Determination of dyes in cosmetic products by micro-matrix solid phase dispersion and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

A simple method based on micro-matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed for the rapid and simultaneous determination of nine regulated water-soluble dyes in personal care and decorative products. The proposed miniaturized extraction procedure was optimized by means of experimental designs in order to obtain the highest extraction efficiency. Under the optimal selected conditions, the method was validated showing satisfactory performance in terms of linearity, sensitivity, and intra-day and inter-day precision. Recoveries were evaluated in different cosmetic matrices and they can be considered quantitative with average values between 70 and 120% with relative standard deviations (RSD) lower than 15%. Finally, the validated method was applied to 24 samples of cosmetic and personal care products, including decorative makeup, lipsticks, lip gloss, toothpastes, regenerating creams, shampoos, and eye shadows, among others, to cover a broad range of commercial real samples. Seven of the analyzed dyes were detected, being declared all of them in the label list of ingredients. More than 50% of the samples contained at least two dyes. Tartrazine was the most frequently found (50% of the samples) at concentration levels of 0.243-79.9 μg g−1. Other targets were found in 1-9 samples, highlighting the presence of Quinoline at high concentration (>500 μg g−1) in a toothpaste sample.