Racemization and oxidation in adrenaline injections.

Adrenaline injection fluids aged between 3 and 33 years were analyzed with respect to oxidation and racemization. The oxidation was determined by ion-pair reversed phase HPLC, and the degree of racemization was determined by derivatization of the adrenaline isomers to diastereomeric forms and subsequently separated by reversed phase HPLC. 10% adrenaline was oxidized after about 11 years, while 10% L-adrenaline was converted to D-adrenaline after only 4 years. After about 4 years, the injections contained less than 90% active adrenaline.