Analysis of acyclovir by high performance capillary electrophoresis with on-column amperometric detection

The separation of acyclovir (ACV) by high performance capillary electrophor esis (HPCE) with on-column amperometric detection using alpha-amino-5-merca pto3,4-dithiazole (AMD) as internal standard is described. The calibration line was linear in the range of 0.5-20 mg/L of ACV. The detection limit was 0.15 mg/L of ACV. Its recovery ranged from 98 to 101% with relative standa rd deviations (RSDs) from 1.9 to 3.2% (n = 5). This method was successfully used for determining ACV in some pharmaceuticals and human urine. Comparab le results with HPCE with ultraviolet (UV) detection and amperometric detec tion were obtained.