Abstract: A method for determination the content of dihydroxyacetone in cosmetics was established.A Shiseido PC HILIC column (4.6 mm×250 mm,5 μm) was used with detection wavelength 272 nm.The mobile phase is composed of V(acetonitrile)∶V(5 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution)=92∶8,at a flow rate 1.0 mL/min.Samples were extracted under assistance of ultrasonic wave with 80% acetonitrile as the solvent.Results showed that when the mass concentration of dihydroxyacetone is in the range of 0.1~1.0 g/L,the relationship between mass concentration and the corresponding peak area shows good linearity (r=0.999 8).The recovery is 92.7%~99.9%,and RSD lies within 0.55%~1.96%.The method is simple and accurate.

Key words: cosmetics, dihydroxyacetone, high performance liquid chromatography