Analysis for salicylic acid in serum by high-performance liquid chromatography

We report a specific and sensitive quantitative assay for salicylate in serum or plasma. As little as 3 microliter of sample can be analyzed by an external standard procedure and larger volumes by diluting with the internal standard (o-methoxybenzoic acid). No extraction or derivatization is necessary and salicylic acid and the internal standard elute in 6 and 3.75 min, respectively. Peak-height ratios are linearly related to concentrations between 10 and 500 mg/liter. By comparison with an existing fluorometric method, our procedure is faster, more specific, and more sensitive.