Analytical Methods for the Determination of Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons (MOSH) and Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH)—A Short Review

Abstract

Mineral oils (such as paraffinum liquidum or white oil), which consist of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH), are widely applied in various consumer products such as medicines and cosmetics. Contamination of food with mineral oil may occur by migration of mineral oil containing products from packaging materials, or during the food production process, as well as by environmental contamination during agricultural production. Considerable analytical interest was initiated by the potential adverse health effects, especially carcinogenic effects of some aromatic hydrocarbons. This article reviews the history of mineral oil analysis, starting with gravimetric and photometric methods, followed by on-line-coupled liquid chromatography with gas chromatography and flame ionization detection (LC-GC-FID), which still is considered as gold standard for MOSH-MOAH analysis. Comprehensive tables of applications in the fields of cosmetics, foods, food contact materials, and living organisms are provided. Further methods including GCxGC-MS methods are reviewed, which may be suitable for confirmation of LC-GC-FID results and identification of compound classes. As alternative to chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has recently been suggested for MOSH-MOAH analysis, especially with the possibility of detecting only the toxicologically relevant aromatic rings. Furthermore, NMR may offer potential as rapid screening especially with low-field instruments usable for raw material control.

Quantification of Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) in Anhydrous Cosmetics Using 1H NMR

“…In addition, hydrocarbons from mineral oil origin are inexpensive and can be produced in consistent quality. ese properties make them interesting for a wide range of cosmetic products such as skin care products, face and body cleanser, sun screens, and hair and lip care products [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…According to the current state of the art, different analytical methods are used, for example, online coupled high-performance liquid chromatography-gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (LC-GC-FID), comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographymass spectroscopy (GCxGC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). A recently published review provides an overview of the current state of literature about the methods for detecting MOSH and MOAH in food, food contact materials, tissues, and cosmetics [1].…”

“…A detailed description of the high-resolution 1 H quantitative NMR method ( 1 H qNMR) to evaluate MOSH and MOAH in pure mineral hydrocarbon-based cosmetics and cosmetic raw materials is given in Reference [3]. Furthermore, low-field NMR may offer a more economic approach for MOSH/MOAH screening [1].…”

“…e typically large excess of MOSH in cosmetic products (>99.5% [3]) can lead to carryover of the MOSH fraction into the MOAH fraction. By prior estimation of the MOSH/MOAH ratio using NMR, the sample weight for LC-GC-FID can be adjusted accordingly or a depletion of MOSH can be carried out as sample preparation [1]. Additionally, the determination of mineral oil via NMR spectroscopy provides a retention behaviour-independent validation of the LC-GC-FID results and additional information on further minor components that are visible in the 1 H NMR chemical shift range (δ 6.5-3.0 ppm) is possible.…”

“…Nevertheless, the previously described NMR procedure [1,3] was only suitable for pure mineral oil-based cosmetic products. However, compounded cosmetic products containing hydrocarbons from mineral oil origin are often composed of many ingredients including aromatic substances, e.g., preservatives such as parabens, UV-filters, perfumes, antioxidants such as BHT, or active compounds such as tocopherol.…”