Determination of N-nitrosodiethanolamine in cosmetic products by reversed-phase dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by liquid chromatography.

A new analytical method for the determination of N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA), a very harmful compound not allowed in cosmetic products, is presented. The method is based on a new approach of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) useful for extraction of highly polar compounds, called reversed-phase DLLME (RP-DLLME), followed by liquid chromatography-ultraviolet/visible (LC-UV/Vis) determination. The variables involved in the RP-DLLME process were studied to provide the best enrichment factors. Under the optimized conditions, a mixture of 750µL of acetone (disperser solvent) and 125µL of water (extraction solvent) was rapidly injected into 5mL of toluene sample solution. The e…