A high performance liquid chromatographic method for the screening of 17 diuretics in human urine

A simple and adequate HPLC method was developed for screening of human urine for the following 17 diuretic drugs: acetazolamide, bendrofluazide, bumetanide, canrenoic acid, chlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, clopamide, epitizide, etacrynic acid, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, mefruside, piretanide, spironolactone, torasemide, and triamterene. The assay involves extraction from two 2 mL urine samples with ethyl acetate at pH = 5, washing with a phosphate buffer at pH = 6 and analysis by HPLC using a reversed phase C18 column and ultraviolet detection with a diode array detector for all drugs (except triamterene) using two eluents consisting of water, triethylamine, phosphoric acid and acetonitrile at different ratios and different pH values. Triamterene is determined by direct injection of diluted urine onto the column and is measured by fluorescence detection. The recoveries of the diuretic drugs were determined at two different concentrations and ranged from 43–110% (median: 87%) which is sufficient to detect abuse of these drugs. The repeatability of the assay ranged from 1–12% (median: 5.5%). Received: 13 July 1998 / Revised: 23 October 1998 / Accepted: 29 October 1998