Electrochemical determination of methylparaben in baby wipes

VICARIO ANA; REGIART MATIAS; BERTOLINO FRANCO; GOMEZ ROXANA

SAN LUIS

Congreso; RICIFA; 2014

Cosmetic products for topic applications can cause local effects and sometimes, systemic effects. These effects are of importance, especially for those formulations in permanent contact with skin, such as humectants agents used in baby wipes. Parabens are permitted by regulation agencies such as ANMAT and FDA as microbiological preservatives in cosmetics. These preservatives can alter normal endocrine function which the chronic exposure at high level can lead to breast cancer. Notwithstanding, parabens are of election for majority of wipes formulations because of its cost and efficacy. Due to their high toxicity, the objective of this work was the determination of methylparaben (MP) in wipes which are frequently used for infant?s cleanliness. In this work, the sample pre-treatment steps were optimized in order to remove potential interferents for MP redox characterization by cyclic voltammetry technique. Moreover, calibration plots were performed using square-wave voltammetry in a concentration range of 0.39 to 25.00 μg/mL. The calibration equation was ΔI (μA) = 0.1026 CMP - 0.0537 with regression coefficient of 0.9972. This methodology has analysis range suitable to MP determination in real samples of wipes. The obtained results were validated against HPLC, showing no significant difference between the official and the proposed methodology. This methodology has advantage over traditional analysis techniques as HPLC like reducing analysis time, avoiding the use of highly polluting solvents. Furthermore, good repeatability and reproducibility was achieved in a wide range of concentration. The sensitivity and selectivity of this method were adequate for MP determination, even to non-declared formula.