Study on the photostability of guaiazulene by high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2008 Sep;22(17):2698-706. doi: 10.1002/rcm.3661.

Abstract

The photostability of guaiazulene (1,4-dimethyl-7-isopropylazulene; GA), a natural azulenic compound used in cosmetic and health-care products, as well as in pharmaceutical preparations, was investigated in solution (methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile), by different techniques: gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography combined with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry and UV detection (LC/APCI-MS and HPLC/UV). A solar simulator (xenon-arc lamp) was used as UV-A radiation source. The study involved: monitoring compound decomposition, identifying products of photodegradation (PPs), assessing the role of oxygen and evaluating the kinetics of the process. Minor PPs are volatile compounds and were characterized by GC/MS, while oligomeric polyoxygenated compounds, tentatively characterized on the basis of MS and MS/MS spectra, were found to be the main photoproducts. The photodegradation was found to be enhanced by the presence of oxygen; nevertheless, determination of the singlet oxygen quantum yield for GA gave a lower value than that for the reference standard Rose Bengal. The obtained results and the developed stability-indicating methods (GC/MS and LC/MS) are of interest for stability studies and/or quality control purposes of GA as raw material or cosmetic products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antioxidants / chemistry*
  • Azulenes / chemistry*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Drug Stability
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Photochemistry
  • Sesquiterpenes / chemistry*
  • Sesquiterpenes, Guaiane
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / methods*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods*

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Azulenes
  • Sesquiterpenes
  • Sesquiterpenes, Guaiane
  • guaiazulene