Simultaneous determination of alpha and beta hydroxy acids in personal care products by capillary gas chromatography

A simple and rapid procedure is described for the isolation, silylation, and simultaneous capillary gas chromatographic quantitation of alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids in various personal care products. The sample is dissolved in acidified N,N-dimethylformamide to simultaneously acidify/extract the hydroxy acids; a portion is then trimethylsilyl derivatized with BSTFA and quantified by capillary gas chromatography (GC) using flame ionization detection.