Solid-phase ultraviolet absorbance spectrophotometric multisensor for the simultaneous determination of butylated hydroxytoluene and co-existing antioxidants

Continuous flow injection and UV spectrophotometric detection have been proposed for simultaneous determination of the two binary mixtures, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)/n-propyl gallate (n-PG) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)/butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), in food and cosmetics samples. The method is based on the different residence times of each antioxidant when the flow cell is packed to a height of 25 mm with silica C18 using methanol–water 50:50% (v/v) as a carrier with a flow rate of 1.25 and 1.10 ml min^-1, respectively. The determination of each antioxidant is based on the measurement of its absorbance at its maximum wavelengths using a DAD detector at 30 and 180 s for the mixture n-PG–BHT and 90 and 220 s for BHA–BHT. Calibration graphs were linear over the range 10.0–300.0 (mu)g ml^-1 for each antioxidant in both mixtures. The relative standard deviations were 2.5% for BHT and 2.0% for the co-existing antioxidant. Resolution of the n-PG–BHT mixture in ratios between 1:8 and 8:1 and the BHA–BHT mixture in ratios between 1:10 and 10:1 is possible. The method was applied to the determination of both antioxidants in fat foods and cosmetics samples with recoveries ranging between 101 and 105%.