Determination of sodium in pharmaceuticals by neutron activation analysis

A simple, fast and accurate neutron activation analysis method for determination of Na in drugs concerning either active compound or total content was developed. The examined dosage forms consisted of 10 injectable ampoules and 10 bottles of oral solutions. The irradiation of samples and standards was carried out in the rotation system of the Reactor of Nuclear Research Center Democritos with maximal neutron flux of 2,9.1013 n.cm-2.sec-1. Gamma-ray spectrometry of the irradiated samples and standards was accomplished with a coaxial Ge(Li) detector series Win 15 with an efficiency of 15% connected to an Ino-Tech 1024 channel analyser (Model IT 5200). The accuracy and precision of the method are found to be very high and therefore it could be established as an official one for the determination of sodium in parmaceuticals