Determination of delta-aminolaevulinic acid in biological fluids by gas-liquid chromatography with electron-capture detection

A derivative of delta-aminolaevulinic acid (AmLev), 2-methyl-3-acetyl-4-(3-propionic acid pentafluorobenzyl ester)pyrrole, with favourable properties for g.l.c. with electron-capture detection, was synthesized. Less than 1 pg could be detected on the column. 6-Amino-5-oxohexanoic acid formed the analogous derivative under similar conditions and was used as the internal standard in the development of a highly sensitive and specific assay for AmLev. The method has been applied to peripheral-venous and umbilical-cord plasma and to cerebrospinal fluid of normal and porphyric subjects.     

Quantitation of chlordiazepoxide and its metabolites in biological fluids by thin-layer chromatography

Chlordiazepoxide and its 4 major metabolites were assayed after separation by thin-layer chromatography following extraction from biological fluids. The compounds become intensely fluorescent in the presence of red, fuming nitric acid. The resulting compounds are quantitated with a spectrodensitometer with a fluorescent attachment. The sensitivity varies between 0.05 and 0.1 μg. The coefficient of variation is 1.4% for assays in urine and 6.4% in serum.     

Determination of trimethoprim in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A rapid, sensitive, and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic assay was developed for the determination of trimethoprim in blood, plasma, and urine using normal-phase (adsorption) chromatography on a microparticulate silica column and UV monitoring at 280 nm. Trimethoprim is selectively extracted from the biological sample matrix at alkaline pH with chloroform, providing nearly quantitative extraction (>95%) and a sensitivity limit of 0.01 to 0.02 μg/ml blood or plasma, without interference from sulfonamides.     

Determination of isofezolac in biological fluids by reversed-phase liquid column chromatography

A rapid, sensitive, and specific reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography assay was developed for the determination of 1,3,4-triphenylpyrazole-5-acetic acid (isofezolac) in plasma and urine. The assay involves extraction into diethyl ether from plasma buffered at pH 4.4. The organic phase is evaporated and the residue, dissolved in the mobile phase [acetonitrile—water—0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH 3) (65 : 15 : 20)] is chromatographed at a flow-rate of 1.5 ml/min. The drug is detected by its UV absorption (detection limit 100 ng/ml) or its very intense fluorescence (detection limit 10 ng/ml). Absolute analytical recoveries for isofezolac varied from 92.9 to 100.4%. The accuracy is ca. 1%. Each separation requires about 6 min. This method was applied successfully to the determination of isofezolac in humans for pharmacokinetic studies.     

Determination of uric acid in biological fluids by high-pressure liquid chromatography

A high-pressure liquid chromatographic assay for uric acid in biological fluids has been developed. Blood uric acid can be analyzed in as little as 20 μl of plasma. The mean and range of plasma uric acid concentrations in healthy adults determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography were similar to these obtained by enzymatic analysis. One of the advantages of the present method is that naturally occurring metabolites in biological fluids or drugs do not interfere with the analysis. Data are presented for blood and urine specimens obtained from mice fed a known uricase inhibitor, potassium oxonate. Comparisons are made between the present method and methods previously employed for uric acid determination.     

Determination of disulfiram and metabolites from biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of disulfiram, diethyldithiocarbamate, diethyldithiocarbamate methyl ester, carbon disulfide, and diethylamine from a single sample of plasma or urine. The analytical procedure is based on a quantitative stepwise extraction of disulfiram and diethyldithiocarbamate methyl ester, or the conversion of diethyldithiocarbamic acid, carbon disulfide and diethylamine to diethyldithiocarbamate methyl ester for chromatographical determination. The procedure is specific, precise and simple. The application of the analytical methods developed for the determination of disulfiram and the various metabolites in plasma from mice given disulfiram intraperitoneally or humans given Antabuse orally is illustrated.     

Determination of alpha-amanitin and beta-amanitin in human biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay of alpha-amanitin and beta-amanitin in human serum, urine, or stomach washings is described. Sample preparation involves a chemical step with deproteinization and organic solvent treatment, and a selective cleanup and concentration step on reversed-phase prepacked cartridges. Separations are performed on a reversed-phase analytical column under isocratic conditions with uv detection at 280 nm. The method allows the quantitation of alpha- and beta-amanitin separately with a detection limit of 10 ng/ml for both toxins.     

Determination of cholesterol in sub-nanomolar quantities in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A highly sensitive method for the determination of cholesterol in biological fluids is described. Unsaponifiable lipids from rat serum and thoracic duct lymph chylomicron samples were treated with cholesterol oxidase. The product of the enzymatic reaction, Δ⁴-cholestenone, was analysed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using hexane—isopropanol (95:5, v/v) as a mobile phase and detected with a UV spectrophotometer at 240 nm. When the standard samples containing varying amounts of cholesterol (0.15–3 nmol) were treated with cholesterol oxidase and analysed by HPLC (injected amounts 0.09–1.8 nmol of cholesterol), the peak areas increased proportionally with the amounts of authentic cholesterol with a correlation coefficient of 0.996. The values in these biological fluids determined by the HPLC method were identical to those obtained by enzymatic—colorimetric or gas chromatographic methods. Moreover, the detection limit (0.09 nmol) of the present method (0.15 nmol are required for the sample preparation) is lower than those of conventional methods (approximately 30 nmol). Because of the excellent sensitivity and reproducibility, this method is well suited for the determination of cholesterol in biological fluids where cholesterol concentration is low.     

Determination of alpha-tocopherol in erythrocytes by gas-liquid chromatography

A method is described for the determination of submicrogram amounts of alpha-tocopherol in 0.5 ml of packed erythrocytes. The alpha-tocopherol in a lipid extract is oxidized to alpha-tocopherylquinone which is separated by thin-layer chromatography, eluted, and quantitated by gas-liquid chromatography. Calculation is based on the recovery of added alpha-tocopherol-(3)H. Erythrocytes from stock rats had an average alpha-tocopherol concentration of 344 micro g/100 ml of packed cells, while for human cells the average was 235 micro g/100 ml. The ratio of red cell to plasma alpha-tocopherol was 0.482 for rat blood, and 0.244 for human blood.     

Determination of serum creatinine by gas-liquid chromatography

The gas-liquid chromatographic measurement of serum creatinine is described in the present study. A preliminary concentration on cation exchange resin is used. The different steps of the operating procedure are analysed. A statistical comparison is undertaken between the results obtained with gas-liquid chromatography and kinetic colorimetry method using Jaffé assay.