. 2022 Nov 10;86:104339. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104339

Table 5.

Identification of peaks from chromatographs of extractables from raw material and final, finished Tampax Cup (extraction at 50 °C for 2 h).

Peak #	Raw material (μg/g ± SD) (n = 3)	Final, finished Tampax Cup (μg/g ± SD) (n = 3)	Final, finished Tampax Cup (μg/cup) ^a^,^b	Exposure^b (μg/kg bw/day)^b^,^c	Identification molecular formula		Confidence^d
1	<LOD	0.19 ± 0.1	6.18	0.17	Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ solvent salt clusters		Partial
2	0.23 ± 0.06	0.14 ± 0.02	3.41	0.14	Siloxane ^e C₁₄H₄₄O₈Si₇	n = 5	Tentative
3	0.038 ± 0.004	0.031 ± 0.003	0.72	0.03	Silicone-containing constituent		Partial
4	1.5 ± 0.7	0.95 ± 0.1	22.37	0.89	Siloxane ^e C₁₆H₅₀O₉Si₈	n = 6	Tentative
5	3.1 ± 1	1.1 ± 0.1	25.56	1.02	Siloxane ^e C₁₈H₅₆O₁₀Si₉	n = 7	Matched
6	2.3 ± 0.8	0.56 ± 0.05	12.99	0.52	Siloxane ^e C₂₀H₆₂O₁₁Si₁₀	n = 8	Matched
7	1.6 ± 0.5	0.29 ± 0.04	7.03	0.28	Siloxane ^e C₂₂H₆₈O₁₂Si₁₁	n = 9	Matched
8	0.70 ± 0.2	0.11 ± 0.03	2.98	0.12	Siloxane ^e C₂₄H₇₄O₁₃Si₁₂	n = 10	Matched
9	0.31 ± 0.1	0.073 ± 0.02	1.98	0.08	Siloxane ^e C₂₆H₈₀O₁₄Si₁₃	n = 11	Matched
10	0.21 ± 0.09	0.10 ± 0.04	2.98	0.12	Siloxane ^e C₂₈H₈₆O₁₅Si₁₄	n = 12	Matched
11	0.20 ± 0.08	0.11 ± 0.05	3.41	0.14	Siloxane ^e C₃₀H₉₂O₁₆Si₁₅	n = 13	Matched
12	0.24 ± 0.07	0.088 ± 0.04	2.73	0.11	Siloxane ^e C₃₂H₉₈O₁₄Si₁₆	n = 14	Matched
13	0.20 ± 0.04	0.049 ± 0.02	1.47	0.06	Siloxane ^e C₃₄H₁₀₄O₁₄Si₁₇	n = 15	Matched
Combined daily exposure for all constituents (μg/kg bw/day)				3.5

Abbreviations: bw, Body weight; LOD, Limit of detection; n, Number of repeat units.

This column is a calculation to convert μg/g to μg/cup using a menstrual cup weight of 21.3 g and amount of extractable in the final finished Tampax Cup +1 SD.

Note that the “μg/cup” and “μg/kg bw/day” values already have one standard deviation added to represent a “worse-case scenario” value for the safety assessment.

This column is a conversion calculation using the formula X (μg/cup) x 2 cups/day, 50 kg. This calculation assumes 100% absorption of the constituent across the vaginal membrane into the systemic circulation and everyday exposure throughout the menstrual cycle.

Level of confidence classifications: (i) A partial identification denotes the determination of one or more functional groups OR a proposed molecular formula. (ii) A tentative identification is a proposed structure derived by using commonly accepted mass spectrometry interpretation practices AND a secondary piece of mass spectral data, published material composition, or chromatographic information that supports the proposed chemical identification. (iii) A matched compound identification is valid when a proposed compound chemical identification can be justified by one of the following: (a) using a published or user library spectral match AND the identification can be deemed as reasonable given additional knowledge of the sourcing or composition of the sample; (b) OR a molecular formula derived from using accurate mass AND the product ion spectrum is consistent with the proposed identification AND the identification can be deemed as reasonable given additional knowledge of the sourcing or composition of the sample.

It was not determined whether the siloxane was linear or cyclic.