[Characterization by thin layer chromatography of benzothiazole derivatives and beta-sitosterol leached by disposable...

A thin-layer chromatographic study of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, 2-(methylthio)benzothiazole, 2-(2-hydroxy-ethylthio)benzothiazole, 2-hydroxybenzothiazole, zinc 2-mercaptobenzothiazolate, mercaptobenzothiazole disulfide, and beta-sitosterol with three developing solvents and eleven spray reagents is reported. A simple method is described which highlights the leaching of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and 2-(2-hydroxy-ethylthio)benzothiazole from the rubber plunger-seals of disposable syringes: contact of rubber with bidistilled water, extraction of this liquid with chloroform, chromatography on silica gel with the solvents previously studied and spraying with N-chloro-2,6-dichloro-p-benzoquinone monoimine. The method may also be used to discriminate those syringes sterilized with ethylene oxide, the only ones able to leach 2-(2-hydroxy-ethylthio)benzothiazole, from those sterilized by irradiation. Owing to the beta-sitosterol traces leached, it may also be used to investigate whether the plunger-seals are made of natural rubber. The toxic effects of the compounds leached are briefly reported.