Miniaturized Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion for the Analysis of Ultraviolet Filters and Other Cosmetic Ingredients in Personal Care Products

Abstract

A method based on micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion (μ-MSPD) followed by gas-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) was developed to analyze UV filters in personal care products. It is the first time that MSPD is employed to extract UV filters from cosmetics samples. This technique provides efficient and low-cost extractions, and allows performing extraction and clean-up in one step, which is one of their main advantages. The amount of sample employed was only 0.1 g and the extraction procedure was performed preparing the sample-sorbent column in a glass Pasteur pipette instead of the classic plastic columns in order to avoid plastizicer contamination. Factors affecting the process such as type of sorbent, and amount and type of elution solvent were studied by a factorial design. The method was validated and extended to other families of cosmetic ingredients such as fragrance allergens, preservatives, plasticizers and synthetic musks, including a total of 78 target analytes. Recovery studies in real sample at several concentration levels were also performed. Finally, the green extraction methodology was applied to the analysis of real cosmetic samples of different nature.

Multi-Target Strategy to Uncover Unexpected Compounds in Rinse-Off and Leave-On Cosmetics

“…The µMSPD procedure was adapted from that previously developed by the authors for the extraction of fragrances, UV filters, or preservatives from cosmetic and personal care products [ 9 , 26 , 27 ]. Briefly, 0.1 g of cosmetic samples were weighted into a 10 mL glass vial.…”

“…In this way, a miniaturization of the classical MSPD (μMSPD), employing disposable low-cost material and a low organic solvent consumption (1 mL) is proposed as a suitable sample preparation technique. μMSPD has been reported for the extraction of allowed cosmetic ingredients such as fragrances, dyes, or UV filters [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, this miniaturized technique has never been applied for the determination of a broad range of banned or unexpected compounds in cosmetics and personal care products.…”

Recent Advances in Sample Preparation for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Analysis

“…Regarding the elution solvent, ethyl acetate showed the highest extraction efficiency for most of the target compounds before GC analysis [65,69,70,73,74], whereas MeOH was the preferred elution solvent for μ-MSPD extractions before LC analysis [66][67][68]. The use µ-MSPD was subsequently successfully applied for the determination of other cosmetic ingredients including dyes, fragrances, preservatives [66][67][68][69][70][71], as well as for the multianalyte determination of a high number of allowed and restricted ingredients, in addition to banned compounds such as glucocorticoids [72,73,75]. Recently, this miniaturized approach was also applied to extract impurities or unexpected compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fungicides, nitrosamines, or alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) from cosmetics formulations.…”

“…µ-MSPD was subsequently successfully applied for the determination of other cosmetic ingredients including dyes, fragrances, preservatives [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ], as well as for the multianalyte determination of a high number of allowed and restricted ingredients, in addition to banned compounds such as glucocorticoids [ 72 , 73 , 75 ]. Recently, this miniaturized approach was also applied to extract impurities or unexpected compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fungicides, nitrosamines, or alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) from cosmetics formulations.…”

“…It is important to highlight that the use of the µ-MSPD approach allows a reduction in the extraction costs, since it employs disposable common laboratory use material such as pipette tips or glass Pasteur pipettes [ 65 , 69 , 70 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. The substitution of the classical plastic MSPD cartridges for glass material is a very suitable and low-cost option for the determination of ubiquitous compounds such as plasticizers, also reducing possible interference during sample preparation [ 65 , 73 , 74 ].…”