Analysis of Sulfonamide Antibacterial Drug

Significance of Topic

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography is a cornerstone technique for the quantitation of sulfonamide antibiotics in pharmaceutical and clinical settings.
Sulfonamide analysis ensures drug purity, efficacy and safety during production and quality control.

Aims and Study Overview

The study evaluates Shim-pack VP-ODS and Shim-pack XR-ODSⅢ columns for the separation of sulfanilamide and sulfacetamide.
Comparative assessment of two HPLC systems aimed to demonstrate method robustness and throughput advantages.

Methodology and Used Instrumentation

The analytical method employs reversed-phase LC with a mobile phase composed of methanol, water and acetic acid (10/89/1, v/v/v) at ambient temperature.
Two configurations were tested:

• System 1: Shimadzu Prominence with Shim-pack VP-ODS column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm), 0.8 mL/min flow, 10 µL injection, SPD-20AV detector at 254 nm.
• System 2: Shimadzu Nexera X2 with Shim-pack XR-ODSⅢ column (50 × 2.0 mm, 1.6 µm), 0.47 mL/min flow, 2 µL injection, SPD-M30A detector at 254 nm.

Main Results and Discussion

Both columns achieved baseline separation of sulfanilamide and sulfacetamide with clear chromatographic peaks at 254 nm.
The short XR-ODSⅢ column significantly reduced analysis time while maintaining resolution, highlighting its suitability for high-throughput workflows.
System 1 demonstrated robust performance for routine quality control, while System 2 offered faster cycle times for accelerated screening.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Reliable quantitation of sulfonamide antibiotics in pharmaceutical formulations.
• Method flexibility supports both high-throughput screening and routine QC laboratories.
• Compatibility with existing HPLC infrastructure using 254 nm UV detection.

Future Trends and Potential Applications

Integration of ultra-high-performance LC and mass spectrometry may further enhance sensitivity and selectivity.
Miniaturized columns and lower solvent consumption align with green analytical chemistry practices.
Automated sample preparation and data analysis pipelines will support large-scale antibiotic monitoring.

Conclusion

The comparative evaluation confirms that Shim-pack VP-ODS and XR-ODSⅢ columns provide efficient separation of sulfonamide drugs, balancing robustness and speed.
This method facilitates reliable antibiotic analysis for quality control and research applications.

Reference

Application News L464 (JP, ENG), Shimadzu Corporation, First Edition: Dec. 2021