Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lipstick by gas-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry: A case history

J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2019 Feb 20:165:386-392. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2018.12.029. Epub 2018 Dec 19.

Abstract

A suitable extraction protocol based on an liquid-liquid extraction with hexane/dimethyl sulfoxide and a GC/MS method were developed and validated to determine the concentration of six prohibited Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs; benzo[a]pyrene; dibenz[a,h]anthracene; benz[a]anthracene; benzo[j]fluoranthene; benzo[k]fluoranthene; chrysene) in lipsticks commissioned by a cosmetic company to a manufacturer. The lipsticks were produced in four different colors. Analyses confirmed the presence of benz[a]anthracene and chrysene only in two colors in a concentration of 9.3-9.4 ng/g. The concentration of PAHs was 250 times lower than what is considered a toxic level on the basis of what reported in the litaraure and guidances for cosmetic ingredients; therefore we could assume that the risk for consumer health was negligeble.

Keywords: Cosmetic products; GC/MS; Liquid-liquid extraction; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Consumer Product Safety
  • Cosmetics / analysis
  • Cosmetics / chemistry*
  • Cosmetics / standards
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Humans
  • Liquid-Liquid Extraction
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / analysis*

Substances

  • Cosmetics
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons