Integrative Chemical-Biological Grouping of Complex High Production Volume Substances from Lower Olefin Manufacturing...

Area of Science:

• Toxicology
• Chemical analysis
• In vitro testing

Background:

• Petroleum refining produces complex mixtures known as unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products, or biological materials (UVCBs).
• Current methods group these substances based on manufacturing processes, but this grouping may not accurately reflect their potential hazards.
• Combining chemical characterization and bioactivity data offers a novel approach to assess petroleum UVCBs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity of existing manufacturing-based categories for petroleum UVCBs.
• To investigate the relationship between chemical composition and in vitro bioactivity.
• To develop a combined approach for better characterization of petroleum UVCBs.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 25 lower olefin substances from naphtha and resin oil categories.
• Nontarget ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry for chemical characterization.
• In vitro bioactivity assessment using five human cell types (endothelial cells, hepatocytes, neurons, cardiomyocytes).

Main Results:

• Existing manufacturing-based categories for petroleum UVCBs were found to be largely heterogeneous.
• Strong correlations were identified between the chemical composition and bioactivity of the substances.
• Specific chemical constituents responsible for observed bioactivity associations were pinpointed.

Conclusions:

• The combination of chemical composition and bioactivity data provides a robust method for characterizing petroleum UVCBs.
• This integrated approach can reveal variability within manufacturing categories and improve hazard assessment.
• The findings support a more nuanced understanding of petroleum UVCB safety and risk evaluation.