Abstract

Ceramide is a lipid in which sphingoid bases and fatty acids are linked by amide bonds. As a marker of skin disease in the human stratum corneum, its disease-causing and therapeutic effects have been partially confirmed, and it is therefore an important element in commercially available cosmetic formulations. However, structural diversity caused by differences in the chain length, number, and location of hydroxyl groups makes quality control difficult. In this study, a method was established to separate different ceramide species using reversed-phase LC-MS/MS and thus enable qualitative evaluation. Separation of four standards was achieved within a short retention time, and the accuracy and sensitivity of the method were demonstrated by the low limit of detection (LOD) calculated based on the calibration curve showing linearity, with R 2 > 0.994. After verification of reproducibility and reliability through intra- and inter-day analyses, the efficiency of the method was confirmed through analysis of commercial cosmetic raw materials.