High performance liquid chromatography of benzalkonium chlorides--variation in commercial preparations

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been used to identify and determine the various alkyl benzyldimethylammonium chloride homologues (C10 to C16) present in commercial benzalkonium chloride preparations. The assay is especially suited for routine quality control work since it has proved to be quick and easily reproducible. It has been found that there can be a large degree of variation in the quality of differing benzalkonium chloride sources.