Isocratic reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography determination of twelve natural corticosteroids in serum with on-line ultraviolet and fluorescence detection

An isocratic reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography procedure utilizing ultraviolet and fluorescence detectors linked in series is described for the analysis of cortisone (E), cortisol (F), corticosterone (B), 11-deoxycortisol (S), 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC), androstenedione (A), testosterone (T), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), progesterone (P), estriol, estradiol, estrone, prednisone acetate and dexamethasone acetate in serum. Serum specimens were extracted with ethyl ether. The optimized mobile phase was methanol + tetrahydrofuran + water (26:18:56, v/v/v). A Shim-pack ODS column was used. The recoveries were 80 to 103%. Intra- and inter-day coefficient of variance were less than 8%. The detection limit is 0.5 pmol per injection volume for estriol, estradiol, E, F and B; 1 pmol for S, A, DOC and estrone; 2 pmol for T and 17-OHP; and 4 pmol for P. Serum from normal subjects and patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21- or 17-hydroxylase deficiency were measured, as well as samples of maternal and umbilical cord serum.     

Simultaneous Determination of Cortisol,Cortisone, and 6β-Hydroxycortisol in Human Urine by UPLC with UV Detector and Application to Determine Diurnal Variations

In the present studies, a simple rapid ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method with UV detection for the simultaneous determination of cortisol, cortisone and 6β-hydroxycortisol in human urine was developed. The three analytes and the internal standard dexamethasone were separated on a Waters Acquity UPLC-Tunable UV system with an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm ID, 1.7 μm) using a gradient elution of methanol and water (containing 0.01% formic acid) with a run time of 7 min. The method was accurate and precise, over the ranges of 5–200 ng mL⁻¹ for cortisol, and 10–1,000 ng mL⁻¹ for both cortisone and 6β-hydroxycortisol, and showed good linearity (r ² > 0.999). This method was applied for the measurement of cortisol, cortisone and 6β-hydroxycortisol in samples collected over different periods as a tool to assess the activity of CYP3A and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzymes.

     

Optimization of an isocratic reversed phase liquid chromatographic system for the separation of fourteen steroids using factorial design and computer simulation

An optimization strategy for an isocratic reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic system (RP-HPLC) is described. Factorial design and a computer program are used to predict the retention time and resolution of fourteen steroids. An optimized rapid (less than 25 min) isocratic RP-HPLC system for the satisfactory separation of cortisone, cortisol, corticosterone, 11-deoxycortisol, 11-deoxycorticosterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, progesterone, androstenedione, testosterone, estrone, estradiol, estriol, prednisone acetate and dexamethasone acetate has been developed using this strategy through eight experiments.     

Surface plasmon resonance immunosensor for cortisol and cortisone determination

In this paper, we present a surface-plasmon-resonance-based immunosensor for the real-time detection of cortisol and cortisone levels in urine and saliva samples. The method proposed here is simple, rapid, economic, sensitive, robust, and reproducible thanks also to the special features of the polycarboxylate-hydrogel-based coatings used for the antibody immobilization. The sensor surface displays a high level of stability during repeated regeneration and affinity reaction cycles. The immunosensor shows high specificity for cortisol and cortisone; furthermore, no significant interferences from other steroids with a similar chemical structure have been observed. The suitability of the hydrogel coating for the prevention of nonspecific binding is also investigated. A good correlation is noticed between the results obtained by the proposed method and the reference liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of cortisol and cortisone in urine and saliva samples. Standard curves for the detection of cortisol and cortisone in saliva and urine are characterized by a detection limit less than 10 μg l⁻¹, sufficiently sensitive for both clinical and forensic use. Application of a newly developed SPR immunosensor for the measurement of cortisol in anti-doping analysis     

Method development for cortisol and cortisone by micellar liquid chromatography using sodium dodecyl sulphate: application to urine samples of rugby players

The chromatographic behavior of cortisol and cortisone using a micellar medium of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) as surfactant, a Hypersil C18 (150- x 3.2-mm i.d., 5 microm) column, a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min, and UV absorbance detection at 245 nm is described. The effect of several organic modifiers and the surfactant concentration on the separation is studied. A mobile phase of 18 mM SDS and 8.3% tetrahydrofuran allows for the separation of cortisol and cortisone up to baseline. These results are also achieved by applying a bivariant optimization method. The proposed method is sensitive, reproducible, and selective. In addition, it is less expensive than conventional high-performance liquid chromatography methods for cortisol and cortisone. The method is applied to the determination of cortisol and cortisone in urine samples of rugby players before and after stress for doping control purposes.     

Micro determination of cortisol and cortisone in umbilical cord blood by chemiluminescent high‐performance liquid chromatography

A simple, sensitive and specific chemiluminescent high‐performance liquid chromatography method, based on the luminol reaction, for determination of serum cortisol and cortisone, was established. In infants, placental 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme (11β‐HSD2) activity may affect adrenal function early after birth. The cortisol–cortisone ratio of serum concentrations in umbilical cord blood is an indicator of placental 11β‐HSD2 activity. The optimum conditions for the luminol reaction were determined to be 1.5 mM luminol, 0.6 M sodium hydroxide, 0.15 mm potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) and 200 mM potassium hexacyanoferrate (II). The calibration curves for cortisol and cortisone exhibited good linearity. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves were 0.996. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were in the ranges: cortisol 7.0–12.2 and 4.4–9.2%, cortisone 5.3–7.0 and 6.2–9.9%. The recoveries of these steroids were in the ranges: cortisol 97–105%, cortisone 94–102%. The limits of detection were as follows: cortisol, 0.17 μg/dl; cortisone 0.15 μg/dl. This assay could be successfully applied to determination of the cortisol–cortiosone ratio of serum concentrations in umbilical cord bloods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generation of a novel monoclonal antibody against cortisol-[C-4]-bovine serum albumin conjugate: application to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for urinary and serum cortisol.

Measurement of cortisol levels in body fluids is important for monitoring pituitary gland and adrenal functions. To develop a specific and standardized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), a novel monoclonal anti-cortisol antibody has been generated using a reasonably designed haptenic derivative. Spleen cells were prepared from the BALB/c or A/J mouse, which had repeatedly been immunized with a conjugate of 4-(2-carboxyethylthio)cortisol (CET) and bovine serum albumin, to be fused with P3/NS1/1-Ag4-1 myeloma cells. After four fusion experiments, one hybridoma clone secreting a practical antibody has been established. The resulting monoclonal antibody CS#38 (isotype gamma1, kappa) showed an affinity constant (K(a)) for cortisol of 1 x 10(9) M(-1) and provided a practical calibration curve (detection limit, 0.26 ng per assay) in a homologous ELISA system employing horseradish peroxidase-labeled CET as a labeled antigen. Cross-reactivities with related C-21 steroids were acceptably low: 11-deoxycortisol (4.3%), cortisone (4.0%), corticosterone (1.9%), progesterone (1.6%), 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (12%), 6beta-hydroxycortisol (8.4%), and tetrahydrocortisol (< 0.1%). Urinary and serum cortisol levels of healthy volunteers were determined by this method after methylene chloride extraction to be 39.0 +/- 17.0 microg/day (n = 7) and 80.8 +/- 38.9 ng/mL (n = 10), respectively, both of which are in the reference range.     

Simultaneous measurement of endogenous cortisol,cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone,and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in nails by use of UPLC–MS–MS

Steroid hormone concentrations are mostly determined by using different body fluids as matrices and applying immunoassay techniques. However, usability of these approaches may be restricted for several reasons, including ethical barriers to invasive sampling. Therefore, we developed an ultra-performance LC–MS–MS method for high-throughput determination of concentrations of cortisol, cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) in small quantities of human nails. The method was validated for linearity, limits of detection and quantification, recovery, intra and interassay precision, accuracy, and matrix effect. Samples from 10 adult women were analyzed to provide proof-of-principle for the method’s applicability. Calibration curves were linear (r ² > 0.999) in the ranges 10–5000 pg mg⁻¹ for cortisol, cortisone, and DHEAS, and 50–5000 pg mg⁻¹ for DHEA. Limits of quantification were 10 pg mg⁻¹ for cortisol, cortisone, and DHEAS, and 50 pg mg⁻¹ for DHEA. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were good, and there was no interference with the analytes. Mean recovery of cortisol, cortisone, DHEA, and DHEAS was 90.5%, 94.1%, 84.9%, and 95.9%, respectively, with good precision (coefficient of variation <14% for all analytes) and accuracy (relative error (%) −8.3% to 12.2% for all analytes). The median (pg mg⁻¹, range) hormone concentrations were 69.5 (36–158), 65 (32–133), 212 (50–1077), and 246 (115–547) for cortisol, cortisone, DHEA, and DHEAS, respectively. This method enables measurement of cortisol, cortisone, DHEA, and DHEAS in small quantities of human nails, leading to the development of applications in endocrinology and beyond.     

Simultaneous and direct determination of oxalic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, vitamin C, citric acid, and succinic acid in Fructus mume by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the simultaneous separation and direct determination of oxalic acid (OA), tartaric acid (TA), malic acid (MA), vitamin C (VC), citric acid (CA), and succinic acid (SA) in Fructus mume using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with a UV detector in an acidic medium is presented in this study. In the experiment, the optimization of chromatographic conditions (i.e., the pH and flow rate of the mobile phase, the absorption wavelength, and temperature of column) that affect the separation degree and peak shape of organic acids has been obtained. The linear ranges are found to be 0.05-4.7 microg for OA (r = 0.9999), 0.11-10.5 microg for TA (r = 0.9999), 0.114-11.4 microg for MA (r = 0.9999), 0.033-3.30 microg for VC (r = 0.9999), 0.155-15.5 microg for CA (r = 0.9998), and 0.194-19.4 microg for SA (r = 0.9996). For OA, TA, MA, VC, CA, and SA, the even recovery (n = 3) of six effective components are 100.9%, 99.97%, 101.2%, 102.1%, 101.1%, and 100.7%, respectively, and the largest relative standard deviation (n = 11) for the six components is less than 1.7%. The detection limits are 0.01 microg for OA, TA, and VC; 0.05 microg for MA; 0.03 microg for CA; and 0.1 microg for SA. In a single chromatographic run, OA, TA, MA, VC, CA, and SA can be determined in less than 7 min. The method can be used for the purpose of routine analysis and the quality control of a botanic (Fructus mume) containing these effective components.     

Determination of hormones in human urine by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography/triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometry

Steroid hormones play a critical role in maintaining the homeostasis of human metabolism. Urine as a noninvasive sample has been extensively used in clinical diagnosis for hormones homeostasis. In this study, the simultaneous characterization of fourteen hormones in urine was performed based on ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPHLC/ESI(+)‐MS/MS) with multiple reaction monitoring in the positive ionization mode. The target hormones were cortisone, cortisol, 11‐deoxycortisol, aldosterone, corticosterone, 11‐deoxycorticosterone, progesterone, 17‐OH‐progesterone, pregnenolone, estrone, estradiol, estriol, testosterone and dehydreopiandrosterone. β‐Glucuronidase/sulfatase deconjugation and liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) were conducted for the determination of urinary hormones (free + conjugated forms). The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.2 ng/mL (11‐deoxycortisol and testosterone) to 1 ng/mL (cortisone). The extraction recovery of the targeted compounds ranged from 87% to 127%, indicating sufficient extraction efficiency for the LLE process. Intraday precision was below 10% and the accuracy ranged from 84% to 122%. The profiling analysis of hormones in urine samples helps to understand the metabolic state of biological systems and can be employed as a diagnostic tool in diseases developed by endocrine‐disrupted systems.     

Fiber-packed SPE tips based on electrospun fibers

A novel fiber-packed solid-phase extraction (SPE) tip was designed based on electrospun nanofibers. The tip was used to investigate the extraction of hydrocortisone (HC), cortisone acetate (CA), ethinylestradiol (EE), and estradiol (E2). The effects of diameters, porous figurations, and functional groups of the electrospun fibers on the selectivity and efficiency were studied. The experimental results indicated that the detection limit of cortisol in water sample could be as low as 0.75 ng/mL. When the tip is used for detection of cortisol in human hair the efficiency of biological sample pretreatment is better than the traditional SPE method. Our method could significantly simplify the traditional SPE process and lower the cost. Industrial application of the tip is anticipated. Figure Analyte molecules (e.g., cortisol) are attracted onto the electrospun nanofibers of the packed SPE tip. Careful selection of the fiber diameter, morphology, and functional groups affords high selectivity, sensitivity, and extraction recoveries Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

An HPLC method for the determination of the free cortisol/cortisone ratio in human urine

The measurement of the urinary free cortisol-cortisone ratio has been reported to be a sensitive indicator of renal 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11 beta-HSD 2) activity. This converts biologically active cortisol to inactive cortisone. A decrease in its activity (e.g. through disease or inhibition caused by a therapeutic agent or a foodstuff) may increase cortisol levels and susceptibility towards hypertension. The method presented here uses a simple isocratic tandem column HPLC system. The method has been validated and found to be robust and reproducible. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was found to be 10 ng/mL for both cortisol and cortisone. Samples of urine (n = 99) from patients, most of whom were on complex combinations of drugs, were analyzed and 92% of samples were found to give successful results with this method (cortisol and cortisone above LLOQ). The ratio ranged from 0.07 to 5.61. No interferences were noted from the drugs that the patients were taking. It was also found that a morning spot urine sample gave comparable results to 24 h collection samples, thus making sample collection much easier.     

Determination of M+4 stable isotope labeled cortisone and cortisol in human plasma by microElution solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive microElution solid-phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of M+4 stable isotope labeled cortisone and cortisol in human plasma. In this method, M+4 cortisone and M+4 cortisol were extracted from 0.3 mL of human plasma samples using a Waters Oasis HLB 96-well microElution SPE plate using 70 microL methanol as the elution solvent, and chromatographed on a Waters Symmetry C18 column (4.6 x 50 mm, 3.5 microm). M+9 cortisone and M+9 cortisol were used as the internal standards. A PE Sciex API 4000 tandem mass spectrometer interfaced with the liquid chromatograph via a turboionspray source was used for mass analysis and detection. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM) of precursor --> product ion transitions were monitored at m/z 365.2 [M+H](+) --> 167.0 and at m/z 367.3 [M+H](+) --> 125.1 for M+4 cortisone and M+4 cortisol, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation was 0.1 ng mL(-1) and the linear calibration range was from 0.1 to 100 ng mL(-1) for both analytes. This method demonstrated to be very reproducible and reliable.     

Determination of endocrine disrupting compounds using temperature-dependent inclusion chromatography: I. Optimization of separation protocol

In the present work we optimised the separation of battery of key UV non-transparent low-molecular-mass compounds having possible endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) activity or which may be used as the endocrine effect biomarkers. Simple optimization strategy was based on strong temperature effect that is driven by electrostatic interactions between macrocyclic mobile phase additives like cyclodextrins and eluted components of interest under C18 stationary phase and acetonitrile/water mobile phase conditions. Particularly, the effect of temperature involving native β-cyclodextrin and its hydroxypropyl derivative to improve separation of number of natural (d-equilenin, equilin, estetrol, estriol, estrone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, 20α-hydroxyprogesterone, cortisol, cortisone, progesterone, testosterone, tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone) and artificial steroids (ethynylestradiol, norgestrel isomers, medroxyprogesterone, mestranol, methyltestosterone, norethindrone, 17α-estradiol) as well as non-steroidal compounds (diethylstilbesterol, bisphenol A, 4-tert-butylphenol, dimethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate and dioctyl phthalate) was investigated. It has been found that successful isocratic separation of 27 chemicals can be achieved using acetonitrile/water eluents modified with β-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin at concentration of 10 mM and temperature of 47 °C. Separation protocol is simple, reliable, direct and non-radioactive and may be easily adapted for rapid separation and quantification of wide range of given steroids and related EDCs in environmental samples, particularly those that are characterised by unstable biological matrix and components of interest load.     

Fully automated analysis of estrogens in environmental waters by in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, rapid and sensitive method for the determination of five estrogens, estrone, 17beta-estradiol, estriol, ethynyl estradiol, and diethylstilbestrol, was developed using a fully automated method consisting of in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). These estrogens were separated within 8 min by HPLC using an XDB-C8 column and 0.01% ammonia/acetonitrile (60/40, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Electrospray ionization conditions in the negative ion mode were optimized for MS/MS detection of the estrogens. The optimum in-tube SPME conditions were 20 draw/eject cycles of 40 microL of sample using a Supel-Q PLOT capillary column as an extraction device. The extracted compounds were easily desorbed from the capillary by passage of the mobile phase, and no carryover was observed. Using the in-tube SPME LC/MS/MS method, good linearity of the calibration curve (r > or = 0.9996) was obtained in the concentration range from 10 to 200 pg/mL for all compounds examined. The limits of detection (S/N= 3) of the five estrogens examined ranged from 2.7 to 11.7 pg/mL. The in-tube SPME method showed 34-90-fold higher sensitivity than the direct injection method (5 microL injection). This method was applied successfully to the analysis of environmental water samples without any other pretreatment and interference peaks. Several surface water and wastewater samples were collected from the area around Asahi River, and estriol was detected at 35.7 pg/mL in the effluent of a sewage treatment plant. The recoveries of estrogens spiked into river waters were above 86%, except for estriol, and the relative standard deviations were below 0.9-8.8%.     

Interaction of native α-cyclodextrin, β-cyclodextrin and γ-cyclodextrin and their hydroxypropyl derivatives with selected organic low molecular mass compounds at elevated and subambient temperature under RP-HPLC conditions

The main focus of this study was to explore the capability of native α-cyclodextrin, β-cyclodextrin and γ-cyclodextrin and their hydroxypropyl derivatives for host-guest interaction with 7,8-dimethoxyflavone, selected steroids (estetrol, estriol, estradiol, estrone, testosterone, cortisone, hydrocortisone, progesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene, naphthalene, 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene, 1-acenaphthenol, acenaphthylene and acenaphthene) under reversed-phase liquid-chromatography conditions. The study revealed that native cyclodextrins interact more efficiently with the analytes investigated than do their hydroxypropyl counterparts. In the low-temperature region, enormously high ratios were observed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particularly 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene, acenaphthene and acenaphthylene chromatographed on a β-cyclodextrin-modified mobile phase. In such a case, the retention times of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were strongly reduced (e.g. from 127 to 1.2 min for 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene) and were close to the hold-up time of the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system (0.7 min). Moreover, chiral separation of 1-acenaphthenol optical isomers was observed and the elution order of the enantiomers was determined. Within the steroids group, strong interaction was observed for estradiol and testosterone. The results of cluster analysis indicate that β-cyclodextrin as well as γ-cyclodextrin and its hydroxypropyl derivative can be most effective mobile-phase additives under reversed-phase HPLC conditions for 3D-shape-recognition-driven separation, performed at subambient and elevated temperatures, respectively.     

Simultaneous Determination of Free Cortisol,Cortisone and their Tetrahydrometabolites in Urine by Single Solvent Extraction and Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A fast, efficient and low-cost high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry methodology was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of free urinary cortisone, cortisol and their tetrahydro-metabolites. The developed method comprises a simple liquid-liquid extraction with CH₂Cl_2, followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) with electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive mode. The baseline chromatographic separation of the analytes, including the stereoisomers tetrahydrocortisol (THF) and allo-THF, was achieved on a Hypersil Gold C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.05%v/v formic acid in water—acetonitrile, using a gradient elution program. The influence of the mobile phase composition and the ESI parameters on the sensitivity of the method was extensively studied. Sample preparation was also optimized, testing two techniques: solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Recoveries ranged from 74.7% (a-THF) to 93.5% (cortisol) and the method limits of detection (MLD) ranged from 0.34?ng mL^?1 (cortisol) to 1.37?ng mL^?1 (THF). Intra- and inter-day coefficient of variation of the assay varied from1.5% (allo-THF) to 13% (tetrahydrocortisone) and from 3.6% (allo-THF) to 14.9% (tetrahydrocortisone), respectively. The method was applied for the analysis of urine samples from 53 healthy individuals with a mean age of 13.96?years in order to estimate the concentration of the five corticosteroids and the ratio of the metabolites. Associations between urinary cortisol/cortisone and serum cortisol/cortisone values were also characterized.     

Simultaneous Determination of Caffeine and Acetylsalicylic Acid in Pharmaceutical Formulations Using a Boron‐Doped Diamond Film Electrode by Differential Pulse Voltammetry

This work presents a simple, fast and low‐cost method for simultaneous determination of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), without alkaline hydrolysis and caffeine (CF) in pharmaceutical formulations using a boron‐doped diamond as the working electrode through differential pulse voltammetry. A good repeatability was reached for 20 measurements, with a low relative standard deviation of less than 1.0 %. The calibration curves presented a great linear correlation coefficient for both drugs (R=0.999) with a limit of detection of 1.6×10^?7 mol L^?1 for CF and 2.3×10^?7 mol L^?1 for ASA. The system was validated in comparison with the official method.     

SPE-RP-HPLC法测定羊肉组织中胺菊酯和三氟氯氰菊酯残留量

建立了羊肉组织中胺菊酯和三氟氯氰菊酯的固相萃取-反相高效液相色谱测定法。采用氟罗里硅土固相萃取柱(1000 mg/6 mL)进行固相萃取。以Shim-pack VP-ODS(200 mm×4.6 mm)柱为分析柱,流动相为甲醇:水=95:5(V/V),流速为0.7 mL/min。胺菊酯和三氟氯氰菊酯分别在0.01～6.40μg/mL(r=0.9999)和0.068～7.20ug/mL(r=0.9998)范围内与峰面积呈良好线性关系,检出限分别为0.001μg/mL和0.002μg/mL,胺菊酯和三氟氯氰菊酯的回收率为90.2%～101.4%,相对标准偏差为2.3%～4.0%。该方法可作为羊肉组织中胺菊酯和三氟氯氰菊酯含量监测的控制方法。     

Disopyramide analysis using REMEDi: comparison with EMIT and conventional high performance liquid chromatographic methods.

REMEDi (Rapid EMErgency Drug identification; Bio-Rad) is an automated high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system designed to detect, identify and measure a range of basic and neutral drugs in 0.5-1.0 mL of urine or plasma/serum. We have evaluated REMEDi in the analysis of the antiarrhythmic drug disopyramide in patient samples. The specimens were also analysed by a conventional HPLC method, based on solvent extraction and UV detection (254 nm), and by EMIT. There were good correlations between the results obtained with each method (r = 0.91 or greater). REMEDi gave a lower mean result than EMIT [means +/- SD (mg/L): REMEDi 2.64 +/- 1.10, EMIT 3.14 +/- 1.51; t = 4.0, p less than 0.01; n = 25], but there were no other significant differences in mean results. The principal disopyramide metabolite, mono-N-desalkyldisopyramide, did not interfere in any method. Clearly REMEDi can be used for therapeutic drug monitoring of disopyramide provided enough sample is available.