title: Determination of thymol in halothane anaesthetic preparations by high-performance liquid chromatography.
abstract: A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure has been developed for the isolation and quantification of thymol, a stabilizing agent present in halothane anaesthetic preparations. The method offers improvements in specificity and simplicity with respect to a current official procedure for thymol in halothane. Results for commercial preparations obtained by the proposed procedure demonstrate excellent precision and accuracy with RSD values for replicate analysis ranging from 0.11 to 0.74% and recoveries via fortification from 99.6 to 100.1%. The HPLC method was compared to compendial procedures for thymol bulk substance and halothane products. Chromatographic separation of other related phenolic preservatives used in pharmaceuticals suggests a more extensive application of the proposed procedure.
authors.affiliation: US Food and Drug Administration, Pharmaceutical Analysis Section, Minneapolis, MN 55401.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005079:Excipients / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D006221:Halothane / Q000032:analysis*; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis; D013943:Thymol / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005079:Excipients; D010636:Phenols; D013943:Thymol; D006221:Halothane