posted on 2022-12-16, 15:33authored byAndrea Hochegger, Reinhard Wagenhofer, Sanja Savić, Elisa Mayrhofer, Michael Washüttl, Erich Leitner
Mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAHs) include mutagenic
and
carcinogenic substances and are considered a potential health risk.
Current methods address the total MOAH content but cannot address
the actual toxicological hazard of individual components. This work
presents a combined methodology closing those gaps: high-performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to gas chromatography with flame
ionization detection was used to determine the MOAH content. To characterize
present substance classes, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography
with time-of-flight mass spectrometry was applied. Preparative HPLC
separated MOAHs into subgroups, which were tested with a miniaturized
Ames test evaluating DNA reactivity of isolated fractions. Combining
these methods allowed a correlation between present subgroups and
DNA reactivity. The developed approach was applied to a mineral oil
and distinguished between not DNA-reactive mono- and diaromatics and
DNA-reactive tri- and polyaromatics, providing a proof of concept.
Hereinafter, it will be applied to diverse sample matrices including
mineral oils, food, and food contact materials.