Rapid liquid chromatographic determination of residual penicillin G in milk

A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for determination of residual penicillin G (benzylpenicillin, PCG) in milk was developed. The sample preparation was performed by stirring with ethanol and reacting with 5 M 1,2,4-triazole-mercury (II) chloride solution at 65 degrees C for 10 min followed by an ultra centrifugation step. The HPLC separation was carried out using a Mightysil RP-4GP column, a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) (35:65, v/v) and a photo-diode array detector. The average recoveries from spiked PCG (0.004, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 microgram/mL) were above 86% with coefficients of variation between 1.2 and 4.5%. The limit of detection was 0.004 microgram/mL. This value corresponds to the maximum residue limit (MRL) in milk (0.004 microgram/mL, EU and Japan). The total time required for the analysis of one sample was below 40 min.