High-throughput screening of phthalate-containing objects in the kindergartens by ambient mass spectrometry

• Published in: Analytica chimica acta Vol. 1039; pp. 65 - 73
• Main Authors: Su, Hung, Huang, Min-Zong, Chou, Jo-Han, Chang, Ting-Hao, Jiang, Yu-Min, Cho, Yi-Tzu, Cheng, Sy-Chyi, Wu, Ming-Tsang, Shiea, Jentaie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 18-12-2018; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Ambient mass spectrometry; Analytical chemistry; Calibration; Child, Preschool; Children; High-throughput screening; High-Throughput Screening Assays - methods; Humans; Ionization; Kindergarten; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Mass Spectrometry - methods; Mass spectroscopy; Phthalates; Phthalic Acids - analysis; Plastics; Pretreatment; Probes; Public health; Public safety; Quantitative analysis; Report writing; Schools; Screening; Spectroscopy; Taiwan; Thermal desorption; High-throughput screening; Kindergarten; Thermal desorption; Ambient mass spectrometry; Phthalates
• ISSN: 0003-2670; 1873-4324
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2018.08.048

High-throughput screening of plastic products in children's living environment is necessary to identify phthalate-containing objects for the concern of public health and safety. A novel strategy of probe collecting technique combined with ambient mass spectrometry was developed to carry out the large-scale sample analysis. Analytes from the surface of approximately 500 objects each in two kindergartens in Taiwan were collected using the same number of the metallic probes. After being delivered to laboratory, the analytes on the probes were analyzed with thermal desorption-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS). As sample pretreatment was unnecessary, the analysis of phthalates on a probe was completed within 30 s enabling high-throughput screening of a large number of objects. All procedure including sampling and TD-ESI/MS analysis together with report writing for a kindergarten was completed in one day. A reasonable relative standard deviation (<15.6%) was obtained from replicate analyses of phthalate standards. Single-point calibration was used to perform semi-quantitative analysis, and results were validated by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). It was found that 20–40% of the objects in two kindergartens contained greater than low-level (>2 ng) of phthalates and 40–60% of the objects in the kindergartens contained more than one kind of phthalate.
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•TD-ESI/MS facilitates highly sensitive detection of volatile phthalates.•Different phthalates were identified within 30 s by TD-ESI/MS without sample pretreatment.•Multiple probes are used to quickly and easily collect a large number of samples.•Phthalates are collected on probe regardless of the shape, size, and physical state of the sample.•Semi-quantitative analysis for certain objects could be determined by single-point calibration.