Rapid and sensitive determination of nicotine in formulations and biological fluid using micellar liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

Nicotine can be determined in pharmaceuticals and biological fluids by micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) using a C18 column, a mobile phase containing sodium dodecyl sulphate 0.15 M–6% (v/v) pentanol–NaH₂PO₄ 0.01 M (pH 6)–KCl 0.001 M, with electrochemical detection at 0.8 V. In the optimization step, the influence of the modifiers propanol, butanol and pentanol, and the voltage has been studied. With the proposed method the analysis time is below than 8 min, linearity better than 0.999, limits of detection and quantification (ng/ml) was 4 and 12 respectively, repeatability and intermediate precision below 1.8%, and all these parameters are adequate for the quantification of nicotine in chewing gum, dermal patches, tobacco and serum samples either by a pharmacologist, pathologist or toxicologist.