Determination of preservatives in cosmetics and food samples by micellar liquid chromatography

Open Tubular Column Immobilized with Covalent Organic Frameworks for Rapid Separation of Small Molecular Compounds by Capillary Electrochromatography

Preparation of a novel TpBD (synthesized from phloroglucinol and benzidine) covalent organic framework (COF) immobilized open-tubular (OT) capillary is described by in situ growth strategy. The stationary phase in the column was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS). Several families of compounds with different properties (alkylbenzenes, parabens, sulfonamides and benzoic acids) were selected to evaluate the performance of the TpBD COF immobilized capillary. The results showed that the stationary phase was uniform with about 6.0 μm thickness under the optimal preparation conditions, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were no more than 3.13% of alkylbenzenes on the TpBD COF immobilized capillary for 11 consecutive runs, which exhibited its excellent reproducibility and stability. A rapid baseline separation of each family of the analytes (neutral parabens, amphoteric sulfonamides and acidic benzoic acids) was obtained in less than 6 min with a resolution (Rs) of 2.79~9.30, which sufficiently verified the rapid separation, high resolution and wide application range of the TpBD COF immobilized capillary, and further revealed this strategy of fabricating COF to capillary column to show great promise in capillary electrochromatography.

Microextraction by packed sorbent optimized by statistical design of experiment as an approach to increase the sensitivity and selectivity of HPLC-UV determination of parabens in cosmetics

A new approach to the quantitative analysis of parabens (PBs) in cosmetics, based on microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) followed by HPLC-UV detection is proposed. The development of optimal conditions for the sample preparation step was carried out in two stages. The potentially important factors that could influence the extraction were screened using the Plackett-Burman design approach, as a result of which, three statistically significant factors were selected from the nine studied. Thereafter, the selected variables were optimized by response surface methodology using a Central Composite Design. Under optimal conditions, the linear ranges for PBs analysis in cosmetic samples were 0.05-4 μg/mL with excellent precision. Limits of detection (LOD) of PBs in cosmetic samples were 2-5 ng/mL, and the extraction recovery ranged from 89 to 105 %. By comparing the chromatograms of the diluted shampoo sample before and after MEPS, the benefits of developed approach were shown. Then it was applied to the analysis of PBs in commercial hair cosmetic products: parabens were determined in all samples in which they were indicated on the package and in 1 of 12 samples labeled "paraben-free". Finally, the proposed method was compared with other analytical HPLC-UV methods with various sample pretreatment techniques for PBs analysis in cosmetics described in recent articles. Its sensitivity turned out to be one of the highest, while it is express, automated, meets the principles of green chemistry.

Simultaneous determination of 11 preservatives in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals by matrix solid-phase dispersion coupled with gas chromatography

A convenient method was developed for simultaneous determination of 11 preservatives in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Matrix solid-phase dispersion had been optimized as the sample pretreatment technology, using Florisil as a dispersant, anhydrous sodium sulfate as a dehydrant, formic acid as an additive, and n-hexane and ethyl acetate as eluents successively, and followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection on a TR-5 capillary column. Experimental results showed that 11 preservatives were baseline separated within 22 min. Good linearities were observed in the concentration range of 0.53–250 μg/mL for all analytes, and there were also minor differences. All correlation coefficients (r) were more than 0.995. The average recoveries at 3 levels of spiked samples ranged from 80% to 124% with 0.9–12% intra-day RSD and 1.8–12% inter-day RSD. The limits of detection were less than 0.18 μg/mL for all analytes. Besides, there was no obvious matrix effect on the analytes. The conclusion was that the developed method was simple, cheap, accurate, precise, and environment-friendly, in addition to existing little matrix effects. It could be recommended to determine 11 preservatives individually or in any their combinations to not only in liquid and gel cosmetics but also in liquid medicine and ointment.

Solvent-free mixed micellar mobile phases: An advanced green chemistry approach for reversed-phase HPLC determination of some antihypertensive drugs

Minimizing the amount of organic solvents without loss in chromatographic performance has been an important step toward greening analytical methodologies. Mobile-phase composition is the key for maintaining separation efficiency in liquid chromatography while decreasing the procedure hazardousness. If sodium dodecyl sulfate is mixed with Brij-35 in the mobile phase, they could be used as a green alternative for using organic modifiers. In this research, the effect of changing the relative amounts of both surfactants was studied on the chromatographic performance and separation efficiency of ten antihypertensive drugs belonging to different categories. The use of surfactants has many advantages including low cost and toxicity, safe environmental disposal, unique selectivity besides high solubilization capabilities. The optimum separation was maintained using a mobile phase (0.01 M Brij-35, 0.08 M sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.01 M sodium dihydrogen phosphate/pH 5) on reversed-phase C18 core-shell column at flow rate 1.5 mL/min and temperature 30°C. The method was successfully applied for the determination of the drugs in various marketed dosage forms. International Conference of Harmonization guidelines were followed to validate the developed method. Additionally, the method was verified on the Green Analytical Procedure Index in regards to the greenness and found to be an excellent green alternative method.

Experimental and statistical analysis on a nanostructured sensor for determination of p-hydroxybenzoic acid in cosmetics

In this research, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) coupled with experimental design, was used for determination of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHB) in cosmetics. Optimization of effecting parameters was carried out based on rotatable central composite design (RCCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) at the surface of a nanostructured electrode for achieving the best sensitivity. Sol-gel process was used for synthesize of nickel titanate (NiTiO₃) nanoceramics. The structural and morphological characterization of the nanoparticles was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then the NiTiO₃ nanopowders were used for surface modification of a carbon paste modified electrode (CPE). Surface characterization of the electrode was accomplished using SEM, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. Under the optimized conditions, the voltammograms exhibited two linear dynamic ranges of 0.7-80.0 μM and 80.0-1000.0 μM for PHB with the detection limit of 62.0 nM (S/N = 3). Finally the NiTiO₃ nanoceramics modified carbon paste electrode (NiTiO₃/CPE) could be employed for the determination of PHB in real samples with satisfactory results.

Search of non-ionic surfactants suitable for micellar liquid chromatography

Most reports in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) with micellar mobile phases make use of the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate. This surfactant masks efficiently the silanol groups that are the origin of the poor efficiencies and tailing peaks observed for basic compounds in conventional RPLC. However, it has the handicap of yielding excessive retention, which forces the addition of an organic solvent to reduce the retention times to practical values. Other surfactants, such as the non-ionic polyoxyethylene(23)lauryl ether (Brij-35), are rarely used. Brij-35 allows the separation of a large range of analytes in adequate retention times, without the need of adding an organic solvent to the mobile phase. However, this non-ionic surfactant shows irreversible adsorption on chromatographic columns and peak shape is poorer. Therefore, the search of non-ionic surfactants with similar properties to Brij-35, but showing reversible adsorption and better peak shape, can be of great interest. In this work, the adequacy of several non-ionic surfactants as modifiers in RPLC has been explored, being polyoxyethylene(10)tridecyl ether particularly attractive. The separation of different types of compounds was checked: sulfonamides (acidic), β-adrenoceptor antagonists and tricyclic antidepressants (basic with diverse polarity), and flavonoids (with and without hydroxyl groups on the aromatic rings). The chromatographic behaviors were examined in terms of retention and peak shape. The results were compared with those obtained with Brij-35.

Positive lists of cosmetic ingredients: Analytical methodology for regulatory and safety controls - A review

Cosmetic products placed on the market and their ingredients, must be safe under reasonable conditions of use, in accordance to the current legislation. Therefore, regulated and allowed chemical substances must meet the regulatory criteria to be used as ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, and adequate analytical methodology is needed to evaluate the degree of compliance. This article reviews the most recent methods (2005-2015) used for the extraction and the analytical determination of the ingredients included in the positive lists of the European Regulation of Cosmetic Products (EC 1223/2009): comprising colorants, preservatives and UV filters. It summarizes the analytical properties of the most relevant analytical methods along with the possibilities of fulfilment of the current regulatory issues. The cosmetic legislation is frequently being updated; consequently, the analytical methodology must be constantly revised and improved to meet safety requirements. The article highlights the most important advances in analytical methodology for cosmetics control, both in relation to the sample pretreatment and extraction and the different instrumental approaches developed to solve this challenge. Cosmetics are complex samples, and most of them require a sample pretreatment before analysis. In the last times, the research conducted covering this aspect, tended to the use of green extraction and microextraction techniques. Analytical methods were generally based on liquid chromatography with UV detection, and gas and liquid chromatographic techniques hyphenated with single or tandem mass spectrometry; but some interesting proposals based on electrophoresis have also been reported, together with some electroanalytical approaches. Regarding the number of ingredients considered for analytical control, single analyte methods have been proposed, although the most useful ones in the real life cosmetic analysis are the multianalyte approaches.

Parabens determination in cosmetic and personal care products exploiting a multi-syringe chromatographic (MSC) system and chemiluminescent detection

Parabens are widely used in dairy products, such as in cosmetics and personal care products. Thus, in this work a multi-syringe chromatographic (MSC) system is proposed for the first time for the determination of four parabens: methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP) and butylparaben (BP) in cosmetics and personal care products, as a simpler, practical, and low cost alternative to HPLC methods. Separation was achieved using a 5mm-long precolumn of reversed phase C18 and multi-isocratic separation, i.e. using two consecutive mobile phases, 12:88 acetonitrile:water and 28:72 acetonitrile:water. The use of a multi-syringe buret allowed the easy implementation of chemiluminescent (CL) detection after separation. The chemiluminescent detection is based on the reduction of Ce(IV) by p-hydroxybenzoic acid, product of the acid hydrolysis of parabens, to excite rhodamine 6G (Rho 6G) and measure the resulting light emission. Multivariate designs combined with the concepts of multiple response treatments and desirability functions have been employed to simultaneously optimize and evaluate the responses. The optimized method has proved to be sensitive and precise, obtaining limits of detection between 20 and 40 µg L(-1) and RSD <4.9% in all cases. The method was satisfactorily applied to cosmetics and personal care products, obtaining no significant differences at a confidence level of 95% comparing with the HPLC reference method.

Validation of micellar LC-based methods applied to analyze foodstuffs

The validation of several micellar LC-based analytical methodologies was described. These methods were able to quantify quinolones in fish from fisheries, hydroxytyrosol in olive extracts and biogenic amines in anchovy sauce. The validation was performed following the requirements of official guides to provide more reliability. Two guides suggested by renowned institution are described: US FDA Guidance for Industry and EU Regulation 2002/657/EC Decision. The appropriate guide was used for each method, depending of the analyte, the matrix and the scope of sample. The calculated validation parameters were those proposed by the guide: selectivity, calibration range, linearity, LOD and LOQ, inter- and intra-day accuracy and precision, limit of decision, detection capability, robustness, recovery and stability. The methodologies were successfully validated by the selected guideline, indicating their suitability to be applied to analysis of real samples, proven to be useful to its intended purpose.

Selectivity of Brij-35 in Micellar Liquid Chromatographic Separation of Positional Isomers

Implementation of Brij-35, a nonionic surfactant, as a mobile phase for separation of positional isomers is investigated. Chromolith C-18 SpeedROD is used as a stationary phase. The effect of surfactant and organic modifier (propanol) concentration on the separation of some selected isomers is studied and evaluated in terms of linear solvation energy relationship (LSER). Shape selectivity is assessed by α value of sorbic and benzoic acid, which is found to be 1.339 by using mobile phase composed of 0.5% aqueous solutions of Brij-35 and propanol in 9 : 1. Isomers of parabens, nitroanilines, nitrophenols, and quinolinols are successfully separated using mobile phases composed of various percentages of surfactant and propanol. System constants for nonionic MLC using LSER analysis show that hydrogen bond basicity and dipolarity may be major contributors to selectivity, while excess molar refraction helps fine-tuning the separation which also imparts unique selectivity to nonionic surfactants as compared to ionic ones.

Simultaneous determination of tyramine and tryptamine and their precursor amino acids by micellar liquid chromatography and pulsed amperometric detection in wines

Two biogenic amines, tryptamine and tyramine, and their precursors, tryptophan and tyrosine, were determined by a liquid chromatographic procedure. A hybrid micellar mobile phase of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and 1-propanol, a C18 column and electrochemical detection were used. A pH study in the range of 3-9 was performed and pH 3 was finally selected in accordance with resolution and analysis time. Oxidation potential was also checked in the range 0.6-0.9V: the maximum area obtained in all those potentials was at 0.8V, which was selected to carry out the analysis using a sequence of pulsed amperometric detection waveform. The four compounds were resolved using a mobile phase of 0.15M SDS-5% 1-propanol with an analysis time of 16 min. Repeatabilities and intermediate precision were evaluated at three different concentrations for each compound with RSD values lower than 2.6 and 4.8%, respectively. Limits of detection and quantification were also obtained within the 10-40 and 33-135 ng/ml ranges, respectively. Finally, the applicability of the procedure was tested in several types of wine and no matrix effect was observed. The possibility of direct sample introduction simplifies and greatly expedites the treatments with reduced cost, improving the accuracy of the procedures.

Simultaneous determination of seven phthalates and four parabens in cosmetic products using HPLC-DAD and GC-MS methods

Studies on the determination of seven kinds of phthalates, i.e. diethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and dioctyl phthalate, and four parabens, i.e. methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben, in 15 kinds of cosmetic products, including hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants, cream, lotion, etc., by HPLC with diode array detection and GC-MS in electron impact ionization mode with selected-ion monitoring have been carried out. Methods have been developed for both qualitative and quantitative detection of phthalates and parabens. Extraction, clean-up, and analysis procedures have been optimized. HPLC and GC-MS determinations were performed after sonication-assisted extraction with methanol and clean-up with C18 SPE. These techniques permit detection of phthalates at a level of 10.0-100.0 microg/kg and of parabens at a level of 20.0-200.0 microg/kg. Overall recoveries were 85-108% with RSD values of 4.2-8.8%. Only one of the 15 examined samples was free from phthalates and parabens. The remaining 14 samples were found to contain at least three or more of these phthalates and/or parabens. The predominant phthalates and parabens detected in the studied samples were methylparaben, propylparaben, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. The residue level is at 1.22-5289 mg/kg.

Simultaneous analysis of antioxidants and preservatives in cosmetics by supercritical fluid extraction combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

This study evaluated supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to determine trace preservatives and antioxidants including methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP), butylparaben (BP), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), alpha-tocopherol (alpha-t) and alpha-tocopherol acetate (alpha-ta) in cosmetic products. A supercritical fluid extraction procedure was used to isolate four paraben preservatives and four antioxidants from the cosmetic matrix before quantitative analysis. The optimum extraction condition was performed with static extraction for 5 min, then dynamic extraction for 20 min by using carbon dioxide supercritical fluid at 14,000 kPa and 65 degrees C. Methanol was used as collection solvent and the sea sand was chosen as a filling material. The analytes were separated on a C18 reversed-phase column using methanol-water as mobile phase and quantified by measuring its mass spectrometry. The linearity range is from 10 to 20,000 ng/g with RSD values below 18%. Detection limits are achieved at the level of 4.7-142 ng/g. It was successfully applied to the determination of paraben preservatives and antioxidants in cosmetics without tedious pretreatment.