Identification of plastic toys contaminated with volatile organic compounds using QCM gas sensor array

In this paper, we propose a fast and easy-to-use analytical method to identify the children toys contaminated with potentially dangerous substances from the class of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It is shown that the use of cross-sensitive gas sensor array based on piezoelectric sensors, modified with different sorbents, allows reliable recognition of items with the elevated levels of VOCs. Applying chemometric methods for processing of the sensor array data, it is possible to classify the toys into clean and hazardous ones with sensitivity and accuracy around 96%. Taking into account the simplicity of the suggested procedure, it appears to be an attractive option for cost-effective pre-screening of potentially dangerous plastic toys in comparison with the expensive and time-consuming chromatographic methods.