High-performance liquid chromatographic method for studies on the photodecomposition kinetics of chlorothiazide

A simple isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method for monitoring the photodecomposition of chlorothiazide in ethanolic solution is described. A 125-mm RP-18 column and an aqueous mobile phase containing 10% methanol and 2% acetic acid were used. The flow-rate was 1.0 ml/min and the UV detector wavelength 265 nm. Samples of 0.2 ml were taken from the reaction vessel and diluted 10-fold. The external standard method was used in the quantitative determinations. The decomposition appeared to proceed according to first-order kinetics. When the solutions were saturated with oxygen, the decomposition was greatly inhibited.