Simultaneous determination of 11 restricted dyes in cosmetics by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

A simple, fast, and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 restricted water-soluble colorants (including Tartrazine, Amaranth, Ponceau 4RC, Sunset Yellow, Allura Red AC, Acid Red 2G, Ponceau SX, Brilliant Blue FCF, Orange I, Acid Black 1, and Acid Orange 7) in eye shadow, lipstick, lip gloss, and other cosmetics by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS). The conditions of sample preparation and separation were optimized. The UPLC separation was performed on a UPLC HSS T3 column with acetonitrile-water as the mobile phase. The results showed that the 11 investigated dyes displayed good peak shape within 4 min. The linear ranges were between 0.1 and 50 μg L⁻¹, and the linear correlation coefficients were high (≥0.9942). The limits of quantification were in the range of 4.1–100 μg kg⁻¹. Dyes that spiked in eye shadow, lipstick, and lip gloss in the range of 0.005–2.0 mg kg⁻¹ were tested in terms of sensitivity, repeatability, and recovery. Recoveries obtained for the dyes ranged from 81.6% to 118.2%. Intraday and interday precisions (relative standard deviations) were less than 8%. The results confirmed that UPLC–MS/MS method could be a fast and quantitative technique for the simultaneous determination of restricted dyes in cosmetics.