DETERMINATION OF SULFAMETHAZINE IN BOVINE AND PORCINE TISSUES BY REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A simple, sensitive, and rapid method for the liquid chromatographic determination of sulfamethazine in animal tissues was developed by using sulfaethoxypyridazine as the internal standard. Homogenized tissue is extracted with chloroform, and the sulfa drugs are back-extracted from chloroform into alkaline sodium chloride solution. The pH of the aqueous extract is adjusted to 6, and the sulfas are concentrated on a conditioned C18 cartridge and eluted with 1 mL methanol. Sulfamethazine and sulfaethoxypyridazine are separated from tissue co-extractives by reversed-phase chromatography on a C18 column by using 0.05M sodium dihydrogen phosphate-methanol (7 + 3). Detection is performed at 265 nm. The method has a detection limit of 2 ng/g. Results obtained by this method were compared with those obtained by the official thin-layer chromatography/densitometric method.