In this work, some parabens were extracted from aqueous sample and cosmetic product using single drop microextraction. Extraction was performed using a 3-?L hexyl acetate droplet hanging from needle tip of a 10-?L GC syringe from 3-mL sample solution. Extraction of methylparaben, ethylparaben, isopropylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and pentylparaben by this method were studied. Derivatization reaction conditions were studied and optimized. Derivatization was performed using 0.4 ?L volume of N,O-bis-(trimethyl silyl)acetamide at room temperature during 5 min inside the GC syringe. Experimental parameters such as solvent type, solvent droplet volume, extraction time, ionic strength and extraction temperature were studied. The best extraction efficiency was obtained using 3 ?L volume of hexyl acetate, stirring rate at 430 rpm, 20 min extraction time, extraction temperature of 37 ?C without salt addition. Calibration plot was linear for methylparaben from 0.2 to 5 ?g/L and 0.1 to 5 ?g/L for the other parabens. Detection limits were in the range 0.001-0.015 ?g/L and RSDs were between 8.1-13.7%. The proposed method was applied for determination of parabens in natural water, mouthwash solution, hair gel and crème samples.
