Determination of the N-methyl- -aspartate receptor NR2B subunit blocker Ro 63-1908 in rat, cynomolgus monkey and human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with column switching and fluorescence detection

A HPLC method with automated column switching was developed and validated for the determination of Ro 63-1908 in rat and cynomolgus monkey plasma. Human plasma was used for calibration and was also included in the validation process. Ro 63-1908 belongs to a class of neuroprotective N-methyl- -aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockers which were in development for the treatment of stroke and traumatic brain injury. The method involves deproteinisation of plasma samples with ethanol and direct injection of the supernatant (1.4 ml) into the HPLC column-switching system. To prevent a breakthrough of the analyte and the internal standard on the precolumn (Purospher RP-18, 75×4 mm) due to the high ethanol content, the injection solution was diluted, on-line, using an additional pump and a T-piece. 1% ammonium acetate–ethanol (100:2, v/v) was used as mobile phase for injection, as well as for on-line dilution, resulting in pre-concentration of the analyte and the internal standard on the precolumn. As Purospher RP-18 is a non-endcapped stationary phase with a special selectivity for amines, the analyte and the internal standard could then be selectively eluted with 30% acetonitrile (without any buffer in the mobile phase) and transferred to the analytical column [consisting of two coupled columns (125+250×4 mm) packed with Superspher 60 RP-select B], where they were separated by gradient elution and detected by fluorescence detection. Compared to the use of a 125 mm long precolumn and dilution of the supernatant with ammonium acetate prior to injection, the 75 mm precolumn and the on-line dilution procedure allowed about one third shorter run times (21 min) and, therefore, a higher sample throughput. The limit of quantification was 1 ng/ml using 0.4 ml plasma. The method was applied to more than 670 plasma samples from pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies and is also suitable for other matrices and NMDA receptor blockers.     

Use of direct injection precolumn techniques for the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of the retinoids acitretin and 13-cis-acitretin in plasma.

A previously developed highly sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of retinoids, using direct injection of large plasma volumes, on-line solid-phase extraction and ultraviolet detection, was improved and fully validated for the determination of acitretin and 13-cis-acitretin in plasma samples. The addition of acetonitrile to improve the recovery was performed on-line by a T-piece, avoiding any cis-trans isomerization which could occur when acetonitrile was added prior to storage in the autosampler. About 30 injections could be made onto one precolumn despite the large injection volume (1 ml of plasma containing the internal standard). Full automation was attained by the use of automated precolumn replacement. In addition, forward- and back-flush purging of the precolumn enhanced the longevity of the analytical column. This consisted of three coupled C18 columns of 125 mm length each. The quantification limit was 0.3 ng/ml, using ultraviolet detection at 360 nm, and the mean inter-assay precision was 3.8% for the two compounds.     

Simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of a new phytochemical drug, fellavine, and its metabolites in human and rat plasma and urine.

The use of a small precolumn instead of an injection loop for the determination of a new phytochemical drug, fellavine, and its metabolites is described. The method combines the direct injection of plasma and urine into the reversed-phase precolumn with separation on a Spheri-5 RP-18 analytical column. Different sorbents in the precolumn were compared. A recovery of fellavine and its metabolites from biological fluids except rat plasma of almost 100% was achieved on Chrompack RP (30-40 microns) and LiChrosorb RP-18 (7 microns). For rat plasma only the last sorbent gave 80% fellavine recovery. The influence of the protein binding on the fellavine recovery was examined. The limit of detection was equal to 0.05 micrograms/ml fellavine for plasma and 0.02 micrograms/ml for urine. To enhance the limit of detection longer precolumns were perferred.     

Quantitative analysis of retinoids in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography using column switching. III. Determination of the arotinoid sumarotene and its Z-isomer in human and animal plasma.

A fully automated and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method, using on-line solid-phase extraction, automated column switching and ultraviolet detection, was developed for the third-generation retinoid (arotinoid) sumarotene (methyl p-[(E)-2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthyl)propenyl]phe nyl sulphone; Ro 14-9706) and its Z-isomer. Nearly quantitative recoveries for human, rat and dog plasma were obtained by addition of acetonitrile (final content ca. 17%) to the plasma sample prior to injection. No isomerization was observed when the samples were stored in the autosampler for more than 20 h. The injection volume was 0.5 ml, resulting in quantification limits of 1 ng/ml for sumarotene and 2 ng/ml for the Z-isomer. More than 40 injections could be made on to one precolumn, allowing routine overnight injections. Using a 1-ml injection volume, the limit of quantification for sumarotene could be improved to 0.5 ng/ml. The method was applied to toxicokinetic studies in rats and dogs, and was used to monitor human plasma samples after repeated topical application. The method could also be adapted to etarotene (Ro 15-1570), which was used as an internal standard, and which is at present in clinical development.     

Determination of cisapride in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Summary A new sensitive HPLC-FLD method has been developed and validated for the determination of cisapride in human plasma for a bioequivalence study. A gradient method was used to remove late-eluting plasma components of no interest. The separation was performed on a Li-ChroCART 250-4 Purospher RP-18 (5 μm particle) analytical column fitted with a LiChroCART 4-4 Purospher RP-18 endcapped (5 μm particle) guard column. The excitation and emission wavelengths were 295 and 350 nm during fluorescence detection. The calibration plot was linear in the range of 5–200 ng mL⁻¹. A demethoxy analogue of cisapride was used as internal standard.     

Characterization of the precolumn bio trap 500 C18 for direct injection of plasma samples in a column-switching system

Summary A new restricted access media (RAM) type of precolumn, Bio Trap 500 C₁₈, for direct injection of plasma samples in column-switching systems was evaluated with respect to the elution of plasma proteins in different mobile phases, the loading capacity of plasma samples, the chromatographic behavior during plasma injections and protein contamination of the packing and sealings. More than 95% of plasma proteins could be excluded from the precolumn within three minutes for all selected mobile phases. Quantitative analyte recoveries could be obtained by injecting plasma samples ranging from 5 to 500 μL with the analyte mass>150 ng onto a BioTrap 500 C₁₈ column (20×4 mm I.D.). One precolumn tolerated about 15 mL of plasma injection without out noticeable change in retention and pressure. Clogging of the precolumn was encountered (≥45 mL of plasma) due mainly to the adsorption of proteins on the packing. The performance of the analytical column (Kromasil C₁₈) was also examined. The column efficiency decreased by 60% after processing 45 mL plasma in total.     

High-performance liquid-chromatographic determination of 5-aminosalicylic acid and its metabolites in blood plasma

Mesalazine (5-aminosalicylic acid, 5-ASA), an anti-inflammatory agent for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, is metabolized in organism to the principal biotransformation product, N-acetyl-5-ASA. Some other phase II metabolites (N-formyl-5-ASA, N-butyryl-5-ASA, N-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-5-ASA) have also been described. 5-ASA is a polar compound and besides it exhibits amphoteric properties. The extraction of this compound from biomatrices and its chromatographic analysis is complicated. In order to improve the reliability of the determination of parent 5-ASA, a derivatization of 5-ASA together with 4-ASA (added to samples as a precursor of I.S.-2) was involved into the method. More lipophilic N-propionyl-5-ASA and N-propionyl-4-ASA (I.S.-2) were obtained using propionic anhydride. These derivatives were well extractable together with N-acyl-5-ASAs (metabolites) and N-acetyl-4-ASA (I.S.-1). As the first internal standard (I.S.-1) was used for the evaluation of extracted N-acyl-metabolites, the second internal standard (I.S.-2) served for the evaluation of both derivatization and extraction steps of parent drug 5-ASA. Based on these reasonings, new HPLC bioanalytical method for the determination of 5-ASA and its metabolites in blood plasma was developed and validated. The sample preparation step consists of the deproteination of plasma by HClO(4) and the above-mentioned derivatization of ASAs followed by liquid-liquid extraction of all N-acyl-ASA-derivatives. Chromatographic analyses were performed on a 250-4 mm column containing Purospher RP-18 e, 5 microm (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) with a precolumn (4-4 mm). The column effluent was monitored using both UV photodiode-array (lambda = 313 nm) and fluorescence detectors (lambda(exc.) = 300 nm/lambda(emiss.) = 406 nm) in tandem. The identity of individual N-acyl-ASAs in the extracts from biomatrices was verified by characteristic UV-spectra and by HPLC/MS experiments. The whole analysis lasted 23 min at the flow rate of 1 ml min(-1). LLOQ (LOD) was estimated 126 (20) pmol ml(-1) of plasma for N-acetyl-5-ASA and 318 (50) pmol ml(-1) of plasma for N-propionyl-5-ASA. The validated HPLC method was applied to pharmacokinetic studies of mesalazine in humans and animals.     

Quantitative analysis of retinoids in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography using column switching. I. Determination of isotretinoin and tretinoin and their 4-oxo metabolites in plasma

A fully automated gradient high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of isotretinoin, tretinoin and their 4-oxo metabolites in plasma was developed, using the column-switching technique. After dilution with an internal standard solution containing 20% acetonitrile, 0.5 ml of the sample was injected onto a precolumn (17 X 4.6 mm I.D.), filled with C18 Corasil 37-53 micron. Proteins and polar plasma components were washed out using 1% ammonium acetate-acetonitrile (9:1, v/v) as mobile phase 1. After valve switching, the retained components were transferred to the analytical column in the backflush mode, separated by gradient elution and detected at 360 nm by UV detection. Using two coupled reversed-phase columns (125 mm long), the separation of cis and trans isomers was possible, and all four compounds could be quantified down to 2 ng/ml of plasma. The inter-assay precision in the concentration range 20-100 ng/ml was between 1.0 and 4.7% for all compounds.     

Determination of nifedipine in serum of women in preterm labor by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection

Nifedipine (Nif) is widely used in treating cardiovascular disorders (especially hypertension) and for inhibiting preterm labor. A fully validated selective high-performance liquid chromatographic method with diode array detection, using solid-phase extraction, was developed for the determination of Nif in human serum. To assess specificity, Nif and its degradation products were separated on a Purospher RP-18 (5 microm, 125 x 4 mm) column plus a LiChrospher 100 RP-18 (5 microm, 4 x 4 mm) precolumn with a mobile phase of methanol-10 mM aqueous trifluoroacetic acid, pH 7.3 (57 + 43, v/v); chromatographic separation was followed by UV detection at 238 nm. For toxicological analysis, Nif in the presence of other calcium-channel antagonist drugs was identified under optimum chromatographic conditions. The calibration graph was constructed over the concentration range of 12.5-400 ng/mL in serum with good correlation (r = 0.9956). This method was not subject to interference by other plasma components and was successfully applied to the assay of Nif in spiked human serum and in serum of women in preterm labor after sublingual administration of 30 mg Nif per day divided into 3 equal doses. The mean recovery based on the ratio of the slopes of serum and mobile phase standard curves was 96.5%. The detection and quantification limits of the drug in spiked human serum were found to be 6 and 17.5 ng/mL, respectively. Validation of the method demonstrated good intraday and interday precision, which ranged from 2.18 to 6.67% and from 6.52 to 11.93%, respectively.     

Solid-phase extraction of polar pesticides from environmental water samples on graphitized carbon and Empore-activated carbon disks and on-line coupling to octadecyl-bonded silica analytical columns

The suitability of Empore-activated carbon disks (EACD), Envi-Carb graphitized carbon black (GCB) and CPP-50 graphitized carbon for the trace enrichment of polar pesticides from water samples was studied by means of off-line and on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE). In the off-line procedure, 0.5-2 1 samples spiked with a test mixture of oxamyl, methomyl and aldicarb sulfoxide were enriched on EnviCarb SPE cartridges or 47 mm diameter EACD and eluted with dichloromethane-methanol. After evaporation, a sample was injected onto a C₁₈-bonded silica column and analysed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet (LC-UV) detection. EACD performed better than EnviCarb cartridges in terms of breakthrough volumes (>2 1 for all test analytes), reproducibility (R.S.D. of recoveries, 4–8%, n=3) and smapling speed (100 ml/min); detection limits in drinking water were 0.05–0.16 μg/l. In the on-line experiments, 4.6 mm diameter pieces cut from original EACD and stacked onto each other in a 9 mm long precolumn, and EnviCarb and CPP-50 packed in 10×2.0 mm I.D. precolumn, were tested, and 50–200 ml spiked water samples were preconcentrated. Because of the peak broadening caused by the strong sorption of the analytes on carbon, the carbon-packed precolumns were eluted by a separate stream of 0.1 ml/min acetonitrile which was mixed with the gradient LC eluent in front of the C₁₈ analytical column. The final on-line procedure was also applied for the less polar propoxur, carbaryl and methiocarb. EnviCarb could not be used due to its poor pressure resistance. CPP-50 provided less peak broadening than EACD: peak widths were 0.1–0.3 min and R.S.D. of peak heights 4–14% (n = 3). In terms of analyte trapping efficiency on-line SPE-LC-UV with a CPP-50 precolumn also showed better performance than when Bondesil C₁₈/OH or polymeric PLRP-S was used, but chromatographic resolution was similar. With the CPP-50-based system, detection limits of the test compounds were 0.05–1 μg/l in surface water.     

Determination of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in human plasma by large volume injection capillary column switching liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Rapid, selective, and sensitive methodology for the quantification of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in human plasma using packed capillary liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry has been developed. Plasma proteins were precipitated using acetonitrile and the resulting supernatant was diluted 1+1 with water containing 10 mM ammonium acetate (NH4Ac) prior to injection. Sample volumes of 250 microL were loaded onto a 30 mm x 0.32 mm ID 10 microm Kromasil C18 precolumn by a carrier solution consisting of 10 mM NH4Ac in ACN/H2O (5/95, v/v) at a flow rate of 100 microL/min, providing on-line analyte enrichment and sample clean-up. Backflushed elution onto a 100 mm x 0.32 mm ID 3.5 microm Kromasil C18 analytical column was conducted using an ACN/H2O solvent gradient containing 10 mM NH4Ac. In order to improve the robustness and performance of the method, perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHA) was used as internal standard. Separation and detection of PFOA, PFHA, and PFOS were achieved within 10 minutes. Ionization was performed in the negative mode in the m/z range 250-550. The method was validated over the concentration range 1-200 ng/mL for PFOA and over the range 5-200 ng/mL untreated plasma for PFOS, yielding correlation coefficients of 0.997 (PFOA) and 0.996 (PFOS), respectively. The within-assay (n = 6) and between-assay (n = 6) precisions were in the range 2.1-9.2 and 5.6-12%, respectively. The concentration limits of detection (cLOD) of PFOA was 0.5 ng/mL while the cLOD of PFOS was estimated to be 0.2 ng/mL in untreated plasma.     

Determination of paraquat in human blood plasma using reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography with direct sample injection

This report describes the determination of paraquat (PQ) in human blood plasma samples by a direct-injection reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic method. Blood plasma filtrate was injected directly into the LiChrospher® RP-18 alkyl-diol silica (ADS) precolumn integrated in a column switching system using a mixture of 3% 2-propanol and 10 mM sodium octane sulfonate (SOS) in a 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.8). After washing with this phase, the ADS precolumn was back-flushed with the analytical mobile phase consisting of 40% of methanol and 10 mM SOS in a 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.8) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml min⁻¹, in order to carry the analyte to a conventional reversed-phase analytical column, where the separation of PQ was achieved and finally detected by UV at 258 nm. The recoveries of PQ from human blood plasma samples ranged between 95.0 and 99.5% at nine different concentrations (from 0.05 to 3.00 μg of PQ ml⁻¹) with coefficients of variation <2.5% (n=3). The precision expressed as relative standard deviation was below 3.5% for between-day and below 4.3% for within-day measurements (n=5). The detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N>3) was 0.005 μg ml⁻¹ with an injection volume of 200 μl. The proposed method is promising for the identification and quantification of PQ at low concentration levels and is suitable for its analysis in human blood plasma samples from intentional or accidental poisonings cases with a sample throughput of 5 samples per hour.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of enrofloxacin in nasal secretions and plasma of healthy pigs using restricted access material for on-line sample clean-up

A new fully automated method was developed for the quantitative analysis of an antibacterial drug, enrofloxacin (ENRO), in both nasal secretions and plasma samples of healthy pigs. The method is based on the use of a pre-column packed with restricted access material (RAM), namely RP-18 ADS (alkyl diol silica), for on-line sample clean-up coupled to a liquid chromatographic (LC) column containing octadecyl silica. The only off-line sample preparation was the 50-fold dilution of nasal secretions and plasma samples in the washing liquid composed of 25 mM phosphate buffer of pH 7.4. A 10 microl diluted sample volume was injected directly onto the pre-column and washed for 7 min. By rotation of a switching valve, the analyte of interest was eluted in the back-flush mode with the LC mobile phase which consisted in a mixture of 25 mM phosphate buffer of pH 3.0 and acetonitrile according to a segmented gradient elution. By a new rotation of the switching valve, the pre-column and the analytical column were equilibrated for 3 min with the initial mobile phases. The flow-rate was 0.8 ml min(-1) for the washing liquid and 1.5 ml min(-1) for the LC mobile phase. ENRO was detected by fluorescence at excitation and emission wavelengths of 278 and 445 nm, respectively. Finally, the developed method was validated using an original strategy based on total measurement error and accuracy profiles as a decision tool. The limits of quantitation of ENRO in plasma and in nasal secretions were 30.5 and 91.6 ng/ml, respectively. The validated method was then applied successfully to the determination of ENRO in healthy pigs treated by intramuscular injection at different doses (2.5, 10 and 30 mg/kg bodyweight) for a pilot study. This method could be also used for the simultaneous analysis of ENRO and its main metabolite, ciprofloxacin (CIPRO).     

Direct HPLC analysis of ketoprofen in horse plasma applying an ADS-restricted access-phase.

Making up part of the unique family of restricted access materials (RAM) the Lichrospher ADS (alkyl-diol silica) sorbents have been developed as special packing materials for precolumns used for LC-integrated sample processing of biofluids. The advantage of such phases consists of direct injection of untreated biological fluids without sample clean-up and elimination of the protein matrix together with an on-column enrichment. The plasma samples, with internal standard phenacetin added (not essential), were brought onto the precolumn (C-18 ADS, 25 micron, 25 x 4 mm i.d.) using a phosphate buffer, 0.1 M, pH 7.0. After washing with the buffer, the ADS column was backflushed with the mobile phase phosphate buffer 0. 05 M pH 7.0: acetonitrile (80:20), thus transporting the analytes onto a reversed-phase column Ecocart 125-3 HPLC cartridge with a LiChrocart 4-4 guard column, both packed with LiChrospher 5 micron 100 RP-18; after separation detection was performed in UV at 260 nm. Essential features of the method include the novel precolumn packing, the absence of sample pretreatment, a quantitave recovery, good precision and accuracy, as well as a considerable reduction of analysis time compared to conventional manual methods applied in bioavailability studies.     

Fully automated method for the liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric determination of cyproterone acetate in human plasma using restricted access material for on-line sample clean-up

A new automated method for the quantitative analysis of cyproterone acetate (CPA) in human plasma has been developed using on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) prior to the LC-MS/MS determination. The method was based on the use of a pre-column packed with internal-surface reversed-phase material (LiChrospher RP-4 ADS, 25 mm x 2 mm) for sample clean-up coupled to LC separation on an octadecyl silica stationary phase by means of a column switching system. A 30 microl plasma sample volume was injected directly onto the pre-column using a mixture of water, acetonitrile and formic acid (90:10:0.1 (v/v/v)) adjusted to pH 4.0 with diluted ammonia as washing liquid. The analyte was then eluted in the back-flush mode with the LC mobile phase consisting of water, methanol and formic acid (10:90:0.1 (v/v/v)). The dispensing flow rates of the washing liquid and the LC mobile phase were 300 microl min(-1). Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) was used as internal standard. The MS ionization of the analytes was achieved using electrospray (ESI) in the positive ion mode. The pseudomolecular ionic species of CPA and MPA (417.4 and 387.5) were selected to generate daughter ions at 357.4 and 327.5, respectively. Finally, the developed method was validated according to a new approach using accuracy profiles as a decision tool. Very good results with respect to accuracy, detectability, repeatability, intermediate precision and selectivity were obtained. The LOQ of cyproterone acetate was 300 pg ml(-1).     

Automated analysis of fluvoxamine in rat plasma using a column-switching system and ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography

We have established a robust, fully automated analytical method for the analysis of fluvoxamine in rat plasma using a column-switching ion-pair high-performance chromatography system. The plasma sample was injected onto a precolumn packed with Shim-pack MAYI-ODS (50 microm), where the drug was automatically purified and enriched by on-line solid-phase extraction. After elution of the plasma proteins, the analyte was back-flushed from the precolumn and then separated isocratically on a reversed-phase C18 column (L-column ODS) with a mobile phase (acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid, 36:64, v/v) containing 2 mM sodium 1-octanesulfonate. The analyte was monitored by a UV detector at a wavelength of 254 nm. The calibration line for fluvoxamine showed good linearity in the range of 5-5000 ng/mL (r > 0.999) with the limit of quantification of 5 ng/mL (RSD = 6.51%). Accuracy ranged from -2.94 to 4.82%, and the within- and between-day precision of the assay was better than 8% across the calibration range. The analytical sensitivity and accuracy of this assay is suitable for characterization of the pharmacokinetics of orally-administered fluvoxamine in rats.     

Determination of unbound docetaxel and paclitaxel in plasma by ultrafiltration and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

This work describes the development of a straightforward method for the determination of free docetaxel and paclitaxel in plasma. The separation of bound and unbound drug was performed with ultrafiltration. Different ultrafiltration devices were evaluated, especially regarding non-specific binding to the device. The most appropriate device for this application was selected and a procedure to counteract non-specific binding to the ultrafiltrate collection cup was developed. This consisted of a wash procedure with methyl t-butyl ether. A liquid/liquid extraction with methyl t-butyl ether was performed and samples were analysed with a previously developed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry procedure. The method used a Merck Purospher Star RP-18 column (55 mm x 2.0 mm, 3-microm particle size) and electrospray in the positive mode. A triple quadrupole instrument was used to monitor MRM transitions. Small modifications to this procedure were made to ensure adequate sensitivity. Within- and between-day reproducibility did not exceed 15% and accuracy ranged between 94.4 and 102.5%. The calibration range of the method was from 0.4 to 100 ng/ml both for paclitaxel and docetaxel. Finally, a fast and relatively simple method could be developed.     

Rapid determination of clenbuterol residues in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line automated sample processing using immunoaffinity chromatography

A liquid chromatographic column-switching system for automated sample pretreatment and determination of clenbuterol in calf urine, using an immunoaffinity precolumn with Sepharose-immobilized polyclonal antibodies against clenbuterol, is described. A second precolumn packed with C18-bonded silica was used for the reconcentration of desorbed clenbuterol prior to the analytical separation. Urine, after 2-fold dilution with buffer (pH 7.4), was loaded directly onto the immuno precolumn, where clenbuterol was trapped by the immobilized antibodies. This immuno precolumn has been used for more than 200 runs with standard solutions and samples. Bound analyte was desorbed with 0.01 M acetic acid and transferred, via the second precolumn, to the analytical column. The total runtime per sample was 35 min. Using a sample load of 27 ml of dilute urine and UV detection at 244 nm, the detection limit was 0.5 ng/ml. The mean recovery of clenbuterol added to a blank urine sample at the 5 ng/ml level was 82 +/- 2% (n = 5) as determined with standard solutions loaded onto the same system. Urine samples from treated animals were analysed and the clenbuterol concentrations were comparable to those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography using solid-phase extraction for sample clean-up.     

Simultaneous determination of cefamandole and cefamandole nafate in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with column switching

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with column switching has been developed for the simultaneous determination of cefamandole and cefamandole nafate in plasma and urine. The plasma and urine samples were injected onto a precolumn packed with Corasil RP C18 (37-50 microns) after simple dilution with an internal standard solution in 0.05 M phosphoric acid. Polar plasma and urine components were washed out using 0.05 M phosphoric acid. After valve switching, the concentrated drugs were desorbed in back-flush mode and separated by a reversed-phase C8 column with methanol-5 mM tetrabutylammonium bromide (45:55, v/v) as the mobile phase. The method showed excellent precision with good sensitivity and speed, and a detection limit of 0.5 microgram/ml. The total analysis time per sample was less than 30 min, and the mean coefficients of variation for intra- and inter-assay were both less than 4.9%. The method has been successfully applied to plasma and urine samples for human volunteers after intravenous injection of cefamandole nafate.     

Dual injector solvent elution and focussing technique for the on-line analysis of solid-phase extraction cartridges in HPLC

Summary A new dual injector solvent focussing and elution technique developed for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) greatly improves chromatographic efficiency for the on-line analysis of C₁₈ solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges. Solutions containing three benzene homologs were used to characterize the dual injector analysis technique and to compare the chromatographic efficiency of this method with conventional SPE analysis methods. Sampling was performed off-line using a glass precolumn cartridge (3 mm i.d. × 30 mm) packed with 15–35 μm C₁₈ silica. On-line cartridge analysis was achieved with two injection valves in either serial or parallel configuration. The injection loop of the first valve contains the eluting solvent, and the cartridge holder is connected in place of the injection loop of the second valve. When an injection is made, both valves are turned to the inject position, and the solvent plug is forced through the cartridge, focussing the analyte at the solvent front as it elutes the cartridge. Solvent focussing at the head of the column, resulting from preconditioning of the column with a small plug of water during injection, further minimizes the variance of the injection plug and improves the chromatographic efficiency. The technique has potential applications to environmental and biological fluid analysis where analyte preconcentration and resolution from the sample matrix components may be difficult with current SPE methods.