Diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG) are used in the manufacture of products such as antifreeze and glues, but should never be incorporated in human pharmaceuticals as they are toxic. However, since the first outbreak in the USA in 1937 there have been multiple reports of their presence in paediatric cough and paracetamol syrups.
Izzy and John presented their research using innovative mass spectrometry-based techniques and other spectroscopic technologies to identify EG and DEG in medicines at the Diethylene Glycol/Ethylene Glycol Screening Technologies workshop (9th – 12th April 2024), Jesus College Oxford.
You can read more about their research here: https://www.cghr.ox.ac.uk/research/medicine-quality-research-group/mqrg-projects/the-deg-eg-project-safety-of-medicinal-syrups-for-children
