Determination of warfarin in drinking water by high-performance liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction.

A method for the determination of 0.1 micrograms/l of warfarin in drinking water involving concentration by solid-phase extraction is described. A 1000-ml volume of drinking water is aspirated through a solid-phase extraction column and warfarin is eluted to 1.0 ml. The eluate is analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. The detection limit is 0.02 micrograms/l. Recoveries of greater than 90% were obtained when tap water was spiked with warfarin.