Determination of parabens using two microextraction methods coupled with capillary liquid chromatography-UV detection

- Parabens were extracted from foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals by two methods.
- VA-DLLME-SFO reduced the consumption of toxic solvents and extraction times.
- SA-CPE allowed facile recovery of the extraction phase through salt addition.
- Both methods were coupled with capillary LC-UV to decrease waste generation.
- This method exhibited good linearity, precision, and accuracy.

Parabens are common preservatives and environmental hormones. As such, possible detrimental health effects could be amplified through their widespread use in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Thus, the determination of parabens in such products is of particular importance. This study explored vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction techniques based on the solidification of a floating organic drop (VA-DLLME-SFO) and salt-assisted cloud point extraction (SA-CPE) for paraben extraction. Microanalysis was performed using a capillary liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection system. These techniques were modified successfully to determine four parabens in 19 commercial products. The regression equations of these parabens exhibited good linearity (r2 = 0.998, 0.1-10 μg/mL), good precision (RSD < 5%) and accuracy (RE < 5%), reduced reagent consumption and reaction times (<6 min), and excellent sample versatility. VA-DLLME-SFO was also particularly convenient due to the use of a solidified extract. Thus, the VA-DLLME-SFO technique was better suited to the extraction of parabens from complex matrices.