Quick and Easy Analysis of Alcohol Content in Hand Sanitizer by FTIR Spectroscopy

Introduction

If washing hands with soap and water are not readily accessible, hand sanitizer is the next alternative to prevent the spread of diseases and to kill germs. U.S. CDC have recommended sanitizers with 60–95% alcohol as the most effective composition of sanitizers. Additionally, with concerns over product fraud or fake substances used in the manufacturing of sanitizers, analysis of key active ingredients, such as alcohol, in sanitizers is crucial. This application news investigated the content of two most-commonly-used alcohol [ethanol and isopropyl alcohol (IPA)] in hand sanitizers. This analysis was conducted using Shimadzu FTIR spectrophotometer, IRSpirit, equipped with an attenuated total reflection (ATR) accessory, QATR-S which enables Fast and Easy set-up for quality testing.

June 11, 2020 GMT