(566a) The Role of the NIST Mass Spectral Library in the Identification of Plastic-Related Compounds: Extractables & Leachables

Global consumption of plastic materials has thus far followed a primarily linear economic model, leading to an inordinately untenable situation from both environmental and economic forefronts. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently launched the Circular Economy Program to address these concerns. In the vision of the circular economy, consumed materials are not merely discarded as waste but rather revalorized and reintroduced into the economy. NIST aspires to develop standard reference materials (SRMs), standard reference data (SRDs), and analytical techniques to serve that purpose.

In line with the Circular Economy Program, the NIST Mass Spectrometry Data Center (MSDC) has dedicated significant resources to developing SRDs for various plastic-related compounds (PRCs). To that end, efforts have been extended to identify PRC presence in human biofluids (e.g., blood, urine, breast milk), biomedical applications (e.g., infusion bags, drug containers), and drinking water, to name a few examples. In particular, the MSDC has developed a robust methodology to analyze extractables and leachables (E&L). This includes extending the existing NIST Mass Spectral Library (SRD 1A, NIST23) for PRCs and chemical analysis of E&L from standard commercial polymers (extracted using polar, semi-polar, and non-polar solvents) using LC-MS/MS – via Electrospray Ionization (ESI) and Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) techniques – and pyrolysis-GC-MS – via Electron Ionization (EI). Approximately one hundred of the most common polymers and commercially available mixtures have been analyzed in this way. The forthcoming release of the updated NIST Mass Spectral Library (NIST26) promises to showcase a vastly more comprehensive range of spectra for PRCs. Here, we review our efforts at the MSDC towards the NIST Circular Economy Program and NIST26 and consider potential avenues for future development.