Stability of thiopental sodium and propofol in polypropylene syringes at 23 and 4 °C

Abstract

The stability of thiopental sodium and propofol in an admixture stored in polypropylene syringes at room temperature and under refrigeration was studied. Propofol injection 10 mg/mL and thiopental sodium 25 mg/mL were mixed to final concentrations of 5 and 12.5 mg/mL, respectively. The admixture was put into 60-mL polypropylene syringes, and two syringes were stored at 23 °C and two at 4 °C. For solutions stored at 23 °C, samples were taken at 0, 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, 120, 168, 216, 240, and 264 hours, and for samples stored at 4 °C, samples were taken at 0, 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, 120, 168, 216, and 312 hours. Drug concentrations were determined by high- performance liquid chromatography. Thiopental sodium and propofol retained >90% of their initial concentrations for up to 312 hours at 4 °C. At 23 °C, >90% of the initial concentration was retained by propofol for up to 120 hours and by thiopental sodium for up to 240 hours. No visual changes or significant change in pH occurred in any sample. When mixed and stored in polypropylene syringes, propofol 5 mg/mL and thiopental sodium 12.5 mg/mL were stable for up to 312 hours at 4 °C and for up to 120 hours at 23 °C.