Abstract: A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of nitrofurantoin and furazolidone in cosmetics using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Cosmetics samples of various types, including lotion, cream, emollient, waterpowder and lipstick, were extracted under ultrasonication with acetonitrile-methanol (1∶1, v/v). A Kromasil C18 analytical column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) was used for the separation at 25 ℃. Acetonitrile-0.4% acetic acid (30∶70, v/v) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection was performed at 365 nm by a diode array detector. The quantitative analysis was performed using external standard calibration curve. The linear ranges for nitrofurantoin and furazolidone were 0.1-20 mg/L (r=0.9999). The average recoveries were 88.0%-104.6% with the relative standard deviations of 0.5%-4.8%. The method is convenient, rapid, reliable and suitable for the determination of nitrofurantoin and furazolidone in cosmetics.

Key words: cosmetics , furazolidone, nitrofurantoin, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)