Determination of parabens in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products by capillary electrophoresis

A validated capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of parabens-methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl is described. The optimum results were obtained by the use of a run buffer containing 20 mM borate buffer (pH 9.0) with 10% methanol and by applying a voltage of 20 kV, a low hydrodynamic injection of 10 s, and detecting the signals at 200 nm. Moxifloxazin was used as an internal standard. All parabens were separated within 10 min. The method showed a good repeatability, linearity, and sensitivity. It was applied to the determination of parabens in pharmaceutical and certain cosmetic products.