Extraction and determination methodologies for benzotriazole UV stabilizers in personal-care products in environmental and biological samples

• We review analytical procedures for benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVSs).
• We discuss advantages and disadvantages of each step of the analytical procedure.
• GC-MS and LC-MS/MS are the most used techniques for the determination of BUVSs.
• BUVSs have been determined mainly in environmental samples and marine organisms.

Benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVSs) are emerging contaminants that are mutagenic, toxic, pseudo-persistent, bioaccumulative and with significant estrogenic activity. However, the use of BUVSs in personal-care products (PCPs) is one of the primary ways that they enter the environment, often in “hot-spots” of discharge, such as wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs). We present an overview of the current methods employed in the trace analysis of BUVSs in different types of environmental and biological samples. We compare and discuss potential advantages and disadvantages of each step involved in the analytical procedure.