Abstract

Thin layer chromatographic separation and identification of certain phenothiazines.

Author(s): S.Thangadurai*, M.Suresh Kannan, A.Dhanalakshmi

Phenothiazines have been reported to be rather often the cause of acute intoxications, either in overdoses or in associations with other medicines and / or alcohol. These drugs are frequently encountered in the field of forensic toxicology because of their relatively narrow safe ranges of therapeutic doses. In this paper we have described the thin layer chromatographic separation of four of the phenothiazine drugs (prochlorperazine, promethazine, chlorpromazine, trifluroperazine) as such and also to assess their degradation products after an “in situ” acid hydrolysis on the chromatoplate. Our aim was to develop a simple, rapid and efficient method for separation of these phenothiazine drugs. Using pre-coated silica gel G UV254 as stationary phase and selecting ten different mobile we succeeded in the separation of the studied phenothiazines. Each phenothiazine can be separated from the others by using an appropriate mobile phase. Any of the phenothiazines can be identified by combining the results obtained with different mobile phases.