Development and validation of an analytical procedure for quantitation of surfactants in dishwashing detergents using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Abstract

The detection of surfactants in dishwashing detergents is challenging because the detergents tend to create a lot of foam. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a simple and robust procedure for simultaneous identification and quantification of multiple surfactants in dishwashingdetergents using standard addition method and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). The results contain the method validation for 11 surfactants (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, PPG-9-ethylhexeth-5, sodium lauryl polyoxyethylene ether sulfate, alkyl polyglucoside, sodium C14–16 olefin sulfonate, cocamide diethanolamine, cocamide monoethanolamine, lauryldimethylamine oxide, cocamidopropyl betaine, nonylphenol, and nonylphenol ethoxylate). The correlation coefficients of the linear calibration curves were larger than 0.98. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.43–8.0 μg/mL and 1.42–26.4 μg/mL, respectively. The precision ranged from 1.72% to 11.70%. The recoveries were within the range of 84–115%. The validation criteria were fulfilled for the 11 tested surfactants. The analytical procedure was applied to the analysis of 20 dishwashing detergent products collected from markets. The surfactants labeled on 13 out of the 20 products were consistent with the test results. Two surfactants, nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylate, are relatively toxic to aquatic plants, fish, and aquatic invertebrates. These two surfactants were not detected among the 20 dishwashing detergent products, indicating that they were likely not added to the dishwashing detergent products. The developed UPLC-MS-based analytical procedure can be effectively applied to surfactant identification and quantification in dishwashing detergent products.