Natasha Banke, Ph.D. and an Analytical Chemist for the INX International Ink Co. Research & Development group, will speak at the RadTech Conference today during the Printing + Packaging session from 10:15 am to 12:15 pm. Her presentation is titled “Residual Building Block Chemicals in Raw Materials and Finished Printing Inks – a Risk Assessment Approach to Manufacturing and Detection Limits.”

With the increasing development of printing innovations and breakthroughs, Banke’s presentation is of particular interest given the ever-changing landscape of federal and worldwide regulations and guidelines. She will present methodology and data on the detection of free BPA in raw materials and finished printing inks.

“The current guidelines for the use of raw materials containing residual building block chemicals, like Bisphenol A (BPA), vary by country and governmental agency, while the safety of these chemicals continues to be debated among the scientific community,” stated Banke. “The lack of agreement on safety and acceptability of these materials has created the need for ink manufacturers to eliminate the use of these raw materials completely, and develop finished inks with alternative raw materials.”

As she will outline in her presentation, Banke discusses the difference in opinions offered by the National Institutes of Health Academic Community, the Environmental Protection Agency and EFSA. She also will examine how BPA is viewed by Swiss Ordinance, Nestle and the FDA.

“Alternatively, INX sought to develop a method to detect and quantify residual building block chemicals in raw materials and finished printing inks. The current study developed a targeted method to detect and quantify residual chemicals in raw materials and ink formulations by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tandem mass spectrometry (QqQ).”