Volatile organic compounds from topical drugs and medical products: Effects on air quality and healthcare environments

Fifteen commonly used topical drugs and five medical products were evaluated using headspace Q-TOF GC/MS to assess VOCs emissions into healthcare environments and potential patient inhalation. The speciation of VOCs found in medicine products was less complex than typically found in non-medicated, cosmetic skincare products. VOCs arising from medicinal products could be classified as being related to product performance (e.g., solvent), product fragrance, and likely trace contaminants unintentionally included. The scale of emissions and resulting inhalation could be significant for products that are facially applied, and there may be some potential for wider indoor air quality effects if used regularly in poorly ventilated spaces. Emission rates from topical drugs were then quantified using SIFT-MS, focusing on the ten most abundant/commonly found species identified by Q-TOF GC/MS – 2-propanol, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, cyclohexane, ethanol, menthol, methyl salicylate, phenol, and limonene and eucalyptol (representing the total of all terpene species). Emission rates were in the range 9.7 × 10⁻⁵ µg s⁻¹ g _[product] ⁻¹ to 5.9 µg s⁻¹ g _[product] ⁻¹.