Non-deuterated1H NMR Spectrometric Method for the Rapid and Direct Analysis of Alcohol Content in Hand Sanitizers

Abstract

In this study, a1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method to quantify the alcohol content of alcohol-based hand sanitizers was developed and validated in non-deuterated solvent and unlocked mode conditions. Deionized water was used to prepare the solutions for the no-D method, which also matched the matrix of the samples. The generated integration areas were used to quantify the ethanol and isopropanol content of the sanitizer samples. The no-D method presented well-correlated calibration curves with a detection limit of 1.41% (v/v) and 2.61% (v/v) for isopropanol and ethanol, respectively. The experimental alcohol content in no-D conditions was compared to the results using the D2 O method and was not significantly different (p > 0.05). Although there is no additional precautionary measure when handling D2 O, non-deuterated solvents are more easily accessible, which makes a1H NMR-based analysis more cost-effective.