Thymol is a natural phenol derivative found in thyme essential oil and can be extracted as a white crystalline solid. Because of its pleasant aroma and antimicrobial properties, thymol is often used in commercial cleaning products. Volatile organic compounds such as thymol can be unstable, requiring potentially unique storage conditions. Therefore, analytical methods that can reliably quantify thymol in different products are necessary for quality control. In this project, we developed a method of measuring thymol in solution using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a UV detector. Thymol was dissolved in a 50:50 water-ethanol mixture to create standards of known concentrations and was detected by its absorbance at 274 nm. Reproducibility was significantly improved by the normalization of the signal to an internal standard, which eluted distinct from thymol. Normalized values were used to construct a concentration curve that allowed for the accurate and reproducible determination of the concentration of the industrial test sample. These samples were monitored over time to determine if storage conditions or containment would have an effect on measured concentration. Using HPLC in conjunction with UV absorbance, we have successfully developed a method to quantify thymol in solution. This technique may be applicable to the detection of other essential oil based phenolics as well.

Measuring and monitoring thymol in solution using high performance liquid chromatography

ACS Fall 2021

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