Identification and evaluation of cell- growth-inhibiting bD t BPP-analogue degradation products from phosphite antioxidants used in polyolefin bioprocessing materials

The inhibiting effect of the secondary phosphite antioxidant degradation product bis(2,4-di- tert -butylphenyl)phosphate (bD t BPP) on cell growth is well-known. The present study describes structurally related compounds which are likely to be formed from similar widely used phosphite antioxidants used in materials for the manufacturing of single-use (SU) equipment. Two potential candidates of such compounds—3,3′,5,5′-tetra- tert -butyl-2,2′-dihydroxybiphenylphosphate (T t BBP) and bis( p -nonylphenyl)phosphate (bNPP)—were identified by chromatography and mass spectrometry followed by synthesis and X-ray structure elucidation. Additionally, the formation of T t BBP was confirmed in an analytical degradation study and its migration from SU bioprocessing material was estimated. The cytotoxicity evaluation by means of cell culture spiking experiments and flow cytometry analysis revealed that‚ even if cell growth was inhibited by all the compounds to some extent, bD t BPP showed the most severe effect and stoods out from the other two degradants investigated. Graphical abstract