CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHODS IN ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS AND COSMETICS FOR THE PRESENCE OF SURFACE ACTIVE SUBSTANCES

Abstract

Classification of the surfactants being a part of detergents by dissociation of their functional charged group in an aqueous medium is considered. Surfactants are complex multicomponent mixtures consisting of homologues of surfactants and impurities of starting materials. An exploratory analysis of this type of raw material, which is a laborious analytical task, is carried out mainly by chromatographic methods. Gas chromatography (GC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high performance liquid chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) are used depending on the structure and specificity of the analyte. A review of the research data in this field over the past 10 years is presented. HPLC is the most common method for studying surfactants. This method allows quantitative and qualitative determination of non-volatile analytes with both small and large molecular weights without preliminary derivatization. When using the GC method, the analyte must be converted to volatile compounds, which considerably complicates the stage of sample preparation. However, this method makes it possible to obtain a complete separation of the homologs and isomers of many surfactants. In combination with MS, it is possible to obtain specific structural fragments of the surfactant molecules. TLC method is widely used for qualitative determination and separation of surfactants. This method is mainly used for group identification of surfactants. The studies thus cponsidered were aimed at developing new and modifying existing methods; search for optimal chromatographic conditions, derivatizing agents, separation columns, etc.