UNTARGETED APPROACHES BASED ON GC-ORBITRAP-HRMS AND GC×GC-MS FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF BIO-BASED FOOD CONTACT MATERIALS

The use of bioplastics is rapidly spreading in the world of food contact materials (FCMs), with polylactic acid (PLA) being among the most widely used biopolymer. The complex nature of bioplastics makes extraction and detection of intentionally and non-intentionally added substances (IAS and NIAS) particularly challenging, requiring the development of efficient and environmentally sustainable analytical procedures [1]. This study focuses on the development of an untargeted analytical method for the identification of volatile and semi-volatile components of PLA-based FCMs by combining green solvent extraction and multiplatform analytical methodology based on gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC×GC-MS). A preliminary screening Design of Experiments (DoE) was used to find the best green extraction solvent by testing several parameters to identify cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) as superior, primarily due to its efficiency and ability to reduce extraction time. The ultrasound assisted extraction -based method was then optimised through a factorial DoE in terms of extraction time and the duration of the sonication process. Complementary state-of-the-art GC-MS approaches were applied to characterize extracts of PLA-based FCMs. The combined use of GC-HRMS and GC×GC-MS allowed to couple the identification potential of high-resolution MS and the enhanced chromatographic performance of 2D-GC, providing a comprehensive characterisation of the chemical composition of PLA-based materials. In particular, the combined use of the complementary GC platforms enabled the annotation of some related compounds that can be attributed to a chemical class, based on characteristic ions or ion series, as in the case of PLA-oligomers and hydrocarbon isomers, thus providing a valuable mapping for the characterization of PLA-based FCMs and proving that complementary approaches are needed to provide the most exhaustive fingerprint possible [2]. REFERENCES [1] N. Riboni, F. Bianchi, A. Cavazza, M. Piergiovanni, M. Mattarozzi, M. Careri, Separations. 10 (2023) 222. [2] P. Vázquez-Loureiro, R. Cariou, G. Dervilly, B. Le Bizec, A. Lestido-Cardama, L. Barbosa-Pereira, R. Sendón, J. Bustos, A. Gasco, P. Paseiro-Losada, A. Bernaldo de Quirós, Journal of Chromatography A 1762 (2025) 466377. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work is supported by the project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3 - Call for tender No. 341 of 15/03/2022 of Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU Award Number: Project code PE0000003, Concession Decree No. 1550 of 11/10/2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP D93C22000890001, Project title “Research and innovation network on food and nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security – Working ON Foods” (ONFOODS) and by the METROFOOD-IT project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), - Mission 4 “Education and Research” Component 2: from research to business, Investment 3.1: Fund for the realisation of an integrated system of research and innovation infrastructures - IR0000033 (D.M. Prot. n.120 del 21/06/2022).