Analysis of ethanol content in commercially available Hand sanitizers in Oman using Gas Chromatography- A comparative study

The demand and usage of alcohol-based hand sanitizers have immensely increased worldwide in recent times as a protective measure against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. To ensure that the public and health workers get hand sanitizers with an alcohol percentage within the label stated range, quality control of these products must be carried out by the governmental authorities. The study was designed to determine the ethanol content of eight commercially available and commonly used hand sanitizer gels available in the Omani market. Eight hand sanitizer gels were collected from various community pharmacies and commercial stores in Oman. The Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionisation Detection (GC-FID) method was employed to analyse ethanol content as it is one of the easiest, most reliable and most accurate methods for the determination of volatile content. Various physical properties of the samples such as pH, density, and refractive index, were also evaluated for comparison purpose. Sample prices were also compared from a pharmacoeconomic point of view. The majority of the hand sanitizers fell within the WHO recommendation range, with ethanol levels in the range of 66% to 76%, except A-7, which was below the recommended concentration for pathogenic microbial inactivation. The five of the samples tested showed ethanol contents below the labelled claim, whereas two sanitizers, A-1 and A-2, had ethanol contents above the labelled claim. The hand sanitizers differed significantly in price and certain physical properties which are likely to influence consumer preferences. Although the hand sanitizer products met the WHO requirements for alcohol content, the authors recommend that the regulatory authority should do a frequent testing of the samples available in the market to ensure quality and safety of these products.