Determination of procaine and tetracaine in plasma samples by micellar liquid chromatography and direct injection of sample

Summary A liquid chromatographic procedure is proposed for the determination of procaine and tetracaine in plasma samples with direct injection. The method uses a Spherisorb octadecylsilane ODS-2 C₁₈ analytical column and a micellar mobile phase containing 0.15 M sodium dodecyl sulphate, 0.5% triethylamine at pH 2.5 and 10% propanol. The UV detection was carried out at 300 nm. Plasma sample preparation required only adequate dilution with the mobile phase before injection into the chromatographic system. The proposed method allows the determination of procaine and tetracaine in plasma at therapeutic levels.