Rapid sample preparation method for the determination of chloramphenicol in swine muscle by high-performance liquid...

A simple and rapid sample preparation method for the determination of chloramphenicol in swine muscle tissue at the 10 micrograms/kg level is described. The method comprises sonication-aided extraction with ethyl acetate, addition of hexane to the extract and cleaning up and concentration of the extract on a small column packed with silica gel. Analysis was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography on a ChromSep column with ChromSpher C8 using acetonitrile-sodium acetate buffer as the mobile phase. Detection was performed at 280 nm. Mean recoveries from spiked muscle samples were 79 +/- 3% (10-50 micrograms/kg). The distribution of chloramphenicol in different muscle and fatty tissues from a pig to which a single dose of chloramphenicol was administered was also investigated.