Simultaneous determination of eight furocoumarines in cosmetics by high performance liquid chromatography and verification by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight furocoumarines (8-hydroxypsoralen, psoralen, isopsoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen, trioxsalen, imperatorin and isoimperatorin) in cosmetics. The cosmetic samples, including cream, lotion, shampoo, powder and lipstick, were supersonically extracted with appropriate solvents. The extract was centrifuged, and the supernatant was filtered through a membrane, and then separated on an Agilent Zorbax SB-Phenyl chromatographic column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) by gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with methanol-acetonitrile-water as mobile phases. The column temperature was set at 30 degrees C. The wavelength of detection was 250 nm. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.25 mg/kg for 8-hydroxypsoralen and 0.5 mg/kg for psoralen, isopsoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen, trioxsalen, imperatorin and isoimperatorin. The recoveries at three spiked levels were in the range of 85.0% - 105.8% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.41% - 7.90%. The intra-day precision (n=6) was less than 1%, and the inter-day precision (n = 6) was less than 2% for the peak areas of the eight furocoumarines in a mixed standard solution. The method is accurate, simple, rapid and suitable for the determination of the eight furocoumarines in various cosmetic samples.