The chromatographic behavior of seven tricyclic antidepressants (amitryptiline, clomipramine, doxepin, imipramine, maprotiline, nortryptiline, and trimipramine) was examined with micellar mobile phases containing the nonionic surfactant Brij-35. Acetonitrile-water mixtures were also used for comparison purposes. Tricyclic antidepressants are moderately polar basic drugs, which are positively charged in the usual working pH. This gives rise to a strong association with the alkyl chains and residual ionized silanols in silica-based stationary phases, which is translated in a high consumption of organic solvent to get appropriate retention times. Brij-35 modifies the surface of the stationary phases creating a neutral bilayer that masks silanols and reduces the polarity. Consequently, the retention times are decreased. A simple chromatographic procedure for the control of tricyclic antidepressants in pharmaceutical formulations was developed, using 0.02 M Brij-35 at pH 3 and UV detection. Satisfactory recoveries were achieved, with intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations usually below 1 and 2%, respectively. The preparation of the samples was simple and only required solubilization and filtration steps previous to injection. The proposed procedure has the advantage of not using an organic solvent in the mobile phase, and the biodegradable character of Brij-35. This makes an example of "green" liquid chromatographic analysis.
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