Bio-analysis of vinorelbine by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A simple and selective procedure for the determination of vinorelbine, a new semi-synthetic vinca alkaloid, is presented. The method is based on ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography on normal-phase silica with fluorescence detection, combined with liquid—liquid extraction using diethyl ether for sample clean-up. The absence of endogenous interferences and the excellent chromatographic behaviour of vinca alkaloids provides accurate results even at low concentrations. The limit of determination in plasma is 1.5 μg/l (500-μl sample). Reproducible recoveries in urine were obtained if 10–50 μl of sample were processed supplemented with 500 μl of blank plasma.