Feasibility study for the development of certified reference materials for specific migration testing. Part 2: Estimation of diffusion parameters and comparison of experimental and predicted data

Food-Package-Processing relationships in emerging technologies: Ultrasound effects on polyamide multilayer packaging in contact with different food simulants

In this study, the effect of ultrasound processing on the properties of two packages widely used in food products was evaluated: polyamide (PA) and polyethylene (PE) multilayer packaging. Packages composed of PE/PA/PE (Film A) and PE/PA/PE/PA/PE (Film B) were filled with aqueous and fatty food simulants and treated in an ultrasound water bath (frequency 25 kHz, volumetric power of 9.74 W/L, temperature of 25 °C, and time of 30 and 60 min). Materials were evaluated in term of structure and performance properties. Ultrasound did not or induced small changes in chemical groups, crystallinity, melting temperature, and tensile strength of the films. Film A showed a reduction in heat sealing tensile strength of 25% in the machine direction and 22% in the transverse direction. Film B showed a 20% increase of water vapor transmission rate after ultrasound processing. Although ultrasound had little impact on the properties of the evaluated materials, these modifications do not compromise the use of these packages for applications in ultrasound-processed foods. Therefore, the results indicate that ultrasound can be used as a food processing technology in multilayer PA and PE packaging.

Plastic particles in medicine: A systematic review of exposure and effects to human health

Single-use plastics (SUPs) have become an essential constituent of our daily life. It is being exploited in numerous pharmaceutical and healthcare applications. Despite their advantages and widespread use in the pharma and medical sectors, the potential clinical problems of plastics, especially the release of micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) and additives from medical plastics (e.g. bags, containers, and administrative sets) and sorption of drugs remain understudied. Certainly, the MNPs are multifaceted stressors that cause detrimental effects to the ecosystem and human health. The origin and persistence of MNPs in pharmaceutical products, their administration to humans, endurance and possible health implication, translocation, and excretion have not been reviewed in detail. The prime focus of this article is to conduct a systematic review on the leaching of MNPs and additives from pharmaceutical containers/administrative sets and their interaction with the pharmaceutical constituents. This review also explores the primary and secondary routes of MNPs entry from healthcare plastic products and their potential health hazards to humans. Furthermore, the fate of plastic waste generated in hospitals, their disposal, and associated MNPs release to the environment, along with preventive, and alternative measures are discussed herein.

Leaching of PBDEs from microplastics under simulated gut conditions: Chemical diffusion and bioaccumulation

Considerable efforts on exposure assessment of microplastics (MPs) as an agent in transport of toxic contaminants have been performed in organisms. However, chemical diffusion of inherent hydrophobic organic contaminants from MPs under simulated gut conditions is poorly examined. The present study examined the transfer kinetics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and polypropylene (PP) MPs under gut surfactants (sodium taurocholate) at two relevant body temperatures of marine organisms, and evaluated the importance of MP ingestion in bioaccumulation of PBDEs in lugworm by a biodynamic model. Diffusion coefficients of PBDEs range from 5.82 × 10^-23 to 7.96 × 10^-20 m² s^-1 in PS, 5.49 × 10^-23 to 3.45 × 10^-20 m² s^-1 in ABS, and 5.58 × 10^-21 to 5.79 × 10^-17 m² s^-1 in PP, with apparent activation energies in the range of 33-148 kJ mol^-1. The biota-plastic accumulation factors of PBDEs leached from these plastics range from 1.44 × 10^-8 to 7.15 × 10^-5. Although ingestion of MPs with the common size (>0.5 mm) showed the negligible contribution to bioaccumulation of PBDEs in lugworm, their contribution in PBDEs transfer can be increased with gradual breakdown of MPs.

Obtaining Active Polylactide (PLA) and Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) Blends Based Bionanocomposites Modified with Graphene Oxide and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (scCO2)-Assisted Cinnamaldehyde: Effect on Thermal-Mechanical, Disintegration and Mass Transport Properties

Bionanocomposites based on Polylactide (PLA) and Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) blends were successfully obtained through a combined extrusion and impregnation process using supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂). Graphene oxide (GO) and cinnamaldehyde (Ci) were incorporated into the blends as nano-reinforcement and an active compound, respectively, separately, and simultaneously. From the results, cinnamaldehyde quantification values varied between 5.7% and 6.1% (w/w). When GO and Ci were incorporated, elongation percentage increased up to 16%, and, therefore, the mechanical properties were improved, with respect to neat PLA. The results indicated that the Ci diffusion through the blends and bionanocomposites was influenced by the nano-reinforcing incorporation. The disintegration capacity of the developed materials decreased with the incorporation of GO and PHB, up to 14 and 23 days of testing, respectively, without compromising the biodegradability characteristics of the final material.

A new standard reference film for oxygen gas transmission measurements

A novel reference film was characterized to improve the oxygen gas transmission measurement accuracy of plastic materials for pharmaceutical packaging. The material processing, homogeneity, stability, jointly determined value and uncertainty evaluation were discussed. The film is the first reference film characterized by multiple laboratories using both manometric and coulometric methods. The oxygen transmission rate of the reference film was 20.53 with the expanded uncertainty of 1.36. The newly characterized reference film can be used in the calibration and self-calibration of oxygen transmission measurement equipment and analytical method verification to improve the measurement accuracy and achieve traceable data.

Comparative Numerical Study of Titanium and Silver Nano-particles Migration from Nano-composite of Polystyrene into Simulants on Experimental Data Basis

Nano-titanium dioxide and nano-silver combined with polystyrene granules to form a nano-composite film. Migration assess were performed by using food simulants 3% acetic acid (indicative acidic food) and 95% ethanol (indicative fatty food) at 40°C on different times of  2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days. It was found that nanoparticle migration rate in acidic food was higher than fatty food. Diffusion coefficients of nanoparticles into simulants were estimated by inverse simulation of the migration process using finite-element method and experimental data of varied concentration. Simulation revealed an acceptable consistency between experimental data and predicted values. The numerical results indicated that the greatest diffusion coefficient was obtained by nano-titanium (2.8E-10 to 4.1E-9 m2s−1) in the 3% acetic acid. Results of concentration distribution confirmed a higher release rate and more uniformed distribution of nanoparticles for nano-titanium in the 3% acetic acid. It also found that in the migration process the diffusion coefficient is more important than the amount of nanoparticles concentration.

Influence of a Double-Lumen Extension Tube on Drug Delivery: Examples of Isosorbide Dinitrate and Diazepam

Purpose

Plastic materials such as polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are widely used in double-lumen extension tubing. The purposes of our study were to 1) compare in vitro drug delivery through the double extension tubes available on the market 2) assess the plastic properties of PUR in infusion devices and their impact on drug delivery.

Methods

The study compared eight double-lumen extension tubes in PUR, co-extruded (PE/PVC) plastic and plasticised PVC from different manufacturers. Isosorbide dinitrate and diazepam were used as model compounds to evaluate their sorption on the internal surface of the infusion device. Control experiments were performed using norepinephrine known not to absorb to plastics. Drug concentrations delivered at the egress of extension tubes were determined over time by an analytical spectrophotometric UV-Vis method. The main characteristics of plastics were also determined.

Results

Significant differences in the sorption phenomenon were observed among the eight double-lumen extension tubes and between pairs of extension tubes. Mean concentrations of isosorbide dinitrate delivered at the egress of double-lumen extension tubes after a 150-minute infusion (mean values ± standard deviation in percentage of the initial concentrations in the prepared syringes) ranged between 80.53 ± 1.66 (one of the PUR tubes) and 92.84 ± 2.73 (PE/PVC tube). The same parameters measured during diazepam infusion ranged between 48.58 ± 2.88 (one of the PUR tubes) and 85.06 ± 3.94 (PE/PVC tube). The double-lumen extension tubes in PUR were either thermosetting (resin) or thermoplastic according to reference.

Conclusions

Clinicians must be aware of potential drug interactions with extension tube materials and so must consider their nature as well as the sterilisation method used before selecting an infusion device.

Effect of migrant size on diffusion in dry and hydrated polyamide 6

Food safety authorities have already allowed the use of mathematical models to predict diffusion from plastic food contact materials. These models use the molecular weight of the migrant as a cornerstone parameter that describes the contribution of the migrant to the diffusion process. In this work, the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the migrant size was examined through fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). A model migrant series of fluorescent probes was used, covering a wide molecular weight range. The advantage and originality of the tested migrant series are associated with the fact that the same shape and chemical functionality are maintained regardless of the molecular weight of the migrants. In this way the dependence of the acquired data on parameters other than size is excluded. The same experiments were carried out in dry and hydrated polyamide 6 to evaluate the effect of polymer matrix mobility in the "diffusion-migrant size" relationship. The experimental data were compared to well-known mathematical or semiempirical approaches, verifying that there is a relationship between the diffusion coefficient and the size of the migrant. However, it is demonstrated that this relationship is also affected by the mobility of the polymer matrix, becoming more pronounced as the mobility of the matrix decreases.

Development of a method to study the migration of six photoinitiators into powdered milk

The aim of the present work was to develop a rapid multimethod for the analysis of six photoinitiators (PIs) in powdered milk and to study the migration of these PIs from LDPE packaging into powdered milk. The optimized HPLC-DAD method showed high correlation coefficients (>0.9999) over a concentration range of 0.1-10.9 mg/L. The kinetics of migration of the photoinitiators from LDPE packaging into powdered milk were determined at different temperatures. The key parameters of migration phenomena (diffusion and partition coefficients) were determined. The diffusion coefficients at 5 degrees C ranged between 8.4 x 10(-12) (for ITX) and 5.1 x 10(-10) (for benzophenone) and those at 40 degrees C between 5.9 x 10(-10) (for ITX) and 6.1 x 10(-9) (for Irgacure 184). The diffusion coefficients of the six model migrants under study increased with temperature and showed a good Arrhenius relationship between 5 and 40 degrees C.

Migration of organic compounds from a multilayer plastic–paper material intended for food packaging

This paper deals with the study of the kinetic migration of a series of organic compounds representative of potential contaminants in packaging materials and used as surrogates (o-xylene, acetophenone, dodecane, naphthalene, 2,3,4-trichloroanisole, benzophenone, isomeric mix of diisopropylnaphthalene, diisobutyl phthalate and methyl stearate). Migration to one side of a solid simulant, Tenax, also referred to as MPPO (modified polyphenylene oxide), was investigated in this study. One spiked sample of multilayer material was used to optimise the extraction procedures for the multilayer paper-based material and the Tenax as well as to perform kinetic migration studies. Three sequential extractions using ethanol were necessary for the strips of the multilayer material but only one extraction was necessary for the solid simulant to obtain >70% recovery of the surrogates. These results enabled us to specify the extraction requirements of the multilayer sample and the solid simulant and as well as those of the migration tests at high temperature using Tenax as solid simulant. The matrix effect associated with the extraction of the contaminants from the multilayer sample is also discussed.

Interfacial behavior of common food contact polymer additives

Irganox 1076 (IN1076) and Irganox 1010 (IN1010), phenol containing species often used as antioxidant additives in food packaging polymers have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups. Consequently these additives are likely to absorb to surfaces where their free energy is minimized. Experiments described in this work examine the two-dimensional phase behavior and vibrational structure of IN1076 and IN1010 films adsorbed to the air/water interface. Surface pressure isotherms show that repeated compression of these films leads to continued irreversible loss of molecules and that on a per molecule basis, this loss is more pronounced for IN1076 than for IN1010. Differences in the surface properties of these two antioxidant additives are interpreted based on differences in molecular structure. Surface specific vibrational measurements of these organic films show very little conformational order, implying that even when closely packed, both antioxidant species have little affinity for forming highly organized domains. These findings have important ramifications for mechanisms that reduce antioxidant activity in polymers as well as descriptions of antioxidant blooming on polymer surfaces.