Chromatographic purification and radio-immunoassay,or diethylstilbestrol residues in meat

A rapid, reliable and sensitive method is reported for the detection of residues of diethylstilbestrol (DES) in meat samples. Enzymatic digestion of the muscle tissue followed by ether extract yields a raw extract which, depending on its fat content, can be partitioned in an alkali/chloroform mixture or passed through a Sephadex LH-20 column. To avoid false positive results in the radio-immunoassay, this extract is purified further by high-performance liquid chromatography on an RP-18 column. The detection limit is 0.07 ng g^?1.