Biocidal products are used to control unwanted organisms that are harmful to human or animal health or to the environment. One of the commonly used groups of biocides are isothiazolinones, the use of which is constantly increasing. Market availability and use are determined by European regulations, which have been valid for 8 years.
The most common isothiazolone derivatives are benzisothiazolinone (BIT), methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT), methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and octylisothiazolinone (OIT); owing to their strong bactericide, fungicide and algicide properties, they are widely used in water-based products, such as detergents, cosmetics, paints, paper and food packaging. May cause sensitization or allergic reactions in contact with the skin and may be problematic if swallowed and in an aquatic environment. Due to their increasing use, they also occur in water, especially in urban settlements, where there is a dense population and thus greater leaching of isothiazolinones from building materials and water-based products.
Therefore, our goal was to develop a sufficiently sensitive and selective mass spectrometric method to quantify the most used isothiazolinones in various products with the aim of controlling their safety and quality. The developed method was applied to various products on the Slovenian market, such as: hair care products, intimate care products, foam baths, shower gels, washing gels, cleansing gels, detergents, straws, wood stains, paints for various surfaces.
We tested over 30 different products that we bought in different stores. Because we searched for products containing isothiazolinones, we did not detect them in only three products. In products where the content of isothiazolinones was detected, all these were correctly labeled. Most products comply with regulations, except for the cleansing gel for removing make-up and impurities, and wood paint, which contain over 15 ppm CMIT / MIT. The second cleansing gel for removing make-up and impurities, which contains BIT, also violates the regulation. The high content of MIT is found in the cosmetic product for intimate care. In general, the highest amounts isothiazolinones are found in cleaners, followed by various coatings.
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