2025/07/04 by Raquel Capilla-Flores, Rosalía López‐Ruiz, Francisco Javier Egea González +2 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Environmental Science · #Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals #Microplastics and Plastic Pollution #Recycling and Waste Management Techniques
paper · doi:10.1016/j.microc.2025.114479
openalex publication_date 2025/07/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
This study presents an in-depth analytical investigation into the fate of non-phthalate plastic additives in soil, specifically 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol diisobutyrate (TXIB) and 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (HCPK), aiming to advance the knowledge of their persistence in the environment. For that purpose, advanced analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography coupled to Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (GC-Q-Orbitrap-MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS), were applied to monitor the degradation of these compounds under controlled conditions. The performance of targeted, suspect and non-targeted screening workflows was evaluated to detect parent compounds and identify both known and unknown metabolites. Dissipation kinetics were modelled using a “Single First Order” approach, yielding short half-lives ( t 1 / 2 ), less than 2.59 days, indicative of rapid degradation in the soil environment. No residues of the parent compounds were detected after 21 days. Suspect and non-targeted analysis of soil samples enabled the tentative identification of eight TXIB and one HCPK metabolites, which were detected from day 1 to day 10 after the application of the parent compound. Two TXIB metabolites, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate (TMPM) and 2,2,4-trimethylpentan-1,3-diol (TMP), were unequivocally identified with their corresponding analytical standards. Importantly, one of these metabolites (TMPM) exhibited a theoretical toxicity level higher than that of the corresponding parent compound.