Real-time VOC Analysis of Contaminants and Impurities in Personal Care and Pharmaceutical Products

Description:
Benzene has recently been detected as a contaminant in many personal care products (PCPs). Similarly, ethylene oxide (EtO), a common toxic and carcinogenic impurity in polyethylene glycol, is routinely found at high concentrations in excipients used in both the PCP and pharmaceutical industries. Testing for these toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in PCPs and pharmaceutical products, and ultimately limiting their presence in these products, is of utmost importance and urgency. Real-time mass spectrometry provides an attractive option for rapid testing of consumer and pharmaceutical products for extractables, leachables, impurities, contaminants, and residual solvents. An alternative method for United States pharmacopeia Residual Solvents method <467> has been validated, and alternative methods for USP <228> and Polysorbate Monograph 80 for EtO analysis are in development, using Selected-Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) coupled to a headspace autosampler, which are 10-20 fold faster than the traditional methods.

Speaker: Leslie silva - Syft