Fast profiling ecotoxicity and skin permeability of benzophenone ultraviolet filters using biopartitioning micellar chromatography based on penetrable silica spheres

Penetrable silica possesses hierarchical pores, mesopores and penetrable macropores, offering fast mass transfer, satisfactory mechanical strength as well as low column pressure. In the present study, penetrable octadecyl-bonded silica (ODS) was for the first time used as biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC) stationary phase to profile ecotoxicity and skin permeability of benzophenone UV-filters. Mobile phase (MP) pH and concentration of polyoxyethylene(23)lauryl ether in the MP were systematically studied. Quantitative retention–activity relationships (QRARs) model was established to correlate retention factors (k) on BMC with bioconcentration factor (BCF) and transdermal rate (TR) of UV-filters. Coefficient of determination (r²) of the QRARs model between log BCF and log k were 0.9398–0.9753, while r² between TR and log k were 0.7569–0.8434, which demonstrated satisfactory predictive ability of the methodology. It was a powerful tool for fast screening by combining penetrable ODS with BMC, and avoiding column blockage often occurring in BMC.