Development and validation of a non-aqueous reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of four chemical UV filters in suncare formulations

A non-aqueous reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method (RP–HPLC) with UV detection at 313 nm was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylphenol (Tinosorb M) along with three other chemical UV filters, octocrylene (Eusolex OCR), octyl methoxycinnamate (Eusolex 2292) and octyl salicylate (Eusolex OS) in suncare products. An isocratic elution was performed on a Hypersil BDS RP-C18 column (250mm×4.6 mm), 5 μm particle size, using a mobile phase consisted of methanol–acetonitrile (90:10, v/v) with a flow-rate of 1.5 ml/min. The determination of the four UV filters was not interfered by the excipients in the products. The method of external standard, as well as the standard addition method was used for the determination. The external standard calibration curves were linear for Eusolex OCR, Eusolex 2292, Eusolex OS, and Tinosorb M in the concentration ranges of 0.5–100 μM, 0.5–100 μM, 0.5–200 μM, and 0.2–100 μM, respectively. Day-to-day relative standard deviation of the determination was within 3%. Limits of detection and quantitation of the above compounds were found equal to 36 and 110 nM, 220 and 660 nM, 170 and 520 nM, 44s and 130 nM, respectively. The recovery of these four chemical UV filters from the spiked samples was 96–103%.