Simultaneous determination of 2-phenoxyethanol and parabens in cosmetics and foods by HPLC with biphenyl stationary phase

Abstract

The determination of 2-phenoxyethanol (PE) and six kinds of parabens [methyl paraben (MP), ethyl paraben (EP), isopropyl paraben (IPP), propyl paraben (PP), isobutyl paraben (IBP), butyl paraben (BP)] in cosmetics and foods by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with an ultraviolet detector (UV) on a biphenyl stationary phase column has been developed. This analytical method provides high linearity of the calibration curve as well as repeatability. The correlation coefficient of the working curve of the calibration were estimated to be from 0.9998 to 0.9991 for 2-phenoxyethanol and six kinds of parabens in the concentration range from 5 mg L-1 to 150 mg L-1. The limits of detection (LOD) calculated on 3 C at 10 mg L-1 were 0.438 mg L-1 for PE, 0.241 mg L-1 for MP, 0.946 mg L-1 for EP, 0.844 mg L-1 for IPP, 1.093 mg L-1 for PP, 1.008 mg L-1 for IBP, and 1.108 mg L-1 for BP. The limits of quantification (LOQ) calculated on 10 C at 10 mg L-1 were 1.460 mg L-1 for PE, 0.803 mg L-1 for MP, 3.153 mg L-1 for EP, 2.813 mg L-1 for IPP, 3.643 mg L-1 for PP, 3.360 mg L-1 for IBP, and 3.693 mg L-1 for BP. As good results, the recoveries were 87.1 -111.2% and the relative standard deviations (RSD) of peak area were 0.3-1.7%, obtained in recovery tests by using hand cream and soy sauce. This proposed method could be successfully applied to the determination of 2-phenoxyethanol and six kinds of parabens in cosmetics and foods.