Migration of phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials

Abstract

Plasticizers enhance the flexibility of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products but may migrate over time, posing potential health risks. This study quantified migration rates of ten phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers from PVC sheet specimens into artificial saliva and sweat, across plasticizer contents ranging from 20 to 50 wt%. Migration experiments at 37 °C, followed by GC-TOF/MS analysis, revealed linear relationships between plasticizer content and both ingestion and dermal migration rates for most compounds. DBP, DiBP, and DiNA exhibited the highest migration (> 0.33 μg/cm 2 /min in saliva; > 3.23 ng/cm 2 /min in sweat), whereas DEHA and DnOP demonstrated minimal release. Key molecular descriptors − including measured content (MC), estimated solubility (ESOL), SpMax2_Bhi, and total connectivity index (Xt) − showed significant correlations with migration behaviors. Multiple linear regression and robust regression models were developed to predict ingestion and dermal migration, achieving R 2 = 0.70 (RMSE = 0.238) and Pseudo R 2 = 0.89, respectively. Internal 5-fold cross-validation confirmed model stability, although external validation revealed limitations related to dataset dependency. Despite these constraints, the proposed models offer a practical and rapid screening approach for estimating plasticizer release and potential human exposure from consumer products. • Migration rates of phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers from PVC into artificial saliva and sweat were quantified. • A linear increase of plasticizer migration rate with content was observed for most plasticizers. • DBP, DiBP, and DiNA showed the highest ingestion and dermal migration. • Predictive regression models using molecular descriptors showed moderate accuracy for plasticizer migration. • The findings and models can be applied for primary estimation of plasticizer release from PVC.

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