In Suk Woo (식품의약품안전평가원)

Hyun-Kyung Kim (식품의약품안전평가원)

Inhyuk Yeo (식품의약품안전평가원)

In Suk Woo (식품의약품안전평가원)

Jieun Yong (식품의약품안전평가원)

Kyoung-Moon Han (식품의약품안전평가원)

Hyung Soo Kim (식품의약품안전평가원)

Hyun-Kyung Kim (식품의약품안전평가원)

Public health concerns over illegally added ingredients in feminine cleansers continue to emerge due to potential adverse effects on consumers. However, complex cosmetic matrices have limited LC-MS/MS studies of illegally added pharmaceutical ingredients indicated for vaginitis and urinary incontinence. This study aims to establish an optimized simultaneous analysis method for rapid, precise screening of these target analytes. Chromatographic resolution and sensitivity were enhanced by optimizing mobile phase composition, stationary phase type, and column temperature. Notably, a 0.5 mM ammonium fluoride mobile phase significantly enhanced overall ionization efficiency and enabled separation of all 14 analytes within 15 minutes. Furthermore, high-resolution LC-TOF-MS verified structural validity of precursor and product ions analyzed by tandem MS by investigating accurate mass and distinct fragmentation patterns of dequalinium chloride, which lacks established mass spectrometric references. This combination of optimized separation workflows and high-resolution structural characterization provides a solid foundation for precise screening of illegally added ingredients. 

​Acknowledgement: This research was supported by a grant (26211MFDS005) from Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2026.