[Determination of 4 antiseptics and 6 sunscreen agents in cosmetic products by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography]

A method for the quantitative determination of 4 antiseptics (methyl p-hydroxybenzoate, ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate, n-propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, n-butyl p-hydroxybenzoate) and 6 sunscreen agents (2-hydroxy 4-methoxybenzophenone-5-sulfonic acid, 2-hydroxy 4-methoxybenzophenone, phenyl salicylate, 2-ethylhexyl 4-dimethyl aminobenzoate, 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate, 2-ethylhexyl salicylate) in cosmetic products was developed successfully. It was based on a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic separation under the conditions of isocratic elution with a mixture of methanol-THF-water (30:100:100, V/V) by using a column packed with 10 microns YWG-C18, and the UV detection at 254 nm and 310 nm. The recoveries(n = 6) ranged from 87.2% to 106.5%, and the relative standard deviations(n = 6) were from 1.2% to 3.3%.