Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of p-chloroacetanilide in acetaminophen

Gas-liquid chromatography GLC) coupled with column chromatography was used to accurately determine as little as 25 ppm p-chloroacetanilide in acetaminophen. p-Chloroacetanilide was eluted from a pH 8 phosphate-buffered diatomite partition column by using purified tetrachloroethylene (acetaminophen was retained). This solution was concentrated, internal standard (docosane) was added, and p-chloroacetanilide was determined by using a 0.9 m X 2 mm glass column packed with 3% Poly A 103 on Supelcoport and a flame ionization detector with electronic integration. Standard curves were linear for 10-100 ppm p-chloroacetanilide. Various chromatographic materials were investigated for optimal retention characteristics. High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was also evaluated as an alternative; however, lack of reproducibility of the HPLC column favored the GLC procedure.