Separation of sunscreens in skincare creams using greener high-temperature liquid chromatography and subcritical water chromatography.

In this study, high-temperature liquid chromatographic (HTLC) and subcritical water chromatographic (SBWC) separations of sunscreens contained in skincare creams were achieved at temperatures ranging from 90 to 250°C. The columns employed in this work include a ZirChrom-DiamondBond-C18, a XTerra MS C18 and a XBridge C18 column. The quantity of methanol consumed by the greener HTLC sunscreen methods developed in this project is significantly reduced although the HTLC separation at this stage is not as efficient as that achieved by traditional HPLC. SBWC separation of sunscreens was also achieved on the XTerra MS C18 and the XBridge C18 columns using pure water at 230-250°C. Methanol was eliminated in the SBWC methods developed in this study.