP(EO)_3-20 oligomers ranges from 16.00 to 52.80μg/kg and for OP(EO)_3-20 oligomers is from 2.40 to 8.00μg/kg. LOQ for NP(EO)₁ and NP(EO)₂, OP(EO)₁ and OP(EO)₂ was 2.40mg/kg and 0.24mg/kg, 1.20mg/kg and 0.16mg/kg, respectively. The average recovery for each APEO oligomer in cotton and polyester matrix was between 78% and 110% at three spiked levels and the relative standard deviation (RSD%) was below 10%. As to AEOs suspects, a HRMS compound database containing 160 AEO oligomers was built and several parameters such as exact m/z, isotopic patterns, predicted product ions and predicted retention time were used for screening and confirmation. The established method was successfully applied for analysis of 40 commercial textile samples. Compared with OPEOs, NPEOs, especially NP(EO)_3-15 oligomers, were widely detected in samples and the total concentration ranged from 1.56 to 1376.31mg/kg. AEOs were also found in most samples, among which C_12-14, C₁₆ and C₁₈ compounds appeared more frequently and the EO chains mainly ranged from 3 to 15.

Porous silver coating fiber for rapidly screening organotin compounds by solid phase microextraction coupled with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Rapidly screening organotin by solid phase microextraction coupled with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry: The Transformation of Modern Environmental Analyses

Unknown compounds in environmental samples are difficult to identify using standard mass spectrometric methods. Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) has revolutionized how environmental analyses are performed. With its unsurpassed mass accuracy, high resolution and sensitivity, researchers now have a tool for difficult and complex environmental analyses. Two features of FTMS are responsible for changing the face of how complex analyses are accomplished. First is the ability to quickly and with high mass accuracy determine the presence of unknown chemical residues in samples. For years, the field has been limited by mass spectrometric methods that were based on knowing what compounds of interest were. Secondly, by utilizing the high resolution capabilities coupled with the low detection limits of FTMS, analysts also could dilute the sample sufficiently to minimize the ionization changes from varied matrices.