Determination of ampicillin residues in fish tissues by liquid chromatography

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method is described for determination of ampicillin residues in fish tissues. The drug is extracted from tissues with methanol, and the extract is evaporated to dryness. This residue is cleaned up by Florisil cartridge chromatography. LC analysis is carried out on a Nucleosil C18 column, and ampicillin is quantitated by ultraviolet detection at 222 nm. Recoveries of ampicillin added to tissues at levels of 0.2 and 0.1 ppm were 73.2 and 61.5%, respectively. The detection limit was 3 ng for ampicillin standard, and 0.03 ppm in tissues.