Multiple headspace single-drop micro-extraction for quantitative determination of lactide in thermally-oxidized polylactide

Emissions of selected monoaromatic hydrocarbons as a factor affecting the removal of single-use polymer barbecue and kitchen utensils from everyday use

The main focus of this study is the emission of monoaromatic hydrocarbons because these are the preliminary factors of potential solvent and monomer residues present in single-use plastic barbecue and kitchen utensils comprising polystyrene, polypropylene, natural cellulose, and biodegradable polymers intended for use with hot meal or beverages. Herein, the emissions of monoaromatic hydrocarbons (styrene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene compounds and the total volatile organic compounds (TVOC)) from nine types of disposable plastic utensils are reported. Seventy two samples of single-use plastic utensils were conditioned at 40 and 80 °C using a stationary emission microchamber system. The average TVOC released from the studied polystyrene, polypropylene, and natural or biodegradable utensils were (2.3 ± 1.3), (1.01 ± 0.15), and (0.48 ± 0.37) μg g^-1, respectively, at 40 °C and (11.1 ± 1.2), (46.1 ± 9.5), and (5.5 ± 1.1) μg g^-1, respectively, at 80 °C. Significant emissions of styrene (ranged from 3.5 up to 15.3 × 10³ ng∙g^-1), toluene (from 2.8 up to 0.53 × 10³ ng∙g^-1), and ethylbenzene (from 3.7 up to 5.7 × 10³ ng∙g^-1) from the studied samples were observed, especially at 80 °C. Thus, elevated temperatures increase the potential emission of solvent and monomer residues from plastics and could affect the quality of consumed meals or beverages, such as taste. Additionally, to determine the possible interactions between the measured chemical compounds in the plastic utensils, the Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated.

Assessment of ecotoxicity and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions from food and children's toy products

The development of new methods for identifying a broad spectrum of analytes, as well as highly selective tools to provide the most accurate information regarding the processes and relationships in the world, has been an area of interest for researchers for many years. The information obtained with these tools provides valuable data to complement existing knowledge but, above all, to identify and determine previously unknown hazards. Recently, attention has been paid to the migration of xenobiotics from the surfaces of various everyday objects and the resulting impacts on human health. Since children are among those most vulnerable to health consequences, one of the main subjects of interest is the migration of low-molecular-weight compounds from toys and products intended for children. This migration has become a stimulus for research aimed at determining the degree of release of compounds from popular commercially available chocolate/toy sets. One of main objectives of this research was to determine the impact of time on the ecotoxicity (with Vibrio fischeri bioluminescent bacteria) of extracts of products intended for children and to assess the correlation with total volatile organic compound emissions using basic chemometric methods. The studies on endocrine potential (with XenoScreen YES/YAS) of the extracts and showed that compounds released from the studied objects (including packaging foils, plastic capsules storing toys, most of toys studied and all chocolate samples) exhibit mostly androgenic antagonistic behavior while using artificial saliva as extraction medium increased the impact observed. The impact of time in most cases was positive one and increased with prolonging extraction time. The small-scale stationary environmental test chambers - μ-CTE™ 250 system was employed to perform the studies aimed at determining the profile of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) emissions. Due to this it was possible to state that objects from which the greatest amounts of contaminants are released are plastic containers (with emission rate falling down from 3273 to 2280 ng/g of material at 6 h of conditioning in elevated temperature).