A simple and sensitive HPLC method for quantitation of low phenoprolamine hydrochloride concentrations in human plasma and its pharmacokinetic application

Phenoprolamine hydrochloride is a novel compound that works against a variety of types of hypertension. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for quantitation of low phenoprolamine hydrochloride concentrations in human plasma and to apply it to pharmacokinetic study. The procedure involved extraction of the drug and clonidine (internal standard) from the plasma using diethyl ether. Chromatographic separations were carried out on a 4.6 x 200 mm Hypersil silica column with UV detection at 230 nm. The isocratic mobile phase, 1% ammonium acetate (pH 5.4) and methanol (0.3:99.7, v/v), was run at 1 mL/min. Extraction recovery was 84% for phenoprolamine hydrochloride at a concentration level of 200 ng/mL, and 76% for clonidine at 200 ng/mL. The method was linear in the concentration range 5-4000 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantitation of 5 ng/mL for phenoprolamine hydrochloride. Inter- and intra-day coefficients of variation were less than 10%. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in human after an oral administration of the drug, and the pharmacokinetic parameters are presented.