Capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection for the analysis of quinolone drugs and pharmacokinetics study

A novel method for the determination of two quinolone drugs norfloxacin (NOR) and levofloxacin (LVX) was described by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection. The good relationship (r ≥ 0.9991) between peak area and concentration of analytes was established over two orders of magnitude. The limits of detection (LOD, S/N = 3) in standard solution are 4.8 × 10-7 mol/L for NOR and 6.4 × 10-7 mol/L for LVX, respectively. The limits of quantitation (LOQ, S/N = 10) in real human urine samples are 1.2 × 10-6 mol/L for NOR and 1.4 × 10-6 mol/L for LVX, respectively. The present method was successfully applied to the determination of NOR and LVX in human urine and the study of pharmacokinetics of NOR.