Determination of benzophenone-3 and its main metabolites in human serum by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

A new analytical method for the determination of benzophenone-3 (2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone), and its main metabolites (2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone and 2,2'-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone) in human serum is presented. The method is based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) as preconcentration and clean-up technique, followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Acidic hydrolysis and protein precipitation with HCl 6 M (1:1) (100 °C, 1 h) were carried out before extraction. The variables involved in the DLLME process were studied. Under the optimized conditions, 70 µL of acetone (disperser solvent) and 30 µL of chloroform (extraction solvent) were mixed and rapidly injected into 800 µL of hydrolyzed serum sample. Sample pH or ionic strength adjustment were not necessary. The method was validated by analyzing spiked human serum samples. No satisfactory recoveries were obtained when aqueous standards or standards prepared in synthetic serum were used, but excellent recoveries were achieved by using matrix-matched calibration standards. Moreover, limits of detection in the low µg L(-1) level and good repeatability were obtained. In order to show the applicability of the proposed method in the study of percutaneous absorption processes, it was applied to the analysis of serum samples from two volunteers after topical application of a sunscreen cosmetic product containing 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone.

A reliable and environmentally-friendly liquid-chromatographic method for multi-class determination of fat-soluble UV filters in cosmetic products.

An environmentally-friendly analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 15 fat-soluble ultraviolet (UV) filters currently authorized by the European Union regulation on cosmetic products has been developed. The determination was performed by liquid chromatography with UV spectrophotometric detection. Different parameters, such as type of column, oven temperature, mobile phase composition and flow rate were studied. The best chromatographic separation was obtained under the following conditions: C18 column set at 60°C and gradient ethanol:water (containing 1% formic acid and 20mM of 2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin) as mobile phase pumped at 1mL min(-1). 2-Hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin was added as mobile phase modifier to achieve the complete resolution of some of the chromatographic peaks. The 15 target compounds were separated in less than 30min. The method was satisfactorily validated by analyzing three laboratory-made cosmetic samples besides of eleven commercially available cosmetic products containing different combination of the target UV filters. Good accordance of the found levels compared with those of the laboratory-made samples and those of the commercial samples (when available) was achieved. Moreover, excellent recoveries (97-104%) and good intra-day and inter-day precision values at different concentration levels, besides limits of detection values below the µg mL(-1) level, were obtained. These good analytical features, as well as their environmentally-friendly characteristics, make the presented method suitable not only for routine analysis in cosmetics industries, but also as candidate reference method for sunscreen analysis.

An overview of the analytical methods for the determination of organic ultraviolet filters in biological fluids and tissues.

Organic UV filters are chemical compounds added to cosmetic sunscreen products in order to protect users from UV solar radiation. The need of broad-spectrum protection to avoid the deleterious effects of solar radiation has triggered a trend in the cosmetic market of including these compounds not only in those exclusively designed for sun protection but also in all types of cosmetic products. Different studies have shown that organic UV filters can be absorbed through the skin after topical application, further metabolized in the body and eventually excreted or bioaccumulated. These percutaneous absorption processes may result in various adverse health effects, such as genotoxicity caused by the generation of free radicals, which can even lead to mutagenic or carcinogenic effects, and estrogenicity, which is associated with the endocrine disruption activity caused by some of these compounds. Due to the absence of official monitoring protocols, there is a demand for analytical methods that enable the determination of UV filters in biological fluids and tissues in order to retrieve more information regarding their behavior in the human body and thus encourage the development of safer cosmetic formulations. In view of this demand, there has recently been a noticeable increase in the development of sensitive and selective analytical methods for the determination of UV filters and their metabolites in biological fluids (i.e., urine, plasma, breast milk and semen) and tissues. The complexity of the biological matrix and the low concentration levels of these compounds inevitably impose sample treatment processes that afford both sample clean-up to remove potentially interfering matrix components as well as the enrichment of analytes in order to achieve their determination at very low concentration levels. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in the determination of UV filters in biological fluids and tissues, with special emphasis on the elucidation of new metabolites, sample preparation and analytical techniques as well as occurrence levels.

Solid-phase extraction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analytical method for the determination of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and its metabolites in both human urine and semen.

2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (HMB), which is one of the most commonly used UV filters in sunscreen cosmetics to protect skin from the deleterious effects of the sun, can be percutaneously absorbed, further metabolized, and finally excreted or bioaccumulated. An analytical method for the sensitive determination of HMB and its three metabolites in both human urine and semen is developed. The presented analytical method is based on a solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure to clean-up and preconcentrate the target analytes from the urine and semen samples followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) detection. The methodology was fully validated and the standard addition calibration method was used to quantify the target analytes in order to correct the matrix effects observed. Considering this approach, the accuracy of the method was evaluated and the recoveries ranged from 98% to 115% and from 86% to 111% in urine and semen samples, respectively, depending on the analyte. For urine samples, the limits of detection ranged between 0.027 and 0.103 ng mL(-1) and the repeatability of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation, was in the range of 7.2-9.2%, depending on the analyte. In the case of semen samples, the limits of detection ranged between 1 and 3 ng mL(-1) whereas the repeatability was in the range of 2.2-6.4%, depending on the analyte. The described SPE-LC-MS/MS method was satisfactorily applied to both urine and semen samples from a male volunteer who applied a sunscreen cosmetic product containing HMB. HMB and its metabolites were found and quantified in the low ng mL(-1) range in both urine and semen samples, although at a different extent.

Determination of hydroxylated benzophenone UV filters in sea water samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A new analytical method for the determination of four hydroxylated benzophenone UV filters (i.e. 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (HMB), 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (DHB), 2,2'-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (DHMB) and 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzophenone (THB)) in sea water samples is presented. The method is based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) determination. The variables involved in the DLLME process were studied. Under optimized conditions, 1000 microL of acetone (disperser solvent) containing 60 microL of chloroform (extraction solvent) were injected into 5 mL of aqueous sample adjusted to pH 4 and containing 10% NaCl. Before injecting into the GC-MS system, the DLLME extracts were evaporated under an air stream and then reconstituted with N,O-bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA), thus allowing the target analytes to be converted into their trimethylsilyl derivatives. The best conditions for the derivatization reaction were 75 degrees C and 30 min. High enrichment factors for all the target analytes (ranging from 58 to 64) and good repeatability (RSD around 6%) were obtained. The limits of detection were in the range of 32-50 ng L(-1), depending on the analyte. The recoveries obtained by using the proposed DLLME-GC-MS method evidenced the presence of matrix effects for some of the target analytes, and thereby the standard addition calibration method was employed. Finally, the validated method was applied to the analysis of sea water samples.