Abstract

Chromatographic separation of glycerol monostearate, glycerol distearate and glycerol tristearate (GMS, GDS, and GTS) has been performed by normal phase HPLC method utilizing a Zorbax silica ($250{\times}4.6mm$, $5{\mu}m$) column and hexane-hexane, IPA and ethyl acetate mixtures as the eluent within 20 min. The observed reproducibility was less than 5% RSD, Suggesting that ELSD was an effective tool for detection of the glycerol stearates of low volatility without chromophore. The detection limits were in the concentration range of 0.3~2 mg/L, and the calibration curves (the log-log plots) were linear in the range of 4~1000 mg/L (with the slopes of 1.06~1.32). The application of the analytical procedure without pretreatment demonstrated that the proposed chromatographic method would be practical for a routine analysis of commercial products.