Quantitation of Copper Tripeptide in Cosmetics via Fabric Phase Sorptive Extraction Combined with Zwitterionic Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography and U<i>V</i>/<i>V</i>is Detection
Pantelitsa Pingou,
Anthi Parla,
Abuzar Kabir,
Kenneth G. Furton,
Victoria Samanidou,
Spyridon Papageorgiou,
Efthimios Tsirivas,
Athanasia Varvaresou,
Irene Panderi
Affiliations
Pantelitsa Pingou
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
Anthi Parla
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
Abuzar Kabir
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Kenneth G. Furton
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Victoria Samanidou
Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Spyridon Papageorgiou
Laboratory of Chemistry-Biochemistry-Cosmetic Science, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Welfare Sciences, Campus 1, University of West Attica, Agiou Spyridonos, 12243 Egaleo, Greece
Efthimios Tsirivas
Laboratory of Chemistry-Biochemistry-Cosmetic Science, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Welfare Sciences, Campus 1, University of West Attica, Agiou Spyridonos, 12243 Egaleo, Greece
Athanasia Varvaresou
Laboratory of Chemistry-Biochemistry-Cosmetic Science, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Welfare Sciences, Campus 1, University of West Attica, Agiou Spyridonos, 12243 Egaleo, Greece
Irene Panderi
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
The increasing demand for effective cosmetics has driven the development of innovative analytical techniques to ensure product quality. This work presents the development and validation of a zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography method, coupled with ultraviolet detection, for the quantification of copper tripeptide in cosmetics. A novel protocol for sample preparation was developed using fabric phase sorptive extraction to extract the targeted analyte from the complex cosmetic cream matrix, followed by chromatographic separation on a ZIC®-pHILIC analytical column. A thorough investigation of the chromatographic behavior of the copper tripeptide on the HILIC column was performed during method development. The mobile phase consisted of 133 mM ammonium formate (pH 9, adjusted with ammonium hydroxide) and acetonitrile at a 40:60 (v/v) ratio, with a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. A design of experiments (DOE) approach allowed precise adjustments to various factors influencing the extraction process, leading to the optimization of the fabric phase sorptive extraction protocol for copper tripeptide analysis. The method demonstrated excellent linearity over a concentration range of 0.002 to 0.005% w/w for copper tripeptide, with a correlation coefficient exceeding 0.998. The limits of detection and quantitation were 5.3 × 10−4% w/w and 2.0 × 10−3% w/w, respectively. The selectivity of the method was verified through successful separation of copper tripeptide from other cream components within 10 min, establishing its suitability for high-throughput quality control of cosmetic formulations.
