Developing Chemical Signatures for Categories of Household Consumer Products Using Suspect Screening Analysis

Consumer products are a major source of chemicals that may pose a health risk. It is important to understand what chemicals are in these products to evaluate risk and assess new products for uncommon ingredients. Suspect screening analysis (SSA) using two-dimensional gas chromatography-high-resolution-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (GCxGC-HR-TOF/MS) was applied to 92 consumer products from 5 categories. 485 probable chemical structures were tentatively identified using the NIST 2017 spectral library across all products (109 confirmed). Chemicals were characterized by functional use and structural class. Fabric upholsteries contained the most chemicals (239) identifiable by GCxGC-HR-TOF/MS and silicone kitchen tools the least (64). Use of duplicate samples and repeat purchases of products allowed for a within-product category similarity assessment, which showed highest variability in baby soap and lowest in cotton clothing. Chemical ingredient signatures (including reported sample abundance ranges) for each product type were obtained by identifying chemicals occurring in ≥80% of product samples. These signatures provide a baseline set of chemical ingredients (that is, representative mixtures) across common consumer product types. The chemical signatures will help in evaluating new and existing products. Separating constituent chemicals into typical and atypical might inform exposure assessment, in vitro bioactivity screening, and ultimately the risk related to using such products.