The effect of complex coordination on gallium determination using ion chromatography

Interest in the therapeutic use of gallium is increasing due to the discovery of its effectiveness as an anti-tumour and anti-microbial agent (Bernstein 1998). However, gallium strongly coordinates with many organic and inorganic ligands and these complexes can display very different physico-chemical properties (Houghton 1979). The gallium species present may also influence the accuracy of the assay used to quantify it. To enable the design of dosage form gallium must be accurately quantified irrespective of the coordination species present. The aim of this study was to develop a simple, rapid method for determining gallium content in a range of coordination complexes in a simple vehicle and a biological matrix