Determination of zopiclone in urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A procedure is described for the quantitative determination of zopiclone and the sum of its metabolites in urine using gas chromatography with the mass-spectrometric detection of their common hydrolysis product, 6-(5-chloro-2-pyridyl)-7-hydroxy-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyrazine-5-on. The procedure is very sensitive. The detection limit for ions with a mass of 45–450 au detected in the full scanning mode is 70 ng/mL. The data of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry are presented for different derivatives of the hydrolysis product of zopiclone; these data can be used for the qualitative identification of zopiclone. The stability of zopiclone and its metabolites upon time was studied by analyzing urine samples from patients receiving therapeutic doses of this substance stored for 1, 3, and 6 months.