J. Aspinall, T. D. Duffy, M. Saunders
Feb 1, 1980
Citations
0
Influential Citations
2
Citations
Journal
Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics
Abstract
A radiochemical tracer method using phenylmercuric acetate (Hg‐203) has been developed and used to study the effect of storage in polyethylene containers on preservative concentration in some eyedrop formulations. Preparations containing lachesine chloride, sodium chloride, atropine sulphate or chloramphenicol showed reductions in phenylmercuric acetate concentrations of between 40 and 90% after 100 days storage at ambient temperature. Investigation of the distribution of radiomercury in the package indicated that these losses were attributable to sorption of preservative by the container material resulting in passage through the material to atmosphere. The presence of phosphate buffers in solutions of phenylmercuric acetate inhibited loss of mercury. Rapid initial losses of mercury occurred in solutions containing chloride anions and the suitability of the BPC formulation for lachesine chloride eyedrops is questioned.