Neutron activation analysis of halogens in drugs

Abstract

A rapid, efficient, and highly specific method is presented for the determination of total chlorine, bromine, or iodine in various drugs. The halogen content is determined by nondestructive neutron activation and may be used for the presumptive assay of halogen‐containing drugs in various dosage forms. The relative freedom from laboratory contamination, the independence from matrix effect, and the rapidity and specificity of analysis make this technique well suited for the determination of major elements in such complex substances as drugs. The method involves subjecting samples to thermal neutron bombardment and correlating the measured activity from the induced radionuclides of samples with that of standards. The radionuclides of interest in this study are 38Cl, 80Br, 82Br, and 128I, which are produced by a neutron reaction (n, γ) in a nuclear research reactor. Copyright © 1971 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company