Determination of ethylene oxide, ethylene chlorohydrin, and ethylene glycol residues in ophthalmic solutions at proposed concentration limits.

A GLC method was developed for the determination of ethylene oxide and its two reaction products, ethylene chlorohydrin and ethylene glycol, in ophthalmic solutions at the levels recently proposed by the Food and Drug Administration. The method requires no extractions, sample preparations, or elaborate trapping and concentrating techniques. All three components can be chromatographed on the same spiral glass column packed with a porous polymer absorbent.