Liquid chromatographic determination of benzylpenicillin and cloxacillin in animal tissues and its application to a study of the stability at -20 degrees C of spiked and incurred residues of benzylpenicillin in ovine liver.

A method was developed for determining benzylpenicillin and cloxacillin in animal tissues. Samples are extracted with acetonitrile, and the extract is cleaned up on a C18 solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge, derivatized, and quantitated by liquid chromatography with UV detection at 325 nm. The method was validated on spiked bovine kidney, liver, and muscle tissues. Kidney was spiked at 0.01, 0.05, and 0.20 mg/kg; liver and muscle were spiked at 0.20 mg/kg. Recoveries were 75-100% , with coefficients of variation of 2-7%. The method was further validated on kidney, liver, and muscle tissues from 2 sheep dosed with Aquacaine G suspension (containing benzylpenicillin). Mean levels of benzylpenicillin in these tissues ranged from 0.02 to 4.06 mg/kg, with coefficients of variation of replicate analyses between 3 and 7%. The limit of detection was approximately 0.005 mg/kg for benzylpenicillin and cloxacillin in kidney, liver, and muscle tissues. This method was used to study the stability of both spiked and incurred residues of benzylpenicillin in ovine liver during storage at -20 degrees C for 3 months. Assuming the rate of loss follows a first-order kinetic decay, the mean half-life of benzylpenicillin in liver is 62 days for spiked tissues and 71 days for tissues with incurred residues.