Tissue Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate Levels in Uremic Subjects

Abstract

A method for the analysis of tissue DEHP levels was developed. Tissue homogenates were extracted with a chloroformrmethanol solution, followed by the addition of 1 g baked alumina to clean up the heavy matrices of the tissues. DEHP levels in tne tissues were determined by gas chromatography. Percent recovery of DEHP from the tissues ranged between 72.2 and 83.3%.

An experimentally produced acute renal failure in dogs (performing bilateral nephrectomy) was used for comparison of DEHP distribution in tissues from Control, Sham-Operated and Nephrectomized dogs. The highest concentration of DEKP was found in lung tissues of all three groups. DEHP levels in tissues of Nephrectomized dogs were significantly higher than those of Control and Sham-Operated dogs. With the exception of brain and liver, no significant difference in tissue DEHP levels were noted for Control and Sham-Operated dogs. Liver DEHP levels were 39.4 and 65.4 μg/g tissue for the Control and Sham-Operated dogs, respectively.

DEHP was found in various tissues of some, but not all of the subjects who received hemodialysis treatments, blood transfusions or blood which was previously in contact with PVC. No sufficient information is available at the present time to draw a relationship between exposure to DEHP and unchanged DEHP content in the tissues. However, DEHP does appear to accumulate in tissues and could be detected at death from some, but not all patients. It is more likely, however, that DEHP undergoes rapid metabolism in tissues.     

Human Metabolism of Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate

Abstract

To study the human metabolism of bis (2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) urine samples were analyzed from non-uremic psoriatic patients, uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis treatments and patients undergoing cardiac bypass surgery using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The urine of dialyzed non-uremic patients contained phthalic acid, mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Other compounds identified were p-hydroxy benzoic acid, m-hydroxy benzoic acid, o-hydroxy hippuric acid, o-hydroxy benzoic acid and benzoic acid, which may be either diet dependent normal urinary constituents or metabolites of bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. The levels of phthalic acid and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate found in the urine of patients who were on total body oxygenators containing a membrane during cardiac bypass surgery were comparable to levels obtained from non-uremic psoriatic patients. Significant levels of phthalic acid were detected in the urine of the uremic patients studied while mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bis (2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate were present only in small amounts or were completely absent. In general, the urinary phthalate content of uremic patients increased with urinary volume.     

Separation and Quantitation of Urinary Phthalates by HPLC

Abstract

A method was developed for the separation and quantitation of plasticizers and their metabolites from human urine using HPLC, Urine was diluted with an equal volume of water and extracted at pH 2.0 with diethyl ether, The extract was dried, the solvent vacuum stripped, and the residue dissolved in methanol for injection into the chromatograph. A C₁₈ reverse phase column containing 10 μ particles was used for the analysis. Ionic suppression, 0.5% acetic acid in water, at pH 3.0 was used to resolve the acidic components. A step gradient of acetonitri1e:water (containing acetic acid) was used to elute the polar metabolites as well as the non-polar plasticizers. Mass spectrometry was used t o identify the compounds in the HPLC fractions. From the HPLC fractions of the urine extract collected, phthalic acid, MEHP, DEHP and normal urinary constituents (e.g., hippuric and benzoic acid derivatives) were identified     

Differential Contribution of Albumin and Lipids to the Hydrophobic Extraction of Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate from Hemodialysis Tubing by Human Serum: Analysis by Gas Chromatography - Stable Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A method is presented which allows quantitative assignment of hydrophobic human serum components to the extraction of bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from medical tubing. Under optimized conditions (sample pH 5.5; fluid-fluid extraction with ethyl acetate + tert-butyl methyl ether 1 + 1 v/v; DEHP-ring-D4 as internal standard with ratios of endogenous (m/z = 149) and added deuterated DEHP (m/z = 153) adjusted to around 1.0; equilibration of added internal standard with the hydrophobic sample for 24 hours), a high precision can be achieved with an intra-assay coefficient of variation of 1.5% (n = 7) for sample DEHP quantification. Phthalate migration from hemodialysis tubing was quantified by use of a peristaltic pump and recirculation (200 minutes) of serum with different degrces of hypertriglyceridemia (range from 2.26 to 14.5 g/L) or solutions of human albumin (10 to 50 g/L). Only DEHP, but no other phthalates are detected in the extracts. There exist linear relations between DEHP extraction and triglyceride content (increase by 1.01 μg DEHP/g tubing material per g triglyceride/L serum) as well as between DEHP extraction and albumin content (0.59 μg DEHP/g tubing material per g albumin/L). Under physiological conditions, the total amount of albumin extracts 17.7-fold more DEHP than the total triglyceride amount in human serum. The suitability of the proposed method as a candidate reference method as well as consequences for dyslipidemic and hypalbuminemic patients on hemodialysis schemes are discussed.     

Distribution characteristics of methamphetamine and amphetamine in urine and hair specimens collected from alleged methamphetamine users in northern Taiwan

This study was conducted to better understand the distribution characteristics of methamphetamine and amphetamine in urine and hair specimens collected from alleged methamphetamine users in the local population. It is anticipated that the data hereby obtained will be helpful to the interpretation of the time and pattern of drug use. Eight alleged methamphetamine-using arrestees from Keelung Police Department (north of Taipei, Taiwan) consented to contribute both urine and hair specimens. Each arrestee contributed seven urine specimens collected at 0, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h, respectively, after the arrest. Hair specimens were cut into 2-cm sections. The limits of detection and quantitation of the urine protocol were 40 and 50 ng/mL, respectively, for both amphetamine and methamphetamine, while the corresponding limits of detection and quantitation for the hair protocol were 0.8 and 1.0 ng/mg, respectively. The concentration variations of methamphetamine and amphetamine in the urine specimens exhibited three distinct patterns: (a) continuous decrease in the analytes’ concentrations for specimens collected at hours 0-120; (b) increase in the analytes’ concentrations in specimens collected at hours 0-12, followed by decrease; (c) increase in analytes’ concentrations in specimens collected at later times. Together with the amphetamine/methamphetamine concentration ratios found in these urine specimens, the observed trends in the changes of the analytes’ concentrations are helpful for the interpretation on the time of drug use. Unlike urine specimens, amphetamine/methamphetamine concentration ratios in various hair specimens and hair sections remain relatively constant.     

Profiling of uremic serum by high-resolution gas chromatography-electron-impact, chemical ionization mass spectrometry

A fast and reliable procedure for gas chromatographic profiling of components in ultrafiltrated uremic serum has been developed, using glass capillary columns. Sample pretreatment consists of ultrafiltration, evaporation and silylation. Some twenty components are identified by electron-impact and chemical ionization mass spectrometry. A comparison is made between profiles of sera from a series of uremic patients, before and after hemodialysis, and from non-uremic sera. Significant differences are found between these profiles. A "dialysis ratio" is introduced as a parameter for the removal of retained components by hemodialysis treatment.     

Rapid determination of urinary di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites based on liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry as a marker for blood transfusion in sports drug testing

Methods of blood doping such as autologous and homologous blood transfusion are one of the main challenging doping practices in competitive sport. Whereas homologous blood transfusion is detectable via minor blood antigens, the detection of autologous blood transfusion is still not feasible. A promising approach to indicate homologous or autologous blood transfusion is the quantification of increased urinary levels of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) metabolites found after blood transfusion. The commonly used plasticizer for flexible PVC products, such as blood bags, is DEHP which is known to diffuse into the stored blood. Therefore, a straight forward, rapid and reliable assay is presented for the quantification of the main metabolites mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate, mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate and mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate that can easily be implemented into existing multi-target methods used for sports drug testing. Quantification of the DEHP metabolites was accomplished after enzymatic hydrolysis of urinary glucuronide conjugates and direct injection using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The method was fully validated for quantitative purposes considering the parameters specificity, linearity (1-250 ng/mL), inter- (2.4%-4.3%) and intra-day precision (0.7%-6.1%), accuracy (85%-105%), limit of detection (0.2-0.3 ng/mL), limit of quantification (1 ng/mL), stability and ion suppression effects. Urinary DEHP metabolites were measured in a control group without special exposure to DEHP (n?=?100), in hospitalized patients receiving blood transfusion (n?=?10), and in athletes (n?=?468) being subject of routine doping controls. The investigation demonstrates that significantly increased levels of secondary DEHP metabolites were found in urine samples of transfused patients, strongly indicating blood transfusion.     

邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯和偏苯三酸三辛酯在临床不同药液中溶出量的比较

聚氯乙烯(PVC)材质的医疗器械产品中需要加入增塑剂以改善柔韧性,目前最常用的增塑剂是邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯(DEHP)和偏苯三酸三辛酯(TOTM)。本文考察了PVC一次性使用输液器产品在脂溶性药液(紫杉醇注射液)、肠外营养液(脂肪乳)、酸性药液(左氧氟沙星,pH 3.0~5.0)和碱性药液(呋塞米,pH 8.0~9.0)中的DEHP和TOTM溶出量,并进行对比分析。先建立了一种高效液相色谱-紫外检测(HPLC-UV)方法测定增塑剂的溶出量,并利用该方法对增塑剂的溶出量进行了分析。实验结果表明,增塑剂在不同药液中均有一定的溶出情况,其中紫杉醇注射液对增塑剂的溶出量要高于脂肪乳,并远高于左氧氟沙星和呋塞米注射液。通过对比DEHP和TOTM的溶出量可以看出,在相同的浸提条件下,TOTM的溶出量远低于DEHP的溶出量。利用紫杉醇注射液浸提24 h,PVC输液器产品DEHP的溶出量为21.14 mg,而TOTM的溶出量仅为0.078 mg。DEHP的溶出量为TOTM溶出量的270倍。因此,TOTM具有的较好耐迁移性,是一种潜在的DEHP替代增塑剂。     

液相色谱-串联质谱法测定饮料中邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯和邻苯二甲酸二异壬酯

建立了饮料中邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯(DEHP)和邻苯二甲酸二异壬酯(DINP)残留的液相色谱-串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)检测方法。2.0 g样品经8 mL甲醇振荡提取、定容、离心,取上清液过滤,采用LC-MS/MS电喷雾电离,多反应监测(MRM)模式对样品进行分析。DEHP在浓度范围为2～200μg/L,DINP在10～1000μg/L内线性良好,相关系数均大于0.998。实验表明:样品无明显的基质效应。样品中添加0.01～5 mg/kg的DEHP和DINP,其回收率为86.2%～111.6%;相对标准偏差(n=6)小于11%;DEHP检出限为0.008 mg/kg,定量限为0.01 mg/kg;DINP检出限为0.01 mg/kg,定量限为0.05 mg/kg。本方法提取效果好,具有良好的灵敏度、回收率和重复性,被成功用于实际饮料样品中DEHP和DINP的测定。     

Preliminary study to prepare a reference material of styrene metabolites – mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid – in human urine

 A preliminary batch of the reference material was prepared by freeze-drying pooled urine samples obtained from healthy persons occupationally exposed to styrene. Tests for homogeneity and stability were performed by determining urine concentrations of mandelic (MA) and phenylglyoxylic acids (PGA). The urinary MA and PGA concentrations were followed over an 8-month period using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No changes of the concentration values were found. Pure PA and PGA from Merck and Fluka, respectively, were used for traceability purposes, because certified or standard reference materials for MA and PGA do not exist. Control material ClinChek-Urine Control (Recipe) was analysed simultaneously. The mean values of MA and PGA compared well with the means of control samples and fell within the control range. The certified values and their uncertainties were evaluated from the results of interlaboratory comparisons, homogeneity (277.0 ± 7.4 mg L⁻¹ for MA and 148.0 ± 4.7 mg L⁻¹ for FGA) and stability tests. The values are unweighted arithmetical averages of accepted results and their uncertainties are combined uncertainties enlarged by coefficient k=1, evaluated from the standard uncertainties of the interlaboratory comparison, homogeneity and stability tests. Received: 17 September 2002 Accepted: 1 November 2002 Acknowledgement This work was supported by the Internal Grant Agency of Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (Grant NJ/6784–3). Presented at CERMM-3, Central European Reference Materials and Measurements Conference: The function of reference materials in the measurement process, May 30–June 1, 2002, Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia Correspondence to I. Šperlingová     

Determination of Penicillinase-Resistant Penicillins In Serum Using High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A method for the determination of methicillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, and nafcillin in serum using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. The drugs were extracted from serum using a two-step procedure employing acetonitrile followed by methylene chloride. The extraction procedure concentrated the antibiotics in a smaller volume which allows more accurate determinations of low serum levels. The treated sera were analyzed by HPLC on a reverse-phase column and detected by ultraviolet light absorption at 254 nm. Serum concentrations were measurable as low as 0.5 μg/ml. Recovery procedures showed less than 2.5% variation in peak heights when the antibiotics were extracted from different pools of serum. No interfering absorption was found in extracts of serum samples pooled from healthy volunteers, from a commercial source, or from two serum pools from patients receiving a variety of other drugs. Two spiked serum specimens prepared for each antibiotic were assayed four times by HPLC and by the microbiological agar diffusion method. No significant statistical differences between the methods were observed. Control materials were assayed for between-batch and within-batch reproducibility in the presence or absence of an internal standard. Results for between-batch reproducibility demonstrate CV's of about 5%. This procedure provides a sensitive, specific, accurate, and rapid method for determining antibiotic levels in routine clinical specimens.     

Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharides and Wolfberry Juice Prevent DEHP-Induced Hepatotoxicity via PXR-Regulated Detoxification Pathway

Environmental di(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used in various industries as a plasticizer, and has been reported to induce reproductive and developmental toxicities in organisms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the detoxification capacity of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) and wolfberry juice (WJ) against DEHP-induced hepatotoxicity. Two groups of rats were purchased to study two different intervention method experiments: LBP (50, 100, 200 mg/kg·bw) intervention before DEHP (2000 mg/kg·bw) exposure, and LBP (200 mg/kg·bw) or WJ (8 mL/kg·bw) intervention after DEHP (3000 mg/kg·bw) exposure. The rats were exposed to DEHP once, while the intervention lasted for seven days. At the end of the intervention, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the related index. The LBP intervention before DEHP exposure experiment (the first experimental method) found that LBP group rats showed a strong capacity toward DEHP detoxification, evidenced by the significant upregulation of activities and concentrations of the partner retinoid, X receptor alpha (RXRα), and downstream regulators Cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1), Cytochrome P4503A1 (CYP3A1), Glutathione S-Transferase Pi (GSTpi), and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1 (UGT1) in a dose-dependent manner. The LBP and WJ intervention after DEHP exposure experiment (the second intervention experiment) found that WJ could downregulate pregnane X receptor (PXR), and upregulate downstream regulators, CYP2E1, CYP3A1, and Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) with the extension of intervention time, to alleviate the toxicity of DEHP. However, the intervention effect of WJ was more obvious than that of LBP. These results suggested that LBP and WJ might be effective detoxification agents against DEHP-induced toxic effects, by activating PXR and PXR-related detoxifying enzymes.     

An HPLC method for the determination of the free cortisol/cortisone ratio in human urine

The measurement of the urinary free cortisol-cortisone ratio has been reported to be a sensitive indicator of renal 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11 beta-HSD 2) activity. This converts biologically active cortisol to inactive cortisone. A decrease in its activity (e.g. through disease or inhibition caused by a therapeutic agent or a foodstuff) may increase cortisol levels and susceptibility towards hypertension. The method presented here uses a simple isocratic tandem column HPLC system. The method has been validated and found to be robust and reproducible. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was found to be 10 ng/mL for both cortisol and cortisone. Samples of urine (n = 99) from patients, most of whom were on complex combinations of drugs, were analyzed and 92% of samples were found to give successful results with this method (cortisol and cortisone above LLOQ). The ratio ranged from 0.07 to 5.61. No interferences were noted from the drugs that the patients were taking. It was also found that a morning spot urine sample gave comparable results to 24 h collection samples, thus making sample collection much easier.     

Determination of di‐(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate in environmental samples by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

Di‐(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) was determined in environmental samples such as water and soil. DEHP was extracted from water samples using SPE, whereas for soils pressurized liquid extraction was applied as extraction method, using hexane/acetone (1:1, v/v) as extractant solvent. The use of HPLC coupled to MS provides the basis of the selective determination of DEHP in the analyzed samples. The extraction procedures were validated and good results were found. Recoveries were ranged from 86.0 to 99.8% with RSD lower than 18% and LODs were 0.02 mg/kg and 0.03 μg/L for soils and water, respectively. Finally, the optimized methods were applied to the analysis of real samples and DEHP was not found above the LOQ (0.05 mg/kg) in soil samples whereas it was detected in water samples at concentrations ranging between 0.19 to 0.88 μg/L.     

A Semi-Automated Colorimetric Method for the Analysis of Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid (DOPAC) in Urine of Parkinsonian Patients Receiving L-Dopa

Abstract

An analytical system is presented which permits the separation and analysis of urinary dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC). This method is suitable for analyzing the urine from both normal and Parkinsonian patients receiving L-Dopa.     

Simultaneous screening and determination eight phthalates in plastic products for food use by sonication-assisted extraction/GC-MS methods

Studies on determination of eight kinds of phthalates, e.g. di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), di-propyl phthalate (DPP), di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), di-cyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-octyl phthalate (DOP), in 25 kinds of plastic products for food use, including packaging bags, packaging film, containers, boxes for microwave oven use, sucking tubes, spoons, cups, plates, etc. by gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS) in electronic ionisation mode (EI) with selected-ion monitoring (SIM) acquisition method (GC-MS (EI-SIM)) have been carried out. Methods have been developed for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of phthalates. Extraction, clean-up and analysis procedure have been optimized. Determination of samples were performed after frozen in liquid nitrogen and sonication-assisted extraction with hexane, clean-up with LC-C18 SPE and analyzed by GC-MS methods. The base peak (m/z = 149) of all the phthalates was selected for the screening studies. The characteristic ions, 121, 177, 222 for DEP; 191, 209 for DPP; 57, 223 for DIBP; 104 for DBP; 91, 132, 206 for BBP; 55, 167 for DCHP; 113, 167, 279 for DEHP; 279 for DOP were chosen for quantitative studies. These techniques are possible to detect phthalates at the level of 10.0 μg/kg. Overall recoveries were 82-106% with R.S.D. values at 3.8-10.2%. Only one of the 25 examined samples was free from phthalates. The rest 24 samples were found to contain at least three or more of these phthalates. The predominant phthalate detected in the studied samples was DEHP.     

Effect of different antibiotics on aerobic pathogenic bacteria and urinary tract infection in Al-Manathera City, Iraq: a comparative study

The present study was carried out from January to June 2011 in Al-Manathera General Hospital in Al-Manathera City, Iraq. The study aimed at comparing between bacteriological etiologic agents of otitis media and urinary tract infection (UTI). The study revealed that, from the 130 specimens from outpatients (65 ear swab from patients infected with otitis media and 65 urine specimens from patients infected with UTI), there were 60 bacterial isolates from patients infected with otitis media (36 males, 60 %, and 24 females, 40 %) with five no-growth specimens. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most prevalent bacteriological etiologic agent of otitis media (25 isolates, 41.666 %), while from the 65 urine specimens from patients suffering from UTI, there were 65 bacterial isolates (24 males, 36.923 %, and 41 females, 63.077 %). Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most prevalent etiologic agent of UTI (27 isolates, 41.53 %). Nitrofurantoin was active against all the otitis bacterial isolates and the UTI isolates, while Ampicillin and Penicillin were not active against most of bacterial isolates.     

Human urine certified reference material CZ 6009: creatinine,styrene metabolites (mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid)

The reference material was prepared by freeze-drying pooled urine samples obtained from healthy persons occupationally exposed to styrene. The concentrations of mandelic acid (MA), phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA), and hippuric acid (HA) in urine were determined by three modes of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). For isochronous stability testing the urinary mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid concentrations were followed over a 24-month period for a preliminary batch by use of HPLC. No changes of the concentration values were found. The creatinine concentration was stable for more than five years. Standard Reference Material NIST 914a Creatinine was used for traceability purposes for creatinine. Pure chemicals MA and PGA were used for traceability purposes. Control material ClinChek-Urine Control (Recipe) was analyzed simultaneously. The mean values of MA and PGA compare well with the means and fall within the control range of control samples. Results from homogeneity, stability, and traceability testing were evaluated using the statistical program ANOVA. The certified values and their uncertainties were evaluated from the results of interlaboratory comparisons, and homogeneity and stability tests. The values are unweighed arithmetical averages of accepted results and their uncertainties are combined uncertainties (coverage factor=1).Abbreviations MA Mandelic acid - HA Hippuric acid - PGA Phenylglyoxylic acid - 3-HBA 3-Hydroxybenzoic acid - ANOVA Analysis of variance - CV Coefficient of variance - NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology - HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography     

Quantitation Of The Local Anesthetic Dibucaine With Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A chemical ionization and an electron impact GC/MS assaying approach is presented for determining dibucaine concentrations in biological fluids. Both use deuterium-labeled drug as the internal standard and rely on the same sample extraction and sample preparation procedure. Under chemical ionization conditions (CH₄), the assaying limits are in the range of 1–80 ng/ml of serum. Under electron impact conditions, the analytical range is 20–800 ng/ml. The chemical ionization procedure has been found suitable for monitoring drug levels in man. One volunteer, who received a single 5-mg oral dose, showed peak serum drug concentrations of 23 ng/ml attained 2 hr after drug administration. The biologic half-life (ß phase) was 11 hr.     

Evaporative loss kinetics of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from pristine DEHP and plasticized PVC

The migration of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) to a surrounding gas phase at temperatures below 120 °C kinetically is controlled by evaporation. The effects on the DEHP loss rate of nitrogen flow rate, relative humidity and degradation of the plasticizer at 100 °C was assessed. The sample mass decreased linearly with time for both pristine DEHP and plasticized PVC at comparable rates, suggesting that a thin film of DEHP was present on the jacketing insulation during desorption. The latter hypothesis was supported by infrared spectroscopy and by the fact that DEHP is an amphiphilic molecule that will tend to aggregate at the surface with the hydrophobic 2-ethylhexyl units at the air interface. The effect on the migration rate of moisture present in the gas phase was negligible. The DEHP loss rate increased in a retarding non-linear fashion with increasing gas flow rate. In one of the experiments, DEHP was accidently degraded as revealed by discoloration, the presence of low molar mass degradation products (liquid chromatography) containing additional carbonyl groups (infrared spectroscopy) and an increase in the evaporation rate at temperatures between 100 and 130 °C.