The determination of allopurinol and oxipurinol in human plasma and urine

A Brief Review of Analytical Methods for the Estimation of Allopurinol in Pharmaceutical Formulation and Biological Matrices

This review article represents the collection and discussion of various analytical methods available in the literature for the determination of allopurinol (ALLP) in pharmaceutical and biological samples consisting of HPLC, UV-visible method, near-IR spectroscopy, spectrofluorometry, capillary electrophoresis, polarography, voltammetry, and hyphenated techniques such as LC-MS, LC-MS/MS, UPLC-MS/MS, and GC-MS. The anticipated review provides details about the comparative utilization of various analytical techniques for the determination of ALLP. The present review article can be effectively explored to conduct future analytical investigation for the estimation of ALLP.

Detection of allopurinol and oxypurinol in canine urine by HPLC/MS-MS: Focus on veterinary clinical pharmacokinetics

Allopurinol is the most commonly used drug for the treatment of hyperuricemia in people, and in view of the risks of fatal hypersensitivity in patients with renal dysfunction, doses based on the glomerular filtration rate are proposed. In veterinary medicine, allopurinol is used in the treatment of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) caused by Leishmania infantum owing to the drug action of inhibiting the parasite's RNA synthesis. However, renal dysfunction frequently ensues from disease progression in dogs. The purpose of the present study was to standardize and validate a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS/MS) method to determine the concentration of allopurinol and its active metabolite oxypurinol in canine urine for clinical pharmacokinetic investigation. Urine samples of eleven (11) dogs with naturally occurring CanL and in the maintenance phase of the treatment with alopurinol were used. For the chromatographic analysis of urine, the mobile phase consisted of a solution of 0.1 % formic acid (88 %) in 10 mM ammonium acetate. Separation of allopurinol and oxypurinol occurred in a flow of 0.8 mL/min on a C8 reverse phase column 5 μm, and acyclovir was the internal standard. The HPLC-MS/MS method was validated by reaching the limits of detection and quantification, reproducibility and linearity. The lower limit of quantification achieved by the method was 10 μg/mL for both allopurinol and oxypurinol. Calibration curves were prepared in blank urine added with allopurinol at concentrations of 10-1000 μg/mL, and oxypurinol at 10-200 μg/mL. Coefficients of variation of less than 15 % between intracurrent and intercurrent accuracy values were observed for both allopurinol and oxypurinol. Urine test samples remained stable after being subjected to freeze-thaw cycles and remaining at room temperature for 4 h. The method proved to be adequate to quantify allopurinol and oxypurinol in urine samples from dogs under treatment.

Determination of allopurinol and oxypurinol in human plasma and urine by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Allopurinol is used widely for the treatment of gout, but its pharmacokinetics is complex and some patients show hypersensitivity, necessitating careful monitoring and improved detection methods. In this study, a sensitive and reliable liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to determine the concentrations of allopurinol and its active metabolite oxypurinol in human plasma and urine using 2,6-dichloropurine as the internal standard (IS). Analytes and the IS were extracted from 0.5ml aliquots of plasma or urine using ethyl acetate and separated on an Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 column using methanol and ammonium formate-formic acid buffer containing 5mM ammonium formate and 0.1% formic acid (95:5, v/v) as the mobile phase (A) for allopurinol or methanol plus 5mM ammonium formate aqueous solution (95:5, v/v) as the mobile phase (B) for oxypurinol. Allopurinol was detected in positive ion mode and the analysis time was about 7min. The calibration curve was linear from 0.05 to 5μg/mL allopurinol in plasma and 0.5-30μg/mL in urine. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.05μg/mL in plasma and 0.5μg/mL in urine. The intra- and inter-day precision and relative errors of quality control (QC) samples were ≤11.1% for plasma and ≤ 8.7% for urine. Oxypurinol was detected in negative mode with an analysis time of about 4min. The calibration curve was linear from 0.05 to 5μg/mL in plasma (LLOQ, 0.05μg/mL) and from 1 to 50μg/mL in urine (LLOQ, 1μg/mL). The intra- and inter-day precision and relative errors were ≤7.0% for plasma and ≤9.6% for urine. This method was then successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetics of allopurinol and oxypurinol in humans.

Development of a capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of allopurinol and its active metabolite oxypurinol

A simple and sensitive capillary zone electrophoresis method with UV absorbance detection is described for the quantitation of allopurinol and its metabolite oxypurinol in aqueous solution. The influence of different parameters on migration times, peak symmetry, efficiency and resolution was systematically investigated; these parameters included the nature and concentration of the separation buffer, pH and applied voltage. A buffer consisting of 15 mM 2-[N-cyclohexylamino]ethanesulfonic acid (CHES) adjusted to pH 8.8 was found to provide a very efficient and stable electrophoretic system for the analysis of these compounds. The optimized method was validated with respect to precision, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, accuracy and robustness. The applicability of the assay was demonstrated by analyzing these compounds in serum and allopurinol in commercial pharmaceutical preparations.

Facile and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of allopurinol and oxypurinol in human serum

OBJECTIVE

To develop a rapid and sensitive assay for the simultaneous determination of allopurinol and oxypurinol in serum.

METHOD

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-detection. Sample preparation consists of protein precipitation by an addition of trichloracetic acid.

RESULTS

Percentage recovery and intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV%) for allopurinol were 97.4-101.3 and 0.66-5.13, respectively, in the concentration range 0.5-5.0 microg/mL. For oxypurinol, the percentage recovery and the intra-assay CV% were 93.2-98.1 and 0.88-5.62, respectively, in the concentration ranges 0.4-20 microg/mL. There was no interference of endogenous compounds in this assay.

CONCLUSION

This method is useful for routine therapeutic drug monitoring of allopurinol in a clinical setting.

The optimal use of allopurinol: an audit of allopurinol use in South Auckland

BACKGROUND

Gout is a common and challenging problem in South Auckland, New Zealand. Allopurinol is widely used but urate reduction remains unsatisfactory. Allopurinol dosing guidelines and a therapeutic range for plasma oxypurinol levels have been published.

AIMS

We aimed to determine the appropriateness of allopurinol dosing according to current guidelines and to assess the relationship between plasma creatinine, oxypurinol and urate. In addition, we assessed the clinical usefulness of the oxypurinol level.

METHODS

Thirty-one patients, on a stable dose of allopurinol for at least three weeks, had plasma creatinine, urate and oxypurinol measured as part of routine clinical assessment. Relationships between the various methods were examined using regression analysis. Fisher's exact test was used to test associations with categorical variables.

RESULTS

Fifty-five per cent of patients were on higher than recommended doses of allopurinol. There was a statistically significant relationship between calculated creatinine clearance and plasma oxypurinol level. Only 50% of patients with a plasma oxypurinol within the therapeutic range (30-100 micromol/L) had a plasma urate < 0.42 mmol/L and this did not increase significantly in the patients with an oxypurinol level > 100 micromol/L.

CONCLUSIONS

There is poor adherence to the current recommended dosing guidelines for allopurinol. Creatinine clearance rather than plasma creatinine needs to be used to predict the dose of allopurinol. The current role of the oxypurinol level is to identify non-compliers with allopurinol therapy. We need further research to clarify whether increasing the dose of allopurinol outside the recommended dose range to reach an oxypurinol level of close to 100 micromol/L may be of benefit in those who have not had sufficient urate reduction.

High-performance liquid chromatography with polarographic and voltammetric anodic detection: simultaneous determination of allopurinol, oxipurinol and uric acid in body fluids

Allopurinol, oxipurinol and uric acid have been determined in human serum and urine by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. In particular the use of a polarographic detector operating in the oxidative mode, whose principle of detection is based on the property of allopurinol, oxipurinol and uric acid to form insoluble anodic films on mercury, is described. The performance of such a detector is compared with that of a glassy carbon wall-jet detector. Different procedures for sample pretreatment have been evaluated.

Allopurinol metabolism in a patient with xanthine oxidase deficiency

A patient with complete deficiency of xanthine oxidase would not be expected to oxidase allopurinol to oxipurinol if allopurinol did not have any alternative metabolic pathway. 400 mg of allopurinol was administered to a patient with xanthine oxidase deficiency, and plasma allopurinol, oxipurinol, hypoxanthine, and xanthine levels were determined serially by the use of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Plasma oxipurinol as well as allopurinol was increased after the administration of allopurinol, and oxipurinol reached a maximum level of 13.1 micrograms/ml at 6 hours after the administration. This was the same pattern as that of normal controls. This result demonstrated the existence of some other oxidising enzyme of allopurinol than xanthine oxidase.

Kinetics of allopurinol after single intravenous and oral doses. Noninteraction with benzbromarone and hydrochlorothiazide

An high-pressure liquid chromatographic method was used to measure allopurinol and oxipurinol in plasma and urine in 6 healthy volunteers after a single intravenous or oral dose of allopurinol. The influence of coadministered benzbromarone and hydrochlorothiazide on the pharmacokinetics of allopurinol and oxipurinol was also investigated. After intravenous injection of allopurinol 300 mg the plasma disappearance was biexponential, with a mean distribution half-life of 2.32 +/- 1.08 min (mean +/- SD) and an elimination half-life of 47.8 +/- 10.6 min. The total clearance of allopurinol was 11.37 +/- 2.70 ml/min/kg, whereas its renal clearance was only 1.73 +/- 0.79 ml/min/kg. Oxipurinol disappeared monoexponentially from plasma with a mean half-life of 12.2 +/- 2.6 h. Its renal clearance was 0.42 +/- 0.091 ml/min/kg. After oral administration of allopurinol 300 mg the peak plasma concentration of 2.1 +/- 0.6 micrograms/ml (1.5 x 10(-5) M) was reached within 30 to 120 min. The peak level of oxipurinol of 5.8 +/- 1.5 micrograms/ml (3.8 x 10(-5) M) was found within 2 to 5 h after intravenous and oral allopurinol. The bioavailability of oral allopurinol computed from plasma data was 90.4 +/- 8.7%. The total recovery from urine was 77% (allopurinol 8%, oxipurinol 69%) after oral and 88% after i.v. administration. It was concluded that about 10% of the oral dose was not absorbed and that 12% was eliminated by an unknown mechanism, presumably as riboside. The pharmacokinetics of allopurinol and oxipurinol were not significantly influenced by coadministration of benzbromarone or hydrochlorothiazide.

Determination of selected pyrimidines, purines and their metabolites in serum and urine by reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography

The qualitative and quantitative determination of selected pyrimidines, purines and azapurines and their metabolites by reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography, using tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as pairing ion and isocratic chromatrographic conditions, is described. The method provides a selective and sensitive assay for these classes of compounds examined in complex biological fluids.

Quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography of nucleosides and bases in human plasma

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for the estimation of purines, pyrimidines and their congeners in biological fluids. An initial HPLC separation allowed the collection of a number of effluent fractions, each of which contained a single component of interest. The re-application of these fractions to a second HPLC separation permitted the resolution and quantification of nanogram amounts of these components. Isocratic elution with volatile buffers renders the samples amenable to automatic sampling procedures or lyophilisation. Data are presented on the application of the method to the analysis of nucleosides and bases in human plasma.