Evaluation of the Effect of Silylation in the Development of an Analytical Method for the Determination of UV Filters and Hormones by GC-MS

The objective of this work was to optimize a chromatographic method, combining derivatization (silylation) with MSTFA (N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoracetamide) and analysis by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), for the determination of hormones and UV filters selectively, evaluating the effect of derivatization on the chromatographic response. The method developed for the qualitative analysis (SCAN mode) allowed the identification of the analytes more accurately, with similarities of the spectra superior to 80%. The limits of detection and quantification ranged from 0.1 to 1.3 µg L-1 and 0.3 to 4.2 µg L-1 respectively. The quantitative method, combined silylation with chromatographic determination in SIM mode, proved to be precise (Relative standard deviation <7.2%) and exact (relative error <2.0%), with models without lack of fit, and with correlation coefficients linear values greater than 0.9, in accordance with the requirements and standards of the regulatory bodies.