In an article published on October 21, 2022, in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe, Hiba Mohammed Taha and Emma L. Schymanski from the University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg, along with several dozen other collaborators from around the world including members of the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) described the creation, implementation, current state and outlook of the NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE).
NORMAN-SLE is a data resource combining suspect lists on chemicals expected to occur in the environment. As of May 2022, it hosted 99 suspect lists from more than 70 different sources worldwide. Each list can be downloaded separately, and all are combined in the NORMAN Substance Database (SusDat). Two of FPF’s databases have been integrated into the NORMAN-SLE and SusDat with structural information being added; the Database of Chemicals associated with Plastic Packaging (CPPdb) (S48 and S49 of the NORMAN-SLE) and Food Contact Chemicals Database (FCCdb) (S77). Overall, SusDat includes 100,000 substances with their chemical name, chemical identifiers such as Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers, and structural information such as simplified molecular-input line-entry system (SMILES). The (neutral) monoisotopic masses and molecular formulae are also included in many of the lists, to support suspect screening. The database allows the search of chemicals by their uses such as “food contact chemicals”, “plastic additives”, or “REACH chemicals.”
The objective behind the NORMAN-SLE website is to facilitate “the exchange of chemical information to support the suspect screening of primarily organic contaminants amenable to liquid or gas chromatography (LC or GC) coupled to mass spectrometry.” To support this aim, NORMAN-SLE is a Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR), and publicly accessible resource. It shall facilitate and support the information exchange between scientists and researchers.
New suspect lists can be provided directly on the website. Once submitted, lists are curated including a “reasonable degree of standardization”, and added to the website and on Zenodo. Content of NORMAN-SLE is progressively integrated into open chemistry resources such as PubChem and the US EPA’s CompTox Chemicals Dashboard.
Researchers have been using NORMAN lists to tentatively identify chemicals present in migrates and extracts of food contact materials (FPF reported and here).
Reference
Mohammed Taha, H. et al. (2022). “The NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN‑SLE): facilitating European and worldwide collaboration on suspect screening in high resolution mass spectrometry.” Environmental Sciences Europe. DOI: 10.1186/s12302-022-00680-6
