An Overview of the Analytical Methods for the Determination of Organic Ultraviolet Filters in Cosmetic Products and Human Samples

Abstract

UV filters are a group of compounds commonly used in different cosmetic products to absorb UV radiation. They are classified into a variety of chemical groups, such as benzophenones, salicylates, benzotriazoles, cinnamates, p-aminobenzoates, triazines, camphor derivatives, etc. Different tests have shown that some of these chemicals are absorbed through the skin and metabolised or bioaccumulated. These processes can cause negative health effects, including mutagenic and cancerogenic ones. Due to the absence of official monitoring protocols, there is an increased number of analytical methods that enable the determination of those compounds in cosmetic samples to ensure user safety, as well as in biological fluids and tissues samples, to obtain more information regarding their behaviour in the human body. This review aimed to show and discuss the published studies concerning analytical methods for the determination of organic UV filters in cosmetic and biological samples. It focused on sample preparation, analytical techniques, and analytical performance (limit of detection, accuracy, and repeatability).

Electrochemical sensors for the safety and quality control of cosmetics: An overview of achievements and challenges

“…However, until today there are no official analytical methods. Methods based on HPLC are the most widely employed for the separation and determination of sunscreen agents [84].…”

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and Monte Carlo simulation of margin of safety for octocrylene, EHMC, 2ES, and homosalate in sunscreens

“…HPLC with a diode array detector (DAD) is the technique of choice for the separation and quantification of UVFs in PCPs (Chisvert & Salvador, 2018; Narloch & Wejnerowska, 2021). It is possible to separate many UVFs simultaneously on a HPLC column in a single run (Chang et al, 2015; Vosough et al, 2017; Wharton et al, 2015).…”

A simple and reliable isocratic high‐performance chromatographic assay for the simultaneous determination of hydrophilic benzophenone‐4 and lipophilic octocrylene in sunscreens

“…Techniques such as flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy are used for the analysis of inorganic UV filters [15]. The detection of organic UV filters has included the use of UV-Vis spectroscopy [16], nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy [17], Raman spectroscopy [18], gas chromatography [19], and most commonly high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [5,20]. In particular, reversedphase HPLC is the most frequently used method due to the simplicity of operation [21].…”