Simultaneous determination of seven phthalates and four parabens in cosmetic products using HPLC-DAD and GC-MS methods

Studies on the determination of seven kinds of phthalates, i.e. diethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and dioctyl phthalate, and four parabens, i.e. methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben, in 15 kinds of cosmetic products, including hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants, cream, lotion, etc., by HPLC with diode array detection and GC-MS in electron impact ionization mode with selected-ion monitoring have been carried out. Methods have been developed for both qualitative and quantitative detection of phthalates and parabens. Extraction, clean-up, and analysis procedures have been optimized. HPLC and GC-MS determinations were performed after sonication-assisted extraction with methanol and clean-up with C18 SPE. These techniques permit detection of phthalates at a level of 10.0-100.0 microg/kg and of parabens at a level of 20.0-200.0 microg/kg. Overall recoveries were 85-108% with RSD values of 4.2-8.8%. Only one of the 15 examined samples was free from phthalates and parabens. The remaining 14 samples were found to contain at least three or more of these phthalates and/or parabens. The predominant phthalates and parabens detected in the studied samples were methylparaben, propylparaben, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. The residue level is at 1.22-5289 mg/kg.