Simultaneous determination of the antipsychotic drugs levomepromazine and clozapine and their main metabolites in human plasma by a HPLC-UV method with solid-phase extraction

J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2007 Feb 1;846(1-2):273-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2006.09.019. Epub 2006 Oct 12.

Abstract

A HPLC method with UV detection has been developed for the simultaneous determination of levomepromazine, clozapine and their main metabolites: N-desmethyl-levomepromazine, levomepromazine sulphoxide, O-desmethyl-levomepromazine, N-desmethylclozapine and clozapine N-oxide. The analytes were separated on a C8 reversed-phase column using a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and a pH 2.0, 34 mM phosphate buffer containing 0.3% triethylamine (29:71, v/v). Loxapine was used as the internal standard. A reliable biological sample pre-treatment procedure by means of solid-phase extraction on C1 cartridges was implemented, which allows to obtain good extraction yields (>91%) for all analytes and appropriate sample purification from endogenous interference. The method was validated in terms of extraction yield, precision and accuracy. These assays gave RSD% values for precision always lower than 4.9% and mean accuracy values higher than 92%. The method is suitable for the therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of patients undergoing polypharmacy with levomepromazine and clozapine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Antipsychotic Agents / blood*
  • Calibration
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods*
  • Clozapine / blood*
  • Humans
  • Methotrimeprazine / blood*
  • Reference Standards
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet / methods*

Substances

  • Antipsychotic Agents
  • Methotrimeprazine
  • Clozapine