Safety evaluation of recycling process used to produce recycled pulp for adult paper diapers.

Eight contaminants were used to perform a surrogate contamination test to evaluate safety of the process for producing recycled pulp for adult paper diapers. We performed a safety evaluation of the recycling process for producing recycled pulp following the European Food Safety Authority safety assessment for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles using recycled PET. We also compared the first tier safety limit established on the basis of TTC (Climit) in the pulp that contained recycled pulp with residual contaminant concentrations (Cres). If Climit > Cres, there is no concern regarding safety of the recycling process. Climit was determined to be 0.46 mg/kg-pulp based on the human exposure threshold of 0.15 µg/person/day using the scenario in which a bedridden senior citizen uses four adult paper diapers manufactured with pulp containing 10% recycled pulp per day. Cres was derived from the initial concentration in used pulp (0.17 mg/kg-pulp), and decontamination rate was obtained from the surrogate contamination test. The Cres of the eight contaminants were between 0.0017 and 0.10 mg/kg-pulp, which were all below the Climit of 0.46 mg/kg-pulp. These results indicated there was no safety problem regarding this process for producing recycled pulp for adult paper diapers.

Evaluation of column carryover of phosphorylated peptides and fumonisins by duplicated solvent gradient method in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

Columns made of three different materials were evaluated with regard to the carryover of phosphorylated peptides and fumonisins in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). In order to eliminate carryover caused by the injection operation in the autosampler, the column carryover was calculated using the duplicated solvent gradient method. A column made of a glass-lined stainless-steel tube and polyethylene frits (GL-PE column) yielded the most significant improvements in the peak shape and the carryover as compared to the other columns. The carryover of fumonisin B1 (FB1) and HLADLSpK (T19p) in the GL-PE column could be reduced; the lower limit of quantitation of T19p, and the range of the calibration curve were also improved. Since carryover peaks with the GL-PE column were symmetrical peaks of the samples, carryover in the column did not occur. The carryover calculated by the duplicated solvent gradient method corresponded to those in the flow path from the injection port to the inlet frit of the column. The carryover value of FB1 in the column with a stainless-steel tube and stainless-steel frits (S-S column) was 1.70%, and that of the flow path was 0.23%. We found that the majority of the carryover in our system occurred in the S-S column.

Evaluation of column hardware on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry of phosphorylated compounds.

The influences of column hardware, such as chromatographic tubes and frits, on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of phosphorylated compounds were evaluated. The signal to noise ratio (S/N) and the intensity of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) using a glass lined tube and polyethylene frit (GL-PE) column was approximately 170 and 90 times higher, respectively, than those using conventional stainless steel tube and stainless steel frit (S-S) column. In addition, the retention time of FAD using GL-PE column was the shortest compared to other columns. Interaction between phosphorylated compounds and metal ions in the flow path in the S-S column was stronger than that between them and the GL-PE column. Thus, the metal ions in the flow path in GL-PE column were low. Since the specific surface area of a pair of frits was 70 times larger than that of a chromatographic tube (150 mm×2.1 mm), the frits were found to have more effective improvement of the S/N as well as the intensity than the chromatographic tubes, when phosphorylated compounds were analyzed by LC-MS. When the evaluated phosphorylated compounds were analyzed by LC-MS(/MS) using a GL-PE column, the intensity and S/N were increased.