Extraction and determination of hormones in cosmetics by homogeneous ionic liquid microextraction high-performance liquid chromatography

Advances on Hormones in Cosmetics: Illegal Addition Status, Sample Preparation, and Detection Technology

Owing to the rapid development of the cosmetic industry, cosmetic safety has become the focus of consumers' attention. However, in order to achieve the desired effects in the short term, the illegal addition of hormones in cosmetics has emerged frequently, which could induce skin problems and even skin cancer after long-term use. Therefore, it is of great significance to master the illegal addition in cosmetics and effectively detect the hormones that may exist in cosmetics. In this review, we analyze the illegally added hormone types, detection values, and cosmetic types, as well as discuss the hormone risks in cosmetics for human beings, according to the data in unqualified cosmetics in China from 2017 to 2022. Results showed that although the frequency of adding hormones in cosmetics has declined, hormones are still the main prohibited substances in illegal cosmetics, especially facial masks. Because of the complex composition and the low concentration of hormones in cosmetics, it is necessary to combine efficient sample preparation technology with instrumental analysis. In order to give the readers a comprehensive overview of hormone analytical technologies in cosmetics, we summarize the advanced sample preparation techniques and commonly used detection techniques of hormones in cosmetics in the last decade (2012-2022). We found that ultrasound-assisted extraction, solid phase extraction, and microextraction coupled with chromatographic analysis are still the most widely used analytical technologies for hormones in cosmetics. Through the investigation of market status, the summary of sample pretreatment and detection technologies, as well as the discussion of their development trends in the future, our purpose is to provide a reference for the supervision of illegal hormone residues in cosmetics.

Novel Room Temperature Ionic Liquid for Liquid-Phase Microextraction of Cannabidiol from Natural Cosmetics

This study presents the synthesis of a novel asymmetric 1,3-di(alkoxy)imidazolium based room temperature ionic liquid, more precisely 1-butoxy-3-ethoxy-2-ethyl-imidazolium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide, and its application as an extraction solvent in liquid-phase microextraction of cannabidiol from natural cosmetics. Quantification was implemented, using a high performance liquid chromatography system coupled to ultraviolet detection. Molecular structure elucidation was performed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The extraction procedure was optimized by means of two different design of experiments. Additionally, a full validation was executed. The established calibration model, ranging from 0.6 to 6.0 mg g−1, was linear with a coefficient of determination of 0.9993. Accuracy and precision were demonstrated on four consecutive days with a bias within −2.6 to 2.3% and a maximum relative standard deviation value of 2.5%. Recoveries, tested for low and high concentration within the calibration range, were 80%. Stability of extracted cannabidiol was proven for three days at room temperature and fourteen days at 4 °C and −20 °C. An autosampler stability for 24 h was validated. Liquid-phase microextraction of cannabidiol from different formulated cream based cosmetics was performed, including four ointments and four creams. The results show that a significantly higher selectivity could be achieved compared to a conventional extraction methods with methanol.

Novel functionalized magnetic ionic liquid green separation technology coupled with high performance liquid chromatography: A rapid approach for determination of estrogens in milk and cosmetics

Several magnetic ionic liquids (MILs), [P_6,6,6,14⁺][FeCl₄^-], [P_6,6,6,14⁺]₂[MnCl₄^2-], [P_6,6,6,14⁺]₂[CoCl₄^2-] and [P_6,6,6,14⁺]₂[NiCl₄^2-] were synthesized and applied for the extraction of six estrogens (estrone, estradiol, 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone, chloromadinone 17-acetate, megestrol 17-acetate and medroxyprogesterone 17-acetate) in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The [CoCl₄^2-]-based MIL was selected as extraction solvent for the separation and concentration of estrogens from milk and cosmetics due to its visual recognition, no sign of hydrolysis, solution acquisition easier and the highest extraction capacity. In addition, the [CoCl₄^2-]-based MIL with low UV absorbance allows direct analysis of the extraction solvent by HPLC-UV. The influence of the mass of MIL, extraction time, salt concentration, and the pH of the sample solution was investigated to obtain optimized extraction efficiency. Besides, extraction conditions including salt concentration, mass of MIL and extraction time were further optimized by the Box-Behnken design through the response surface method. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) of all estrogens were ranged from 5 ng mL^-1 to 15 ng mL^-1. The recoveries ranging from 98.5% to 109.3% in milk and from 96.3% to 111.4% in cosmetics were also studied, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed method were statistically compared with the reported conventional IL-DLLME method and the National standard methods of food safety and cosmetics. The experimental results showed that the functionalized MIL could successfully applied for extraction, separation and pretreatment of estrogens in milk and cosmetics.

A novel electrochemical sensor based on Fe3O4-doped nanoporous carbon for simultaneous determination of diethylstilbestrol and 17β-estradiol in toner

In this paper, Fe₃O₄-doped nanoporous carbon (Fe₃O₄-NC) was synthesized through the carbonization of Fe-porous coordination polymer (Fe-PCP), which are also known as metal-organic framework (MOF), and fabricated into an electrochemical sensor for simultaneous analysis of diethylstilbestrol (DES) and 17β-estradiol (E2) in toner. Fe₃O₄-NC was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, N₂ adsorption-desorption and so on. It is of great practical significance to achieve the simultaneous determination of the two estrogens because estrogens are co-existing in many real samples. The simultaneous determination of two common estrogens, DES and E2, was achieved through electro-catalytically oxidization at a Fe₃O₄-NC modified glassy carbon electrode (Fe₃O₄-NC/GCE). The peak currents of DES and E2 increased linearly as their concentrations increasing from 0.01 to 12 μmol/L and from 0.01 to 20 μmol/L, with detection limits of 4.6 nmol/L and 4.9 nmol/L (S/N = 3), respectively. This work was focused on the simultaneous determination of the two estrogens in toner. Furthermore, the recoveries of DES and E2 were 91.2-110%, in actual toner samples. The experimental results manifest that the sensor with a stronger anti-interference ability can be used for the simultaneous detection of DES and E2 in the actual toner sample.

Current trends in sample preparation for cosmetic analysis

The widespread applications of cosmetics in modern life make their analysis particularly important from a safety point of view. There is a wide variety of restricted ingredients and prohibited substances that primarily influence the safety of cosmetics. Sample preparation for cosmetic analysis is a crucial step as the complex matrices may seriously interfere with the determination of target analytes. In this review, some new developments (2010-2016) in sample preparation techniques for cosmetic analysis, including liquid-phase microextraction, solid-phase microextraction, matrix solid-phase dispersion, pressurized liquid extraction, cloud point extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and microwave digestion, are presented. Furthermore, the research and progress in sample preparation techniques and their applications in the separation and purification of allowed ingredients and prohibited substances are reviewed.

Use of magnetic effervescent tablet-assisted ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction to extract fungicides from environmental waters with the aid of experimental design methodology

In this work, a novel effervescence-assisted microextraction technique was proposed for the detection of four fungicides. This method combines ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with the magnetic retrieval of the extractant. A magnetic effervescent tablet composed of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, sodium carbonate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonimide) was used for extractant dispersion and retrieval. The main factors affecting the extraction efficiency were screened by a Plackett-Burman design and optimized by a central composite design. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained for all analytes in pure water model and real water samples. Just for the pure water, the recoveries were between 84.6% and 112.8%, the limits of detection were between 0.02 and 0.10 μg L(-1) and the intra-day precision and inter-day precision both are lower than 4.9%. This optimized method was successfully applied in the analysis of four fungicides (azoxystrobin, triazolone, cyprodinil, trifloxystrobin) in environmental water samples and the recoveries ranged between 70.7% and 105%. The procedure promising to be a time-saving, environmentally friendly, and efficient field sampling technique.

Microwave-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of ionic liquid for the determination of sulfonamides in environmental water samples

An easy, quick, and green method, microwave-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of ionic liquid, was first developed and applied to the extraction of sulfonamides in environmental water samples. 1-Ethy-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, which is a solid-state ionic liquid at room temperature, was used as extraction solvent in the present method. After microwave irradiation for 90 s, the solid-state ionic liquid was melted into liquid phase and used to finish the extraction of the analytes. The ionic liquid and sample matrix can be separated by freezing and centrifuging. Several experimental parameters, including amount of extraction solvent, microwave power and irradiation time, pH of sample solution, and ionic strength, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum experimental conditions, good linearity was observed in the range of 2.00-400.00 μg/L with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9995 to 0.9999. The limits of detection for sulfathiazole, sulfachlorpyridazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfaphenazole were 0.39, 0.33, 0.62, and 0.85 μg/L, respectively. When the present method was applied to the analysis of environmental water samples, the recoveries of the analytes ranged from 75.09 to 115.78% and relative standard deviations were lower than 11.89%.