Identification of Preservatives in Cosmetic Products by Chromatography Thin-layer

Synopsis-A rapid, sensitive method for the IDENTIFICATION of PRESERVATIVES in COSMETICS consists of extracting the cosmetic with alcohol and developing an ali-quot of the extract on a THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY (tic) plate of silica gel GF2s4. The preservatives are visualized on the plate by short wavelength UV light, iodine vapor, and/or several indicator sprays, and identified by comparison of Rt values with known standards. Twenty-five preservatives •vere characterized by this method. The prc-servatives in nine commercial cosmetic products were identified by the method described. The limit of detectability is approximately 0.1-0.5 t•g on a tlc plate, using a benzene-acetone solvent system