Determination of para-aminobenzoic acid, a degradation product of procaine hydrochloride, by zero-crossing first-derivative spectrometry

A first derivative spectrometric method has been developed for the determination of the para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), a related substance and degradation product of the local anesthetic procaine hydrochloride (PH). The wavelength selected for the determination of para-aminobenzoic acid in the presence of procaine was 290 nm. At this wavelength the calibration graphs relating the amplitude of the signals to the concentration of para-aminobenzoic acid were linear up to 10 mg L(-1). The detection limit of para-aminobenzoic acid was 0.70 mg L(-1). The method is simple and rapid and does not require preliminary treatment of the sample. The method was validated.