New color reaction for determination of bacitracin in ophthalmic ointments.

A colorimetric method was developed for the rapid analysis of bacitracin in ophthalmic ointments. The method involves the oxidation of alpha-aminocarboxylic acid with sodium hypobromite in an alkaline medium and condensation of the resulting aldehyde with phloroglucinol in concentrated hydrochloric acid to yield a pink color which gives an absorbance maximum at 505 nm. The relationship between absorbance and the quantity of bacitracin reacted obeyed Beer's law over the 15-100-mug/ml concentration range studied, and the produced color was stable for several hours. Furthermore, the method, which can be applied directly to the aqueous dissolution sample, gave results comparable to the official microbiological analytical procedure. The standard deviation is equal to plus or minus 1.81%.