Method of analysis of a selected group of pyrethroids in soil samples using off-line flow-through extraction and on-column direct large-volume injection in reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography

An analytical method using flow-through extraction of a soil sample filled in a short HPLC column with methanol or methanol-water mixtures and large-volume injection in RP-HPLC has been developed for the simultaneous determination of residues of three pyrethroids--kadethrin, cypermethrin, and permethrin--from soil samples. The developed RP-HPLC method enables separation of four diastereoisomers of cypermethrin into three peaks and resolution of two diastereoisomers of permethrin. The UV photometric detection limits of direct on-column large-volume injection of 1.00 mL of extract were 30 ng/mL of kadethrin, 37 ng/mL of total content of cypermethrin, and 65 ng/mL of trans-permethrin, which corresponds to a pyrethroid soil content of around 0.3 mg/kg. Effects of extractant flow rate and optimal extractant volume on the percentage recovery of pyrethroids from Slovak soil samples were studied. Recovery studies were performed at 0.5- 5.0 microg/g fortification level of kadethrin and 1.0-2.5 microg/g fortification level of cypermethrin and permethrin in a soil sample. Recoveries ranged from 83 to 90% for kadethrin, from 87 to 94% for total cypermethrin, and from 85 to 98% for trans-permethrin. This work comprises a basic study aimed at elaboration of an RP-HPLC method of direct analysis of pyrethroids in a soil matrix at low concentration levels achieved by a "solid sample injection" in HPLC--on-line interfacing of analyte extraction, extract clean-up, and analysis.     

Direct injection HPLC method for the determination of selected phenothiazines in plasma using a Hisep column

A direct plasma injection HPLC method has been developed for the determination of selected phenothiazines (promethazine, promazine, chlorpromazine) using a Hisep column. The method is easy to perform and requires 20 microL of a filtered plasma sample. The chromatographic run time is less than 11 min using a mobile phase of 15:85 v/v acetonitrile-0.18 m ammonium acetate pH 5.0 and UV detection at 254 nm. The method is linear in the concentration range 0.1-25 microg mL(-1) (r > 0.99, n = 6) for each analyte with RSD less than 6%. Interday and intraday variability were found to be < or =14%. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.1 (S/N > 3) and 0.25 microg mL(-1) (S/N > 10), respectively, for each of the three phenothiazines. We can also apply this method to separate three other phenothiazines (ethopromazine, trifluoroperazine, prochlorperazine), although it lacks the selectivity to determine the concentration of all six drugs concurrently. The separation is feasible using these drugs in certain combinations.     

Quantification of atrazine and its metabolites in urine by on-line solid-phase extraction–high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

We have developed a method using on-line solid-phase extraction–high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-HPLC-MS/MS) and isotope dilution quantification to measure atrazine and seven atrazine metabolites in urine. The metabolites measured were hydroxyatrazine, diaminochloroatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, desethylatrazine, desethylatrazine mercapturate, atrazine mercaturate and atrazine itself. Our method has good precision (relative standard deviations ranging from 4 to 20% at 5, 10 and 50 ng/mL), extraction efficiencies of 67 to 102% at 5 and 25 ng/mL, relative recoveries of 87 to 112% at 5, 25, 50 and 100 ng/mL limits of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.03 to 2.80 ng/mL. The linear range of our method spans from the analyte LOD to 100 ng/mL (40 ng/mL for atrazine and atrazine mercapturate) with R ² values of greater than 0.999 and errors about the slope of less than 3%. Our method is rapid, cost-effective and suitable for large-scale sample analyses and is easily adaptable to other biological matrices. More importantly, this method will allow us to better assess human exposure to atrazine-related chemicals. Figure A schematic representation showing the elution of the analytes from the solid-phase extraction cartridge onto the analytical column for chromatographic separation prior to MS/MS analysis     

On the signal response of various pesticides in electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization depending on the flow-rate of eluent applied in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The API-MS signal response of several pesticides (atrazine, simazine, isoproturon, diuron, chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, alachlor, trifluralin) depending on the flow-rate of eluent entering the MS interface was investigated. The investigations were based on API-MS-MS analyses of standard pesticide mixtures in the flow injection mode (FIA) at systematically varied eluent flow-rates using both an ESI interface (Turboionspray) and a heated nebulizer type APCI source. In the result, the individual compounds included in this study showed significant differences in their signal response behaviour depending on the flow-rate of eluent applied. The most hydrophobic compounds among the investigated pesticides (chlorpyrifos and trifluralin) showed drastic losses of sensitivity with increasing eluent flow-rate in both ESI and APCI, while more hydrophilic compounds like atrazine, simazine and isoproturon showed the expected signal response (concentration-sensitive in ESI, mass-flow-sensitive in APCI) at least within a certain range of flow-rates (200-600 microl/min in ESI, 200-2000 microl/min in APCI). These findings lead to the conclusion that application of a programmed HPLC eluent flow-rate may be advantageous to achieve maximum sensitivity of API-MS detection for all pesticides of interest. This is exemplified by the implementation of a flow gradient into an online SPE-HPLC-APCI-MS/MS method for improved analysis of pesticides in drinking water.     

Simultaneous determination of rifampicin and sulbactam in mouse plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of rifampicin and sulbactam in mouse plasma. Plasma samples were deproteinized with acetonitrile and separated by HPLC on a RP-18 (125 x 4 mm, 5 microm) column and gradient elution with potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution (pH 4.5; 50 mm) and acetonitrile at a flow-rate of 1.0 mL/min. Rifampicin and sulbactam were monitored at 230 nm and confirmed by means of their UV spectra using a diode-array detector. The method was linear at plasma levels from 1 to 100 microg/mL for rifampicin and from 5 to 200 microg/mL for sulbactam. The limits of quantification were 0.6 microg/mL for rifampicin and 4.2 microg/mL for sulbactam. The intra- and inter-day precisions of the method (RSD) were lower than 5% for both compounds. Average recoveries of rifampicin and sulbactam from mice plasma were 98.2 and 89.3%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of the pharmacokinetic profile of both compounds in mice.     

Analysis of methyl tert.-butyl ether and its degradation products by direct aqueous injection onto gas chromatography with mass spectrometry or flame ionization detection systems.

A method was developed to analyze methyl tert.-butyl ether (MTBE) and its degradation products by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or flame ionization detection (FID) with direct aqueous injection. The column had dimensions of 30 m x 0.25 mm with film thickness 0.25 microm and a stationary phase of FFAP (nitroterephthalic acid-modified polyethylene glycol). The optimized GC conditions for non-acid components were as follows: carrier gas flow-rate,l mL/min; oven temperature, 35 degrees C for 5.5 min, ramped to 90 degrees C at 25 degrees C/min, then ramped to 200 degrees C at 40 degrees C/min and held at 200 degrees C for 8 min. The conditions for the acid components were: carrier gas flow-rate, 1 mL/min; oven temperature, 110 degrees C for 2 min, ramped to 150 degrees C at 10 degrees C/min, then ramped to 200 degrees C at 40 degrees C/min. The injection port contained a silanized-glass reverse-cup liner filled with Carbofrit. The minimum concentrations for the linear range for the selective ion monitoring mode were 30 to 100 microg/L, depending on the analytes. The minimum detection limit was 1 mg/L for MTBE and tert.-butanol when using FID. More components could be analyzed with the FFAP-type column than with the cyanopropylphenyl-dimethyl polysiloxane-type column.     

Method of fast trace microanalysis of the chiral pesticides epoxiconazole and novaluron in soil samples using off-line flow-through extraction and on-column direct large volume injection in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

An analytical method combining off-line flow-through extraction of a soil micro-sample (mass around 100 mg, packed into a short HPLC glass column) and direct on-column large-volume injection (LVI up to 1.00 mL) of a methanol-water soil extract onto a conventional C18 RP HPLC column enabled fast (within 3.5 minutes) trace micro-analysis of the relatively new chiral pesticides epoxiconazole (E) and novaluron (N), respectively. Linear calibration curves were evaluated from UV detection (230 nm) data in the range from 0.1 to 5 mg/kg in three most abundant Slovak agricultural soils. LOD (confidence band) at the levels 0.08-0.11 mg/kg and LOQ 0.4-0.6 mg/kg and LOD (S/N = 3) at the levels 0.007-0.018 mg/kg and LOQ (S/N = 10) 0.024-0.060 mg/kg, respectively, of dry soil were achieved. Recovery of pesticides in the overall LVI method including flow-through 130-200 mg soil micro-sample extraction was: for epoxiconazole from 74 to 85% and from 56% to 90% for novaluron with reproducibility within +/- 6% RSD. This fast (30 min) and simple method consists of just three steps which are short column filling with a solid micro-sample; flow-through liquid extraction and direct large-volume injection RP HPLC DAD analysis. The method is prepared for automation and further analysis of enantiomers of both investigated pesticides by achiral-chiral column switching techniques.     

High-performance liquid-chromatographic determination of rifampicin in plasma and tissues

A HPLC-UV method has been developed for assaying rifampicin in plasma and liver. The assay involved a liquid-liquid extraction procedure with dichloromethane-pentane (1:1). An Ultrabase-C18 column and a simple mobile phase consisting of a water (pH 2.27)-acetonitrile (40:60, v/v) mixture were used. The flow-rate was 1 ml/min and the effluent was monitored at 333 nm. Results from the HPLC analyses showed that the assay method is linear in the ranges 0.1-1 and 1-50 microg/ml for plasma, and 0.6-40 microg/g for liver. Intra- and inter-day R.S.D. were below 15% for all the sample types. Recoveries averaged 83 and 95% for plasma and liver, respectively. The method is being successfully applied to determine rifampicin in plasma and liver samples taken during pharmacokinetic studies in rats.     

A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method for determining furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, and phenol red: applicability to intestinal permeability studies

A simple reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection at 280 nm was developed for simultaneous quantitation of furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide along with phenol red as a nonabsorbable marker for in situ permeability studies in anaesthetized rats. A jejunal segment of approximately 10 cm was isolated and cannulated in both ends for inlet and outlet solution. The perfusate was collected every 10 min, and samples were analyzed using the developed method. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-water-triethylamine-glacial acetic acid (41.5 + 57.4 + 0.1 + 0.9, adjusted to pH 5.6) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min; the run time was 9 min. The calibration graphs were linear for all 3 compounds (r > 0.999) across the concentration range of 7.93-125 microg/mL for phenol red and 6.25-100 microg/mL for hydrochlorothiazide and furosemide. The limits of quantitation were 7.2, 8.9, and 6.8 microg/mL for furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, and phenol red, respectively. The coefficients of variation for intraassay and interassay precision were less than or equal to 7.6%, and the accuracy was between 93.2-103.4%. Using the single pass intestinal perfusion technique and the suggested HPLC method for sample analysis, mean values of 0.25 x 10(-4) (+/-0.16) cm/s and 0.22 x 10(-4) (+/-0.13) cm/s were obtained for furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively.     

Trace-level determination of triazines and several degradation products in environmental waters by disk solid-phase extraction and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

An analytical method combining disk solid-phase extraction with micellar electrokinetic chromatography has been developed for the determination of atrazine, simazine, hydroxyatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, deethylatrazine, propazine and prometryn in water samples. The influence of the buffer and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, pH and organic modifier on the separation has been studied. Baseline separation of the seven triazines was achieved under the following conditions: 10 mM borate buffer, 60 mM SDS, 20% methanol and pH 9.2. C18-bonded silica and poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) disks were evaluated for solid-phase extraction of the selected pesticides (11 of water sample). Using two PS-DVB disks, quantitative recoveries were obtained for all pesticides tested. The method was successfully applied for the determination of the seven triazines in drinking and well water at the 0.1 microg l(-1) and 0.5 microg l(-1) concentration levels, respectively. The detection limits for these analytes using the proposed analytical method were within the 0.02-0.06 microg l(-1) range in drinking water and the 0.06-0.30 microg l(-1) range in well water.     

Optimization of Liquid Chromatography and Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography for the Determination of Atrazine and its First Degradation Products in Humic Waters Without Sample Preparation

Liquid chromatographic method and micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method were optimized for determination of atrazine, desethylatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine and their polar degradation products in solutions with humic acid without previous sample preparation step. Reversed-phase HPLC method was satisfactory in terms of repeatability and detection limits, which were ± 1.7–12.5% (RSD) and 0.1–0.5 mg L^?1, respectively. However, the most polar products could not be separated from the front peak pertaining to humic acid. With MEKC, excellent separation of both chloro and hydroxy degradation products and parent compounds was achieved in a single analysis, and possible interferences of humic acid were successfully avoided by its retention at the anode. Drawbacks were detection limits, estimated to be 2–4 mg L^?1, and RSD of the migration times was 20% compared to 0.5% with HPLC method. HPLC method was used to monitor degradation of atrazine and its first degradation products in the presence of humic acids, and MEKC was used for confirmation purposes.     

Solid-phase microextraction for gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis of dimethoate in human biological samples

A new, simple and rapid procedure for the determination of dimethoate in urine and blood samples was developed using direct immersion solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. This technique required only 0.1 mL of sample, and ethion was used as internal standard. Two types of coated fibre were compared (100 microm polydimethylsiloxane, and 65 microm Carbowax/divinylbenzene). Other parameters, such as extraction temperature, adsorption and desorption time, salt addition, agitation and pH, were optimized to enhance the sensitivity of the method. Limits of detection (LODs) and quantitation (LOQs) were 50 and 100 ng/mL for urine and 200 and 500 ng/mL for blood, respectively. The method was found to be linear between the LOQ and 40 microg/mL for urine, and between the LOQ and 50 microg/mL for blood, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9923-0.9996. Precision (intra- and interday) and accuracy were in conformity with the criteria normally accepted in bioanalytical method validation. The mean absolute recoveries of dimethoate were 1.24 and 0.50% for urine and blood, respectively. Because of its simplicity and the fact that small volumes of sample are used, the described method can be successfully used in the diagnosis of poisoning by this pesticide, namely in those situations where the sample volume is limited, as frequently occurs in forensic toxicology.     

An automated blood sampling system to measure lovastatin level in plasma and faeces

The aim of this study was to develop an automated sampling method to measure lovastatin in a conscious and freely moving rat. The blood samples were collected by means of the automated blood sampling system DR-II and the faecal samples were collected using a metabolic cage. The concentration of lovastatin was determined by a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic system with a UV absorbance detector. The mobile phase contained acetonitrile and 10 mm NaH2PO4 in the proportions 60:40 (v/v) with a flow-rate of 1 mL/min. The calibration curve was linear in concentration ranges of 0.05-100 and 0.1-100 microg/mL for lovastatin in blood and faecal samples, respectively. Following pharmacokinetic analysis, we identified that the maximum plasma concentration was around 1.18 +/- 0.08 microg/mL at concentration peak time 120 min and almost 78% of loading dose was accumulated in the faeces within 48 h after lovastatin administration (500 mg/kg, p.o.).     

Determination of fluoroquinolones in environmental waters by in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

We developed a sensitive and useful method for the determination of five fluoroquinolones (FQs), enoxacin, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and lomefloxacin in environmental waters, using a fully automated method consisting of in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). These compounds were analysed within 7 min by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a CAPCELL PAK C8 column and aqueous ammonium formate (pH 3.0, 5 mM)/acetonitrile (85/15, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Electrospray ionization conditions in the positive ion mode were optimized for MS/MS detection. In order to optimize the extraction of FQs, several in-tube SPME parameters were examined. The optimum in-tube SPME conditions were 20 draw/eject cycles of 40 μL of sample at a flow-rate of 150 μL/min, using a Carboxen 1010 PLOT capillary column as an extraction device. The extracted compounds were easily desorbed from the capillary by passage of the mobile phase. Using the in-tube SPME LC/MS/MS method, good linearity of the calibration curve (r ≥ 0.997) was obtained in the concentration range from 0.1 to 10 ng/mL for all compounds examined. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) of the five FQs ranged from 7 to 29 pg/mL. The in-tube SPME method showed 60-94-fold higher sensitivity than the direct injection method (5 μL injection). This method was applied successfully to the analysis of environmental water samples without any other pretreatment and interference peaks. Several surface waters and wastewaters were collected from the area around Asahi River, and ofloxacin was detected in wastewater samples of a sewage treatment plant and other two hospitals at 17.5-186.2 pg/mL. The recoveries of FQs spiked into river water were above 81% for a 0.1 or 0.2 ng/mL spiking concentration, and the relative standard deviations were below 1.9-8.6%.     

Long-term monitoring of atrazine contamination in soil by ELISA

An enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was used for screening atrazine residues in soil. Samples were annually collected in Southern Germany between 1993 and 1998. An average of 419.5 samples was analyzed per year amounting to 2517 samples. The fraction of positive samples defined by atrazine concentrations >100 microg/kg soil decreased successively from 8% (corresponding to 33 samples) in 1993 to 0.6% (corresponding to 2 samples) in 1998. All positive samples and a selection of negative samples were subsequently validated by HPLC. Comparison of ELISA and HPLC data yielded correlation coefficient values of r = 0.958-0.981 (n = 18-47), except for 1995 when only a correlation of r = 0.864 (n = 18) was obtained. Four samples were overestimated and another 4 were underestimated with respect to the atrazine threshold value of 100 microg/kg soil as revealed by HPLC validation. Thus, 99.68% of 2,517 analyzed samples were correctly evaluated. The precision and reproducibility of the ELISA were adequate for a prescreening tool. The low cost per sample and the high sample throughput are not yet achievable by conventional analytical methods. The described combination of ELISA and HPLC has the potential to take advantage of both methods and to restrict determination errors to a minimum.     

HPLC assay for determination of amphotericin B in biological samples

A fast and selective HPLC method for assaying amphotericin B in biological samples was developed and validated. The chromatographic separation was achieved in less than 12 min on a reverse-phase C(18) column using an acetonitrile-acetic acid-water (52:4.3:43.7, v/v/v) mixture as mobile phase. The flow rate was 1 mL/min and the effluent was monitored at 406 nm. A linear response over the concentration range 0.1-10.0 microg/mL was obtained. Intra-day and inter-day RSDs were below 5% for all the sample types. This new HPLC method was applied to assay amphotericin B in plasma and several tissue samples such as kidney, liver, spleen and bone marrow. Application of this method to pharmacokinetic studies in mice and dog is provided.     

Compliance analysis of phenylurea and related compounds in drinking water by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry coupled with solid-phase extraction

A liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry method was reported for the compliance analysis of seven phenylurea compounds and two related herbicides (tebuthiuron and propanil) in drinking water. The volumes of the sample and final extract used in the method were 500 mL and 10 mL, respectively. The obtained method detection limits were less than 0.03 microg/L, and the mean recoveries were 74-128% with a relative standard deviation of 2.6-8.3% for all the studied compounds. The peak-to-peak signal-to-noise ratios ranged from 3.3 for cis-siduron to 34.2 for fluometuron. The accuracy and precision resulting from reagent and drinking water samples fortified at higher concentration levels were similar to these results. Several analytes were detected in the drinking water samples, including tebuthiuron at 0.5 microg/L, propanil at 0.7 microg/L, diuron at 0.1-2.1 microg/L, and linuron at 0.1-0.8 microg/L.     

Simultaneous quantification of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in rat plasma after an intravenous administration of mailuoning injection using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

A simple, rapid and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of chlorogenic acid (CGA) and caffeic acid (CA) in rat plasma using a high-performance liquid chromatography system coupled to a negative ion electrospray mass spectrometric analysis. The plasma sample preparation was a simple deproteinization by the addition of two volumes of acetonitrile followed by centrifugation. The analytes and internal standard ferulic acid were separated on an Intersil C8-3 column (5 mm; 250 x 2.1 mm) with acetonitrile/0.05% triethylamine solution (70:30, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min with an operating temperature of 30 degrees C. Detection was performed on a quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source operated in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Negative ion ESI was used to form deprotonated molecules at m/z 353 for chlorogenic acid, m/z 179 for caffeic acid, and m/z 193 for the internal standard ferulic acid. Linear detection responses were obtained for CGA concentrations ranging from 0.005 to 2.0 microg/mL and for CA concentrations ranging from 0.010 to 2.0 microg/mL and the lower limits of quantitation (LLOQs) for CGA and CA were 0.005 and 0.01 microg/mL, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD%) were within 9.0% for both analytes. Deviation of the assay accuracies was within +/-10.0% for both analytes. Their average recoveries were greater than 88.0%. Both analytes were proved to be stable during all sample storage, preparation and analytic procedures. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of CGA and CA following an intravenous dose of 5 mL/kg mailuoning injection to rats.     

Direct injection HPLC micro method for the determination of voriconazole in plasma using an internal surface reversed-phase column

A direct plasma injection liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of a new triazole antifungal agent, voriconazole, using an internal surface reversed phase column. Therapeutic drug monitoring of voriconazole is relevant for patient management, especially in the case of drug-drug interaction. The method is easy to perform and requires 10 microL of a plasma sample. The chromatographic run time is less than 9 min using a mobile phase of 17:83 v/v acetonitrile-potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer, 100 mM, pH 6.0 and UV detection at 255 nm. The fl ow rate was 1 microL/min. A linear response was observed over the concentration range 0.5-10 microg/mL (r2 = 0.977). A good accuracy (bias < or = 7.5%) was achieved for all quality controls, with intra-day and inter-day variation coefficients inferior to 6.7%. The lower limit of quantitation was 0.2 microg/mL, without interference of endogenous components. The stability of voriconazole in plasma stored at different temperatures was checked. Finally, the possibility of direct injection of plasma samples into the column permits a reduction in reagent consumption and in analytical steps, and hence in analytical error.     

Simultaneous determination of caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline by high-performance liquid chromatography

This work relates the development of an analytical methodology to simultaneously determine three methylxanthines (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline) in beverages and urine samples based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Separation is made with a Bondesil C18 column using methanol-water-acetic acid or ethanol-water-acetic acid (20:75:5, v/v/v) as the mobile phase at 0.7 mL/min. Identification is made by absorbance detection at 273 nm. Under optimized conditions, the detection limit of the HPLC method is 0.1 pg/mL for all three methylxanthines. This method is applied to urine and to 25 different beverage samples, which included coffee, tea, chocolate, and coconut water. The concentration ranges determined in the beverages and urine are: < 0.1 pg/mL to 350 microg/mL and 3.21 microg/mL to 71.2 microg/mL for caffeine; < 0.1 pg/mL to 32 microg mL and < 0.1 pg/mL to 13.2 microg/mL for theobromine; < 0.1 pg/mL to 47 microg/mL and < 0.1 pg/mL to 66.3 microg/mL for theophylline. The method proposed in this study is rapid and suitable for the simultaneous quantitation of methylxanthines in beverages and human urine samples and requires no extraction step or derivatization.