Development of a solid phase microextraction gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methodology for the analysis of sixty personal care products in hydroalcoholic gels ˗ hand sanitizers ˗ in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, hydroalcoholic gels have become essential products to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This research aims to develop a simple, fast and sustainable microextraction methodology followed by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) to analyze simultaneously 60 personal care products (PCPs) including fragrances allergens, synthetic musks, preservatives and plasticizers in hand sanitizers. Micro-matrix-solid-phase dispersion (μMSPD) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were compared with the aim of obtaining high sensitivity and sample throughput. SPME demonstrated higher efficiency being selected as sample treatment. Different dilutions of the sample in ultrapure water were assessed to achieve high sensitivity but, at the same time, to avoid or minimize matrix effect. The most critical parameters affecting SPME (fibre coating, extraction mode and temperature) were optimized by design of experiments (DOE). The method was successfully validated in terms of linearity, precision and accuracy, obtaining recovery values between 80 and 112% for most compounds with relative standard deviation (RSD) values lower than 10%. External calibration using standards prepared in ultrapure water demonstrated suitability due to the absence of matrix effect. Finally, the simple, fast and high throughput method was applied to the analysis of real hydroalcoholic gel samples. Among the 60 target compounds, 39 of them were found, highlighting the high number of fragrance allergens, at concentrations ranging between 0.01 and 217 μg g−1. Most of the samples were not correctly labelled attending cosmetic Regulation (EU) No 1223/2009, and none of them followed the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for hand sanitizers formulation.