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Rapid method for the quantification of hydroquinone concentration: chemiluminescent analysis
Author(s) -
Chen TungSheng,
Liou ShowYih,
Kuo WeiWen,
Wu HsiChin,
Jong GwoPing,
Wang HsuehFang,
Shen ChiaYao,
Padma V. Vijaya,
Huang ChihYang,
Chang YenLin
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
luminescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1522-7243
pISSN - 1522-7235
DOI - 10.1002/bio.2842
Subject(s) - hydroquinone , chemiluminescence , hydrogen peroxide , chemistry , solvent , high performance liquid chromatography , chromatography , peroxide , organic chemistry
Topical hydroquinone serves as a skin whitener and is usually available in cosmetics or on prescription based on the hydroquinone concentration. Quantification of hydroquinone content therefore becomes an important issue in topical agents. High‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the commonest method for determining hydroquinone content in topical agents, but this method is time‐consuming and uses many solvents that can become an environmental issue. We report a rapid method for quantifying hydroquinone content by chemiluminescent analysis. Hydroquinone induces the production of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of basic compounds. Hydrogen peroxide induced by hydroquinone oxidized light‐emitting materials such as lucigenin, resulted in the production of ultra‐weak chemiluminescence that was detected by a chemiluminescence analyzer. The intensity of the chemiluminescence was found to be proportional to the hydroquinone concentration. We suggest that the rapid (measurement time, 60 s) and virtually solvent‐free (solvent volume, <2 mL) chemiluminescent method described here for quantifying hydroquinone content may be an alternative to HPLC analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.