GC-MS Determination of 20 Phthalates in Cosmetics by Separation with Solid Phase Extraction

A method for GC-MS determination of 20 phthalate esters in cosmetics was proposed by separation with solid phase extraction. Samples of cosmetics were treated ultrasonically by SPE with n-hexane as solvent for samples containing no oil and fat, and with acetonitrile as solvent for samples containing oil and fat, to extract the phthalate compounds into the solvent. The extract obtained was then purified by passing through Cleanert PAE30006-C column. The purified solution was used for GC-MS analysis. The modes of EI+ and SIM were adopted in MS, and external standard method was used for quantification. Linear relationships between values of peak area and mass concentration of the 20 phthalates were found in the range of 0.1-10 mg·L-1, with detection limits (3S/N) in the range of 0.13-1.04 mg·L-1. Values of recovery obtained by standard addition method were in the range of 79.2%-123%, with RSDs (n=6) in the range of 1.7%-12%.