The Safety Assessment of Cosmetic Perfumes by Using In Chemico and In Vitro Methods in Combination with GC-MS/MS Analysis

Animal testing has been prohibited for the safety assessment of cosmetic ingredients or finished products. Thus, alternative non-animal methods, followed by confirmatory clinical studies on human volunteers, should be used as the sole legally acceptable approach within the EU. The safety assessment of cosmetic products requires the involvement of multiple scientific disciplines, including analytical chemistry and biomedicine, as well as in chemico, in vitro and in silico toxicology. Recent data suggest that fragrance components may exert multiple adverse biological effects, e.g. cytotoxicity, skin sensitisation, (photo)genotoxicity, mutagenicity, reprotoxicity and endocrine disruption. Therefore, a pilot study was conducted with selected samples of fragrance-based products, such as deodorant, eau de toilette and eau de parfum, with the aim of integrating results from a number of alternative non-animal methods suitable for the detection of the following toxicological endpoints: cytotoxicity (with 3T3 Balb/c fibroblasts); skin sensitisation potential (in chemico method, DPRA); skin sensitisation potential (LuSens in vitro method, based on human keratinocytes); genotoxicity potential (in vitro Comet assay with 3T3 Balb/c cells); and endocrine disruption (in vitro YES/YAS assay). The presence of twenty-four specific known allergens in the products was determined by using GC-MS/MS. The strategies for estimation of the NOAEL of a mixture of allergens, which were proposed by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products in their 'Opinion on Tea tree oil' document and by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in their 'Risk Profile of Tea tree oil' report, were used as models for the NOAEL estimation of the mixtures of allergens that were identified in the individual samples tested in this study.

Easy and Inexpensive Method for Multiclass Analysis of 41 Food Contact Related Contaminants in Fatty Food by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Food contact materials (FCMs) may release their chemical components into food and thus raise safety concerns. This paper attempted to study the presence of four major groups of FCM-related endocrine disruptors in fatty food: dialkyl phthalates, bisphenols, printing ink photoinitiators, and polyfluoroalkyl substances. All 41 target compounds were analyzed simultaneously by means of liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The sample preparation was significantly streamlined to reduce analysis costs by employing acetonitrile extraction, extract modification by water, and refrigeration at 5 °C. The new method was validated and applied to 60 real samples, including edible oils, butter, and chocolate, where 16 target compounds were measured at levels ≤13000 ng/g. The study also described the blank level increase and sensitivity loss caused by impurities present in the HPLC methanol solvent.

Laboratory evaluation of repellency of traditional Czech homemade repellents against Aedes aegypti

OBJECTIVES

In the Czech Republic, autochtonous transmission of mosquito borne diseases is not common; however, the need for personal protection should not be underestimated. Many people still rely on homemade repellents utilizing recipes based on local folk wisdom that are published annually in local Czech media. Despite minimal disease risk, nuisance biting and potential allergic responses make it essential to evaluate the chemical composition, effect, and duration of four homemade repellents often used and determine the necessity for public health education on application and use of alternative repellent products.

METHODS

A review of local web-based media was conducted to identify the most commonly advertised homemade repellent products. The top four products were rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), sagebrush (Artemisia absinthium), walnut-tree (Juglans regia) leaves and clove (Syzygium aromaticum). These repellents were then prepared following the published recipes to evaluate their repellency effects, and reveal potential allergen presence. A bioassay against Aedes aegypti was conducted on ten volunteers for each repellent and the chemical composition was detected using gas chromatography.

RESULTS

Significant initial repellency effect was found in mixtures of the clove (73.1%) and walnut leaves (49.0%) with ALPATM herbal embrocation after 10 minutes. The efficacy decreased to 46.5% and 34.3 % after 30 minutes, respectively; and, 30.3 and 18.2%, 60 minutes after the application. The remaining two samples, Rosmarinus officinalis and Artemisia absinthium solutions, exhibited no significant effects against Ae. aegypti. The evidence of allergens including cinnamic aldehyde, eugenol and coumarin were detected indicating potential concerns for product safety.

CONCLUSION

The homemade repellents reviewed were either ineffective or had unstable repellency effect within one hour. The low efficacy of these products may be appropriate to decrease nuisance biting, but should not be considered for primary prevention against mosquito borne diseases in areas with active disease transmission. Additionally, more research is needed to assess rates of allergic responses to homemade repellent products.

Determination of C(5)-C(12) perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids in river water samples in the Czech Republic by GC-MS after SPE preconcentration

A method employing solid phase extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with negative chemical ionization has been developed for determination of ultratrace concentrations of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids in river water. The effects of the experimental parameters, such as the pH, additions of NaCl and an ion-pairing agent (tetraethylammonium bromide) and the kind of the elution agent, on the efficiency of the test acid extraction have been studied. The analyte extraction recoveries and the limits of detection and determination have been found. The method developed has been tested on determinations of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids in the waters of the two largest Czech rivers, Vltava and Labe (Elbe). The best extraction results have been attained without any alteration of the sample pH, with an addition of tetrabutylammonium bromide (a concentration of 50 μg mL(-1) in the sample) and using methanol as the elution agent. Under these conditions, the recoveries of the test acids in the spiked real samples are within ranges from 60% to 104% and 53% to 111% for analyte concentration levels of 1.40 ng mL(-1) and 0.14 ng mL(-1), respectively, depending on the lengths of the perfluorinated chains of the acids. In general, the recovery decreases with increasing length of this chain. The method developed exhibits very low limits of detection and determination and the results are fully comparable with those obtained when using more expensive HPLC-MS/MS instrumentation. Typical values amount to tenths to tens of pg mL(-1) and units to one hundred pg mL(-1) for the limits of detection and determination, respectively; the measuring sensitivity increases with increasing length of the analyte chain. The analyzes of real samples from the Vltava and Elbe rivers have demonstrated that the results obtained are similar to the values published for contamination of the Elbe and other rivers in western and central Europe. The concentrations determined are of the order of units to tens of pg mL(-1) and the C(8)-C(10) acids occur most often.