Normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of spiramycin in eggs and chicken

A precise method is presented for determination of residual spiramycin (SP) in chicken eggs and tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The sample preparation was performed by homogenizing with a mixture of acetonitrile and n-hexane (5:4, v/v) to minimize the fat amount followed by ultra-filtration using a MolCutII(R). The extracts containing SP were free from interfering compounds when examined by the normal-phase HPLC using a LiChrosorb(R) NH(2) column and a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (85:15, v/v) with a photo-diode array detector. The average recoveries from spiked SP (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 ppm) were in excess of 89.0% with coefficients of variation between 1.4 and 2.4%. The limit of detection was 0.1 ppm.