Combination of Structure Databases, In Silico Fragmentation, and MS/MS Libraries for Untargeted Screening of Non-Volatile Migrants from Recycled High-Density Polyethylene Milk Bottles

Abstract

Chemical contamination is one of the major obstacles for mechanical recycling of plastics. In this article, we built and open-sourced an in-house MS/MS library containing more than 500 plastic-related chemicals and developed mspcompiler, an R package, for the compilation of various libraries. We then proposed a workflow to process untargeted screening data acquired by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. These tools were subsequently employed to data originating from recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) obtained from milk bottles. A total of 83 compounds were identified, with 66 easily annotated by making use of our in-house MS/MS libraries and the mspcompiler R package. In silico fragmentation combined with data obtained from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and lists of chemicals related to plastics were used to identify those remaining unknown. A pseudo-multiple reaction monitoring method was also applied to sensitively target and screen the identified chemicals in the samples. Quantification results demonstrated that a good sorting of postconsumer materials and a better recycling technology may be necessary for food contact applications. Removal or reduction of non-volatile substances, such as octocrylene and 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate, is still challenging but vital for the safe use of rHDPE as food contact materials.