Charting the Universe of Organic Extractables

There has been much speculation and discussion of the universe of organic extractables; its size, its constituents, the nature of those constituents, etc. Knowledge about the universe is critical to establishing best practices for E&L. In an effort to at least start the process of charting the organic extractables universe, Nelson Labs addressed the question of “what do we know about the universe from experience within that universe?” by performing a retrospective review of the many extractables studies that it has performed in the last several years. Study results were reviewed to establish what organic extractables had been reported in the studies performed over that period of time and how often the individual extractables were reported. Additional information about these extractables, including the methods they were detected with and their key analytical characteristics [e.g., relative response factors, retention indices (for GC/MS compounds) were abstracted from the compiled data and physiochemical characteristics of the extractables were collated from various sources. The results of this data collection and analysis process will be discussed and the use of the information to establish best practices will be considered.