Study on the method for determination of organic ultraviolet absorbents by solid phase extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

ObjectiveTo establish a highly sensitive and high-throughput analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 38 organic ultraviolet absorbents （OUVAs） by pass-through solid phase extraction （SPE） coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS）.MethodsThe samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified using Oasis PRiME HLB （60 mg/3 mL）. The separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column （100 mm×2.1 mm， 1.7 μm） employing gradient elution with methanol-0.1% formic acid in water （positive ionization mode） and methanol-0.1% ammonia in water （negative ionization mode） as mobile phases. Mass spectrometry analysis was conducted using positive and negative ion electrospray ionization sources （ESI+/ESI-）， scanned in multiple reaction monitoring （MRM） mode， and quantified using the stable isotope internal standard method.ResultsThe 38 OUVAs exhibited good linearity within their respective linear ranges （R²≥0.998 3）， with method detection limits （MDLs） ranging from 0.013 to 0.72 μg/kg and method quantification limits （MQLs） from 0.04 to 2.17 μg/kg. Recoveries of the 38 OUVAs at three different spiking levels ranged from 75.5% to 116.2%， with relative standard deviations （RSDs） between 0.93% and 10.38%.ConclusionThis method is simple， highly sensitive and is expected to become a reliable analytical approach for the trace determination of 38 OUVAs.