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Arena A, Zoccali M, Bonaccorsi I, Mondello M, Tranchida PQ, Mondello L. Determination of mineral oil hydrocarbon contamination in Citrus essential oils by using on-line liquid-gas chromatography: critical aspects. Anal Bioanal Chem 2024; 416:801-808. [PMID: 37505233 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-023-04873-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The present manuscript reports and discusses critical issues related to the determination of mineral oil hydrocarbon contamination in Citrus essential oils (EOs); an on-line liquid-gas chromatography system equipped with a Y-interface was used (with no additional off-line step for pre-concentration). In total, eighteen samples were analyzed, specifically eleven cold-pressed (CP) and seven distilled EOs. With regard to the CP EOs, various degrees of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbon (MOSH) contamination were detected, ranging between 10.7 and 338.4 mg kg-1 (only one sample was MOSH-free); different MOSH sub-fractions were determined, with the > C25- ≤ C35 sub-fraction always present, with an average concentration of 74.5 mg kg-1. Based on the EO composition, different sample amounts were injected to avoid the overloading of the LC column and consequently the GC one, thus leading to different limits of quantification (LoQ), which were either 2 mg kg-1 (for bergamot EO) or 5 mg kg-1 (for all the other investigated samples). For all samples, the mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbon level was always lower than the LoQ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Arena
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Mariosimone Zoccali
- Department of Mathematical and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
| | - Ivana Bonaccorsi
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Monica Mondello
- Chromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Peter Q Tranchida
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Luigi Mondello
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- Chromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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Crucello J, de Oliveira AM, Sampaio NMFM, Hantao LW. Miniaturized systems for gas chromatography: Developments in sample preparation and instrumentation. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1685:463603. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Arena A, Zoccali M, Trozzi A, Tranchida PQ, Mondello L. Occurrence of Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons in Omega-3 Fatty Acid Dietary Supplements. Foods 2021; 10:foods10102424. [PMID: 34681474 PMCID: PMC8535978 DOI: 10.3390/foods10102424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplements have become increasingly popular with consumers due to their multiple health benefits. In this study, the presence of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) was investigated in seventeen commercial samples of such supplements, characterized by different formulations. The analyses were performed using on-line liquid chromatography–gas chromatography (with flame ionization detection), which is considered the most efficient method for the determination of MOH in foodstuffs. Analyte transfer was performed by using the retention gap technique, with partially concurrent solvent evaporation. Various degrees of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbon contamination (from 2.4 ppm to 375.7 ppm) were found, with an average value of 49.9 ppm. Different C-number range contaminations were determined, with the >C25–≤C35 range always found with an average value of 26.9 ppm. All samples resulted free of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons, except for two samples in which a contamination was found at the 9.9 and 6.6 ppm levels, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Arena
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy; (A.A.); (A.T.); (L.M.)
| | - Mariosimone Zoccali
- Department of Mathematical and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy
- Correspondence: (M.Z.); (P.Q.T.); Tel.: +39-090-6766510 (P.Q.T.)
| | - Alessandra Trozzi
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy; (A.A.); (A.T.); (L.M.)
| | - Peter Q. Tranchida
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy; (A.A.); (A.T.); (L.M.)
- Correspondence: (M.Z.); (P.Q.T.); Tel.: +39-090-6766510 (P.Q.T.)
| | - Luigi Mondello
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy; (A.A.); (A.T.); (L.M.)
- Chromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
- BeSep s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
- Unit of Food Science and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
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Castiblanco JEB, Quero RF, Oliveira AMD, Jesus DPD, Hantao LW. Improving selective channel occlusion of complex hydrocarbons and fatty acid methyl esters in urea crystals by using an expendable 3D-printed microfluidic device for sample preparation in untargeted petroleomics. Anal Chim Acta 2021; 1160:338425. [PMID: 33894963 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2021.338425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we describe a proof-of-concept investigation of the potential and limitations of employing channel occlusion for sample preparation in untargeted analysis in petroleomics. A middle petroleum distillate composed of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and a complex mixture of linear, branched, and cyclic hydrocarbons were selected as the model samples for this investigation. A microfluidic device was engineered to overcome the limitations of channel occlusion, resulting in a quick and robust method for sample preparation. The 3D-printed device using fused deposition modelling (FDM) allowed the combination of a 13-h multi-step sample handling protocol into a 2-min single-step procedure, which is also automation-friendly. Such developments were also evaluated using the analytical eco-scale to guide the development of a green analytical method. The relative standard deviation decreased 2-fold with method miniaturization. The efficiency of n-alkane removal was extended from tridecane (n-C13) to heptadecane (n-C17), compared to original method (n-C16 to n-C17). The analytical performance of the method was investigated for untargeted analysis. The tool used to probe the intra- and inter-class variance was multi-way principal component analysis (MPCA). MPCA modelling revealed that both methods generated equivalent chemical information, highlighting the benefits of reliable and reproducible sample preparation methods, especially for untargeted analysis. Such awareness is critical to avoid the generation of misleading results in fields that heavily rely on untargeted analysis and fingerprinting, such as petroleomics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Leandro Wang Hantao
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, Brazil.
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Zoccali M, Salerno TMG, Tranchida PQ, Mondello L. Use of a low-cost, lab-made Y-interface for liquid-gas chromatography coupling for the analysis of mineral oils in food samples. J Chromatogr A 2021; 1648:462191. [PMID: 34000596 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2021.462191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Consumers are daily exposed to a range of mineral oil hydrocarbons via food consumption. Major sources of MOH in food are packaging and additives, processing aids, and lubricants. In 2019, an EU guidance was released covering specific directions for sampling and analysis of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in food and food contact materials within the frame of Recommendation (EU) 2017/84 for the monitoring of mineral oils. The parameters required by the guide are increasingly stringent, and coping with this type of analysis is now very challenging. It is within such a context that the present research is confined, inasmuch that it is focused on the construction of a low-cost, lab-made Y-interface for liquid-gas chromatography coupling used for the determination of MOSH and MOAH in foodstuffs. The response ratios of alkanes comprised between C10 and C50 were measured and were comprised between 0.9 and 1.1, with a maximum coefficient of variation of 4% (n = 5). Intermediate precision was evaluated for the fat/oil category during a period of 48 days obtaining a value of 10%. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of both MOSH and MOAH were performed in a single run and in a fully-automated manner. Seventeen different foods were analyzed in order to cover the categories reported in the EU guide. Saturated hydrocarbon contamination was detected only in a few samples (in the range 1-153 ppm); MOAH contamination was found only in one sample (sunflower oil: 15 ppm).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariosimone Zoccali
- Department of Mathematical and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
| | - Tania M G Salerno
- BeSep s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Peter Q Tranchida
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Luigi Mondello
- BeSep s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; Chromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; Unit of Food Science and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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