BackgroundSalicylic acid and its derivatives are widely used drugs with potential toxicity. The main areas of salicylate derivatives determination are biological liquids and pharmaceuticals analysis.ResultsSilica-titania xerogel has been used for solid phase spectrophotometric determination of various salicylate derivatives (salicylate, salicylamide, methylsalicylate). The reaction conditions influence on the interaction of salicylate derivatives with silica-titania xerogels has been investigated; the characteristics of titanium(IV)-salicylate derivatives complexes in solid phase have been described. The simple solid phase spectrophotometric procedures are based on the formation of xerogel incorporated titanium(IV) colored complexes with salicylate derivatives. A linear response has been observed in the following concentration ranges 0.1–5, 0.5–10 and 0.05-4.7 mM for salicylate, salicylamide, and methylsalicylate, respectively. The proposed procedures have been applied to the analysis of human urine, synthetic serum, and pharmaceuticals.ConclusionsThe simple solid phase spectrophotometric procedures of salicylate derivatives determination based on the new sensor materials have been proposed for biological liquids and pharmaceuticals analysis.Graphical abstractComplexation of titanium (IV), incorporated in silica-titania xerogels (Si-Ti), with salicylate derivatives (L) resulting in yellow-colored xerogels (Si-Ti/Ln) has been proposed for salicylate derivatives determination in biological liquids and pharmaceuticals