Analysis of the Solid Contents of Toothpastes Available in UAE (United Arab Emirates) Markets

Abstract

In order to find out whether any toothpastes commercially available in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carry microplastic content in form of plastic microbeads, the filterable solid contents of 31 toothpastes from UAE markets and 2 toothpastes imported from Syria were analyzed. FT-IR studies of the solids revealed that the major solid components were hydrated silica and calcium carbonate, where the individual toothpaste product exhibited either one or the other as the dominant constituent. Titrimetric analysis of the alkalinity of the ash of the toothpastes was carried out. The solids, ashed at 600°C were subjected to FT-IR and EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic) analysis. The ash of some of the products was shown to have TiO2 and Ca3 (PO4)2 as minor components. Mostly organic dyes were used as colorants; however, iron oxide (Fe2O3) was also found. Importantly, none of the toothpastes carried any solid microplastic particles. Only 3 toothpastes carried microbeads at all, which were made of either silica or microcrystalline cellulose. This finding indicates that toothpastes, at least in the UAE, are no longer a significant source of microplastic in the environment. The results were compared to a toothpaste bought through the internet with a formulation from 2014, which exhibited polythene microplastic at 1.31 ± 0.39 w% of the filterable solid content.