A rapid High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of seven UV filters found in sunscreen and cosmetics

Synopsis A rapid High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven Ultra Violet (UV) filters most commonly found in cosmetics and sunscreen. The object of the method development was to provide a reliable rapid method, that would simultaneously separate a combination of the UV Filters, most commonly found in cosmetics and sunscreen products, utilizing a minimum of environmentally friendly solvents. The compounds separated were: benzophenone 3 (BZ3), methylbenzildene camphor (MBC), octyl dimethyl PABA (ODP), octocrylene (OCR), octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC), butyl - methoxydibenzoylmethane (BDM) and octyl salicylate (OS). An adjusted mobile phase consisting of ethanol and 1% acetic acid, combined with a Thermo Hypersil C₁₈ BDS 3 micron column resulted in a method, which allowed the analysis of the seven compounds in seven minutes. The proposed method was validated utilising the International Congress on Harmonisation (ICH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. All parameters examined were found to be well within the stated guidelines.