Trace Determination of Selected Heavy Metal Ions in Bleaching Creams in the Local Market of Saudi Arabia

Faten M. Ali Zainya

Department of Chemistry, Science Faculty, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2579

ABSTRACT: Bleaching cream and cosmetics products of skin have risk of toxicity and deleterious effects to the human health because of their multiplicative contamination with heavy metals and uncertain mixing of different components. Thus, the present study reports a comprehensive study on the trace selected heavy metal (Hg, Cd, Ti, Bi, Pb, As and Tl) determination in 16 samples of bleaching creams and samples mixture of bleaching creams simultaneously to get a double activity (shiny and faster) on the skin from the local market of Saudi Arabia. Samples were digested with high pressure microwave technique followed by direct determination by inductive coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). Hg, Bi, Ti and Pb levels on samples were  found equal 5739.16, 7013.53, 21407.73, 456.70 µg/g, respectively whereas other elements (Cd, As and Tl) were found less than 28.99 ppm. One sample of the mixtures showed  high concentrations of Hg (13338.50 µg/g,) and Bi (619.23 µg/g). Thus, creams and cream mixtures containing heavy metals above the permissible limit must be blind. The lower detection limits (LOD) were achieved at 2.5-50 µg/g concentration level,  RSD was less than 14.72%, and recovery percentage for cosmetics were in the range of 88.52 -99.62%. The proposed method for sample digestion and ICP-OES measurements was fast, precise, convenient and provided good recovery of the tested elements.

KEYWORDS: Cosmetic Products; Bleaching Creams;  Heavy Metals; ICP-OES Determination Microwave Digestion;

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