Quality assessment of the commercially available alcohol-based hand sanitizers with femtosecond thermal lens spectroscopy

Abstract

Using femtosecond-pulse-induced thermal lens spectroscopy (FTLS), we report a novel method for the quality measurements of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS). To sustain its effectiveness, the ABHS must contain the recommended concentration of alcohol content. We diluted the hand sanitizer with water to reduce the quantity of alcohol in the mixture and then performed thermal measurements on it. We performed both dual-beam Z-scan and time-resolved TL measurements to identify the alcoholic content in the ABHS. The thermal lens (TL) signal of the solvent is capable of detecting any relative change in the alcohol content in the mixture. Our technique, therefore, emerges as a sensitive tool for quality testing of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.