Abstract:

An analytical method of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） was established for determination of cannabidiol （CBD） in cosmetics. The samples were extracted with methanol under ultrasonic condition and then purified with an ultrafiltration type purification column before quantitative analysis by external standard method. The UPLC separation was carried out on a CACELL CORE ADME column （2.1 mm×100 mm, 2.7 μm） by gradient elution using aqueous solution containing 0.1% formic acid （A）- acetonitrile solution containing 0.1% formic acid （B）. The electrospray ionization source in positive ion mode （ESI） was used for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of CBD in the multiple reaction monitoring （MRM） mode. The results show that the established method exhibits a good linear relationship in the corresponding concentration range of 0.5-100 μg/L with a correlation coefficient r=0.999 9. The limit of detection （LOD） is 1 μg/kg and the limit of quantification （LOQ） is 3 μg/kg. The recoveries of standard addition at two different levels are 76.6%-110.2% while the relative standard deviation （n=6） are 1.4%-7.7%. Accurate and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated. This method is suitable for qualitative and quantitative analysis of cannabidiol in cosmetics.

Key words: cannabidiol, cosmetics, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry