Development of an analytical method for the squalene detemination in the olive oil insaponifiable fraction by GC-FID

Identifier:  TFG:129

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFG129

Authors:  Oliva López, Elvira

Abstract:
The olive oil squalene is a compound which is getting relevance in cosmetics. It contributes interesting properties as anti-aging effect, hydration and others. It is also important in other fields, for example, in medicine, where it is used as chemopreventive agent for some type of cancers. Clariant is involved in the cosmetic field and they produce a lot of products for cosmetics. Here is where the interest in producing squalene for cosmetics applications appears. For the time being, they are studying the possibility, and one of the means needed is a method which determinates the squalene content in samples. The aim of this project is to develop a method for the squalene determination by GC-FID. During the development of optimal conditions, a permanent distortion on the squalene peak forced to change the capillary column for another wider. This distortion was due to the capillary column saturation, probably because too much sample was being injected. Dissolving the sample made the smaller peaks disappeared. Changing the column fixed the distortion problem without dissolving the sample. The identification of the sample peaks was carried out by injecting different standards. Not all peaks have been identified by lack of standards. The choice of the appropriate solvent and internal standard was done by repeatability studies. Two solvents were tested, among which ethyl acetate gave better repeatability results, so it was chosen. Two different internal standards were tested, too. Taking into account the premises that an internal standard must accomplish, 1-octadecene proved to be the adequate for squalene determination. Once the accuracy and the linearity of the chromatograph were checked, the method accuracy and linearity were studied. Both gave optimal results, making this method useful for squalene determination. However, not all the validation parameters have been studied due to the limited time, so it would be interesting to continue optimizing the method.