Extraction and analysis of an organophosphate salt nucleating agent from irradiated polypropylene resin

Although it is well-established that irradiation of produce can reduce food-borne pathogens and spoilage organisms, data on the effect of irradiation on polymer additives in food packaging materials are limited, particularly for those additives used in packaging leafy greens or in current food packaging materials. We investigated the effects of irradiating a nucleating agent, aluminium, hydroxybis[2,4,8,10-tetrakis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-6-hydroxy-12H-dibenzo [d,g][1,3,2]dioxaphosphocin 6-oxidato]- (CAS Reg. No. 151841-65-5), at doses of 1-20 kGy in polypropylene. That nucleating agent was then extracted using accelerated solvent extraction and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection (LC-PDA), and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectroscopy. We found this nucleating agent was not significantly affected by radiation treatment up to 20 kGy. Therefore, this nucleating agent could potentially be useful in food packaging materials that will be irradiated at doses of 20 kGy or less. Establishing which additives are stable under anticipated irradiation doses will help support safety evaluation of food packaging materials.