Enantioselective analysis of albendazole sulfoxide in plasma using the chiral stationary phase

We present a method for the enantioselective analysis of albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO) in plasma for application in clinical pharmacokinetic studies. ABZSO enantiomers were separated on a 5-μm Chiralcel OB-H® column (4.6 × 150 mm) using hexane:ethanol (93:7, v/v) as the mobile phase and fluorescence detection. ABZSO was extracted with chloroform:isopropanol (8:2, v/v) from 500-μl aliquots of acidified plasma, with full drug recovery. The proposed method presented quantitation limits of 20 ng/ml for (−)ABZSO and 50 ng/ml for (+)ABZSO and was linear up to a concentration of 5,000 ng/ml of each enantiomer. Chirality 9:722–726, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.