QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS OF ALACHLOR AND ATRAZINE IN POLYMERIC MICROCAPSULES DETERMINED BY REVERSE-PHASE HIGH-PERFORMANCE THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH DENSITOMETRY

A method to analyze polymeric microcapsules of the herbicides alachlor and atrazine by reverse-phase high performance thin layer chromatogra phy (RP-HPTLC) has been developed. The herbicidal concentration is det ermined by densitometry. The method is rapid and reproducible and offe rs a practical alternative to determination of alachlor and atrazine b y elemental analyses. Impurities, metabolites, and decomposition produ cts which may yield falsely high percentages of herbicidal content as determined by elemental analyses are readily detected by RP-HPTLC and are not sources of error.