Determination of ticagrelol in rat plasma and tablets by micellar electrokinetic chromatography coupled with large volume sample stacking: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

A method using micellar electrokinetic chromatography coupled with large-volume sample stacking for the determination of ticagrelol was developed and validated. The analysis was performed in a fused silica capillary (41.5 cm effective length, 50 μm diameter) with ultraviolet detection at 195 nm. The background electrolytes were 30 mM phosphate buffer of pH 3.0 with 120 mM sodium dodecylsulfate and 10 % (v/v) acetonitrile (120 s X 50 mbar; 20°C; -18 kV) and 30 mM borate buffer of pH 8.5 with 75 mM sodium dodecylsulfate (120 s X 50 mbar; 20°C; 25 kV); under acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively. The method was found to be reliable with respect to specificity, linearity of the calibration line (R² > 0.99), repeatability (relative standard deviation 2.56%–3.34%), and accuracy (recovery in the range 101.21%–102.67%). The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.032, 0.071, and 0.087, 0.188 μg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied for the determination of ticagrelol concentrations in rat plasma and tablets with good recoveries and reproducibility. The presented method proved to be suitable for monitoring ticagrelor in rat plasma.