Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is a common surfactant widely used in personal care products. Dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) and lauramidopropyldimethylamine (LAPDMA) are two chemicals present as impurities in CAPB and have been reported as skin sensitizers. A rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method, using a core-shell hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic (HILIC) column, has been developed to quantify DMAPA and LAPDMA in cosmetic products. Corresponding stable, isotopically labeled analogues of the above native compounds were used as internal standards to compensate for matrix effects and for loss of recovery. Each sample was first screened to determine whether the sample needed to be diluted to minimize matrix effects as well as to fit the calibration range from 0.2 - 500 ng/mL for LAPDMA with an r ≥ 0.999 and from 5 to 5,000 ng/mL with an r ≥ 0.999 for DMAPA. The concept of matrix effect factor (MEF) was applied to quantitatively evaluate each sample with a unique matrix using the internal standards. Recoveries at three spiking levels (low, medium, and high concentrations) ranged from 98.4 to 112% with RSDs less than 5%. This method has been validated and is the first UPLC-MS/MS method, which uses a core-shell HILIC column and stable, isotopically labeled internal standards to simultaneously determine these two CAPB impurities in cosmetic products. Nineteen commercial products including body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and shave formula were surveyed using the validated method.

Rapid determination of cocamidopropyl betaine impurities in cosmetic products by core-shell HILIC-MS/MS

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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