Determination of β-caryophyllene skin permeation/retention from crude copaiba oil (Copaifera multijuga Hayne) and respective oil-based nanoemulsion using a novel HS-GC/MS method

• A HS-GC/MS method was validated for β-caryophyllene analysis in skin samples.
• This new method was sensitive, practical and solvent-free.
• The permeation of β-caryophyllene from crude copaiba oil and nanoemulsion was compared.
• β-caryophyllene achieved the dermis from the nanoemulsion.

Copaiba oil is largely used in the Amazonian region for the treatment of inflammation, and recent studies demonstrated that one of the major components of the oil, β-caryophyllene (CAR), is a potent anti-inflammatory. The nanoemulsification of this oleoresin, which has unctuous character, converts it in a more acceptable hydrophilic formulation and may improve CAR penetration through the skin due to the small droplet size and the high contact surface afforded by the nanoemulsions. This paper describes the validation of a novel, sensitive, practical and solvent free method that uses gas chromatography in headspace mode coupled with mass spectrometry to evaluate the skin permeation/retention of CAR from the crude copaiba oil and its nanoemulsion. Our results show that the bioanalytic method was fully validated, demonstrating linearity (r2 > 0.99), specificity (no peaks co-eluting with CAR retention time), precision (RSD < 15%) and accuracy (recovery > 90%) within the accepted parameters and that the copaiba oil nanoemulsion presented a better skin penetration compared to the crude oil, with CAR achieving the most profound layer of the skin, the dermis.

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