Neutral desorption extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for fast screening sunscreen agents in cream cosmetic products

High throughput analysis of sunscreen agents present in cream cosmetic has been demonstrated, typically 2 samples per minute, using neutral desorption extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ND-EESI-MS) without sample pretreatment. For the targeted compounds such as 4-Aminobenzoic acid and oxybenzone, ND-EESI-MS method provided linear signal responses in the range of 1–100 ppb. Limits of detection (LOD) of the method were estimated at sub-ppb levels for the analytes tested. Reasonable relative standard deviation (RSD = 8.4–16.0%) was obtained as a result of 10 independent measurements for commercial cosmetics samples spiked with each individual sunscreen agents at 1–10 ppb. Acceptable recoveries were achieved in the range of 87–116% for direct analysis of commercial cream cosmetic samples. The experimental data demonstrate that ND-EESI-MS is a useful tool for high throughput screening of sunscreen agents in highly viscous cream cosmetic products, with the capability to obtain quantitative information of the analytes.