Chromatographic Methods for the Determination of Polyfunctional Amines and Related Compounds Used as Monomers and Additives in Food Packaging Materials: A State-of-the-Art Review

Identification of nonvolatile organic compounds (NVOCs) in biopharmaceuticals through non-target analysis and quantification using complexation-precipitation extraction

Single-use systems in biopharmaceutical manufacturing can potentially release chemical constituents (leachables) into drug products. Prior to conducting toxicological risk assessments, it is crucial to establish the qualitative and quantitative methods for these leachables. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive screening and structure elucidation of 23 leachables (nonvolatile organic compounds, NVOCs) in two antibody drugs using multiple (self-built and public) databases and mass spectral simulation. We identified 7 compounds that have not been previously reported in medical or medicinal extractables and leachables. The confidence levels for identified compounds were classified based on analytical standards, literature references, and fragment assignments. Most of the identified leachables were found to be plasticizers, antioxidants, slip agents or polymer degradants. Polysorbate (namely Tween) is commonly used as an excipient for protein stabilization in biopharmaceutical formulations, but its ionization in liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry can interfere with compound quantification. To address this, we employed a complexation-precipitation extraction method to reduce polysorbate content and quantify the analytes. The developed quantitative method for target NVOCs demonstrated high sensitivity (limit of quantification: 20 or 50 μg/L), accuracy (recoveries: 77.2 to 109.5 %) and precision (RSD ≤ 8.2 %). Overall, this established method will facilitate the evaluation of NVOC safety in drug products.

Identification of Potential Migrants in Polyethylene Terephthalate Samples of Ecuadorian Market

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the plastic packaging material most widely used to produce bottles intended for contact with food and beverages. However, PET is not inert, and therefore, some chemical compounds present in PET could migrate to food or beverages in contact, leading to safety issues. To evaluate the safety of PET samples, the identification of potential migrants is required. In this work, eight PET samples obtained from the Ecuadorian market at different phases of processing were studied using a well-known methodology based on a solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis and overall migration test. Several chemical compounds were identified and categorized as lubricants (carboxylic acids with chain length of C12 to C18), plasticizers (triethyl phosphate, diethyl phthalate), thermal degradation products (p-xylene, benzaldehyde, benzoic acid), antioxidant degradation products (from Irgafos 168 and Irganox), and recycling indicator compounds (limonene, benzophenone, alkanes, and aldehydes). Additionally, overall migration experiments were performed in PET bottles, resulting in values lower than the overall migration limit (10 mg/dm²); however, the presence of some compounds identified in the samples could be related to contamination during manufacturing or to the use of recycled PET-contaminated flakes. In this context, the results obtained in this study could be of great significance to the safety evaluation of PET samples in Ecuador and would allow analyzing the PET recycling processes and avoiding contamination by PET flakes from nonfood containers.

Assessment of the Impact of Accelerated Migration Testing for Coated Food Cans Using Food Simulants

In this study, an accelerated migration test on food can coatings into food simulants was investigated. Food simulants covering a wide range of polarity were used to conduct migration tests at 60 °C with storage times ranging from 4 h to 30 days. Epoxy-resins, acrylic-phenolic, polyester, and vinyl coatings were exposed to water, 3% acetic acid, 50% ethanol, and Miglyol 812®. Using liquid chromatography coupled to a variety of detectors (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS, UFLC-MS/MS, and HPLC-DAD), migration of several monomers and previously identified oligomers, as well as some unidentified migrants, were determined during the experiment. The data from this study was compared to our findings from previous long-term migration studies with storage times ranging from 24 h to 540 days at 40 °C using the same can coating applications. The results illustrate that performing migration experiments for short time periods at 60 °C may mimic migration results that would be obtained at 40 °C after long-term migration tests (up to 1.5 years) from food can coatings into food simulants.

Determination of the mass transport properties of chemical additives in polypropylene material/simulated food system

The mass transport process (migration) of five additives from three different types of polypropylene (PP) films into selected food simulants was studied. The migration tests were carried out at different time-temperature conditions, and the concentration of additives in polymer matrix and food simulants were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). With all data, the mass transport properties for migration kinetics (partition and diffusion coefficients) were determined. Results showed that the partition coefficient was affected significantly by the temperature and simulants' properties, whereas little affected by the types of PP film and molecular weight of substance. The polarity, structure and shape of substances can also have an influence in their partition between the polymer matrix and food simulants. Additionally, comparison results between the experimental diffusion coefficients and the calculated values by Piringer model suggested that the current migration model with the default modelling parameters for PP does not describe realistically the diffusion coefficients of additives. The calculated diffusion coefficients were greater than the experimental values, as a consequence, the migration of chemical additives will be overestimated. For more realistic migration calculations, more accurate modelling parameters in Piringer model should be established and the effect of food on migration should be high interest in future work.

The control and optimization of the curing process of epoxy coatings: a case of poly(glycidoxy siloxane) resins

Coatings from poly(glycidoxy siloxane) resins were developed and their mechanical properties examined. Three different resins with varying numbers of methyl siloxane and glycidyl siloxane units were tested. Crystallinity was found to be a very important indicator of the mechanical properties of coatings, as the parameters such as cupping and hardness were linearly dependent on the degree of crystallinity of coatings. The method involving the spectrophotometric determination of unbounded amine curing agent was successfully applied as a way of optimizing the curing process both for expected mechanical properties and for ecological aspect. It was found that the resin with 50 methyl siloxane and 25 glycidyl siloxane units was the most appropriate for technological use because of the preferred mechanical properties and stability of technological parameters. Interestingly, this type of resin was characterized by the lowest degree of crystallinity. The curing conditions leading to the optimal product corresponded to 30 min of curing at 120°C or 20 min at 140°C. Under such conditions, the amount of released unbounded amine was the lowest. It was also found that poly(glycidoxy) siloxane resins may be ecologically valuable since the release of amine from this type of resins is smaller than that from a typical epoxy resin.

Study of the partition coefficients Kp/f of seven model migrants from LDPE polymer in contact with food simulants

This study evaluated the influence of parameters such as temperature and type of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film on the log Kp/f values of seven model migrants in food simulants. Two different types of LDPE films contaminated by extrusion and immersion were placed in contact with three food simulants including 20% ethanol, 50% ethanol and olive oil under several time-temperature conditions. Results suggest that most log Kp/f values are little affected by these parameters in this study. In addition, the relation between log Kp/f and log Po/w was established for each food simulant and regression lines, as well as correlation coefficients, were calculated. Correlations were compared with data from real foodstuffs. Data presented in this study could be valuable in assigning certain foods to particular food simulants as well as predicting the mass transfer of potential migrants into different types of food or food simulants, avoiding tedious and expensive laboratory analysis. The results could be especially useful for regulatory agencies as well as for the food industry.

Instability of an aromatic amine in fatty food and fatty food simulant: characterisation of reaction products and prediction of their toxicity

It is a well-known fact that amines are not stable in food of a fatty nature. In this study the synthesis and characterisation of the products obtained as a result of the reaction of amines in a fatty medium are reported. Based on the well-known reactions among amines and acid and esters groups, two novel compounds were synthesised using m-xylylenediamine (mXDA), a primary diamine widely used as monomer in the manufacture of food contact materials and two fatty acids, oleic acid and palmitic acid, which occur in most fats. The resulting compounds were two molecules belonging to the family of fatty acid amides, dioleamide and dipalmitamide. A complete characterisation of both products was carried out employing several techniques such as infrared spectroscopy, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectroscopy, electron ionisation mass spectrometry, LC-MS/MS and UV spectrometry. The results obtained by the different techniques were well correlated. In the second part of the work, the formation of these compounds in real samples was evaluated. For this purpose a certain volume of olive oil was spiked with a known amount of mXDA. Olive oil was selected as a fatty medium since it is a widely consumed food and additionally is used as a fatty food simulant in migration studies of food contact materials. A method was developed to extract the fatty acid amides from the fatty matrix, which were then identified by LC-MS/MS. The toxicity of the synthesised compounds was predicted using a toxicity estimation software tool.

Application of alizarin colorimetric measurements for quantification of amine extraction by model food simulants from epoxy polymer

A simple and straightforward method has been proposed for quantification of residual amine in cured epoxy resin. Non-bounded triethylenetetramine was extracted from epoxy polymer and determined via spectrophotometry using alizarin chromophore. Four solvents commonly used as food simulants, namely water, 95% ethanol, 10% ethanol and 3% acetic acid were examined. Released amine induces changes in the absorption spectrum of alizarin, by decreasing the intensity of the maximum at 430 nm band and mutually increasing the 527 nm band. These changes were proportional to the amounts of amine concentration in samples. The statistical significance of obtained calibration curves was validated. Among studied solvents, the highest amine release was observed for water solution and 3% acetic acid, that is approximately 7% w/w. The maximal amount of residual amine extracted with 95% ethanol was about 1.25%, while for 10% ethanol this amount was 2%. The effect of aging of the samples and exposure to artificial sunlight were also examined. The proposed method has been proven to be fast, low cost and directly applicable for analysis of typical epoxy resins.