Simultaneous determination of local anesthetics including ester-type anesthetics in human plasma and urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with solid-phase extraction

Electrocatalytic barium-oxide decorated MWCNT amperometric sensor for the quantification of anesthetic drug Procaine

Procaine hydrochloride (P.HCl) is one of the earliest and most well-established local anesthetic drugs used in medicine. Though it is employed frequently for effective clinical nerve blocks during surgeries, its immoderate administration has often shown reports of systemic toxicity. To prevent such repercussions, developing a sensor for the drug is crucial to enable real-time monitoring of the drug and assist in quality control procedures during its industrial preparations. Thus, in this work, we have fabricated a simple yet highly selective and sensitive amperometric sensor for P.HCl detection based on a Barium-oxide multi-wall carbon nanotube-modified carbon paste electrode (BaO-MWCNT/CPE). Herein, we have adopted a novel approach devoid of sophisticated procedures and pretreatments for rapidly determining P.HCl. Furthermore, experimental conditions, including supporting electrolytes, pH, and scan rate, were optimized to achieve a well-defined P.HCl anodic peak current at 631 mV, which is lower than the previously reported peak potentials, indicating an advantage of reduced overpotential. Besides, a striking 66-fold rise in current responsiveness to P.HCl was achieved upon modification with BaO-MWCNT. Such an intense signal enhancement upon electrode modification compared to bare CPE was due to the strong electrocatalytic feature of BaO-MWCNT, which was verified using surface morphology studies with scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Additionally, the charge transfer kinetics analyzed via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) justified the enhancement of electrocatalytic activity upon electrode modification. The developed sensor exhibited a remarkable analytical performance over a wide linear dynamic range of 2.0-100.0 µM with a detection limit of 0.14 µM. Moreover, a significant merit of this sensor is its excellent selectivity towards P.HCl even in the presence of various common interferants. Finally, the versatility of the sensor was further validated by implementing it for the trace analysis of urine and blood serum real samples.

Lighting up trace carbon monoxide and residual palladium species by a low cytotoxic mitochondria targetable red fluorescent probe: Its large scaled applications

High levels of residual palladium can lead to serious negative health effects. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a significant gasotransmitter in transporting intermolecular and intramolecular signals to balance several physiological processes. Therefore, there is a need for rapid detection of CO and palladium residue. To address these issues, we have designed a novel light-up fluorescent probe for the detection of Pd and CO. It can not only detect Pd and CO selectively with a remarkable chromogenic and red fluorescent response over other metal ions allowing detection with naked eyes but also discriminate Pd⁰ and Pd²⁺/Pd⁴⁺ species. The detection reaction is confirmed by HPLC analysis. The probe demonstrates biocompatibility and mitochondrial target ability for potential biological applications. The practical applications based on drug residue and soil analysis, and smartphone have been successfully performed. Bioimaging of the concentration change of Pd and CO in HeLa cells using the probe is successfully applied. Therefore, the present approach can provide early diagnosis of Pd and CO with low detection limit, low cytotoxicity, high selectivity, and sensitivity.

Determination of Local Anesthetic Drugs in Human Plasma Using Magnetic Solid-Phase Extraction Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

In this work, magnetic tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)-modified carboxyl–carbon nanotubes were synthesized, characterized, and used as adsorbents to conduct magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) for the preconcentration of seven local anesthetic drugs (procaine, lidocaine, mepivacaine, oxybuprocaine, bupivacaine, tetracaine, and cinchocaine) from human plasma. The separation and determination of analytes were performed on high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Several factors affected the extraction efficiency, such as the amount of adsorbents used, extraction time, sample pH, and optimization of elution conditions. Under optimal conditions, satisfactory linear relationships were obtained in the range of 0.02–5.00 mg/L, with the limits of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.003 mg/L to 0.008 mg/L. The recoveries of analytes for spiked human plasma were in the range of 82.0–108%. Moreover, the precision with intra-day and inter-day RSD values were obtained in the range of 1.5–7.7% and 1.5–8.3%. The results indicated that this method could determine the concentration of seven local anesthetic drugs in human plasma with high precision and repeatability and provide support for the clinical monitoring of the concentration of local anesthetic drugs in human plasma.

A High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Assay Method for the Determination of Lidocaine in Human Serum

Here we report on the development of a selective and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of lidocaine in human serum. The extraction of lidocaine and procainamide (internal standard) from serum (0.25 mL) was achieved using diethyl ether under alkaline conditions. After liquid–liquid extraction, the separation of analytes was accomplished using reverse phase extraction. The mobile phase, a combination of acetonitrile and monobasic potassium phosphate, was pumped isocratically through a C18 analytical column. The ultraviolet (UV) wavelength was at 277 nm for the internal standard, and subsequently changed to 210 for lidocaine. The assay exhibited excellent linearity (r² > 0.999) in peak response over the concentration ranges of 50–5000 ng/mL lidocaine HCl in human serum. The mean absolute recoveries for 50 and 1000 ng/mL lidocaine HCl in serum using the present extraction procedure were 93.9 and 80.42%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation in the serum were <15% at the lowest, and <12% at other concentrations, and the percent error values were less than 9%. The method displayed a high caliber of sensitivity and selectivity for monitoring therapeutic concentrations of lidocaine in human serum.

Resonance Rayleigh scattering technique as a detection method for the RP-HPLC determination of local anaesthetics in human urine

A highly selective and sensitive method of reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled with resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) was developed for the determination of procaine, bupivacaine and tetracaine. Separation of three local anaesthetics was achieved at 35 °C on a C₁₈ column. The mobile phase was 30: 70 (v/v) acetonitrile/triethylamine-phosphoric acid buffer (pH 2.9) at flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The RRS detection was conducted by taking advantage of the strong RRS enhancement of the local anaesthetics with erythrosine reaction in an acidic medium. Under optimum conditions, the limit of detection (S/N = 3) values were in the range of 2.4-11.2 ng/mL. Recoveries from spiked human urine samples were 95.8%-104.5%. The proposed method applied to the determination of local anaesthetics in human urine achieved satisfactory results. In addition, the mechanism of the reaction is fully discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Self-initiated and concentration-dependent degradation of tetracaine in neat standard solutions: A trouble-shooting story

This paper presents the trouble-shooting for a very unusual stability case. Tetracaine was found unstable in neat solutions only at high concentrations, but not at low concentrations. Moreover, its stable-isotope labeled internal standard did not show similar behavior. A series of trouble-shooting experiments were conducted to uncover the root cause. Some generally applicable precautions/insights can be drawn from this investigation to avoid potential stability issues during bioanalytical method development and validation.

Simultaneous determination of procaine, lidocaine, ropivacaine, tetracaine and bupivacaine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of five local anesthetics in human plasma: procaine, lidocaine, ropivacaine, tetracaine and bupivacaine. In an ice-water bath, 500 microL plasma sample, containing 100 microg/mL neostigmine methylsulfate as anticholinesterase, was spiked with carbamazepine as internal standard and alkalized by sodium hydroxide. Liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl ether was used for plasma sample preparation. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Kromosil ODS C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of 30 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (0.16% triethylamine, pH adjusted to 4.9 with phosphoric acid) and acetonitrile (63/37, v/v). The detection was performed simultaneously at wavelengths of 210 and 290 nm. The chromatographic analysis time was 13 min per sample. The calibration curves of all five analytes were linear between 0.05 and 5.0 microg/mL (r(2) > or = 0.998). Precision ranged from 1.4% to 7.9% and accuracy was between 91.7% and 106.5%. The validated method is applicable for simultaneous determination of procaine, lidocaine, ropivacaine, tetracaine and bupivacaine for therapeutic drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic study.

Resonance Rayleigh scattering spectra, non-linear scattering spectra of tetracaine hydrochloride-erythrosin system and its analytical application

The interaction between erythrosine (ET) and tetracaine hydrochloride (TA) was studied by resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS), frequency doubling scattering (FDS) and second-order scattering (SOS) combining with absorption spectrum. In a weak acidic medium of Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer solution of pH 4.5, erythrosine reacted with tetracaine hydrochloride to form 1:1 ion-association complex. As a result, the new spectra of RRS, SOS and FDS appeared and their intensities enhanced greatly. The maximum peaks of RRS, SOS and FDS were at 342 nm, 680 nm and 380 nm, respectively. The intensities of the three scattering were directly proportional to the concentration of TA in the range of 0.008-4.2 microg mL(-1) for RRS, 0.027-4.2 microg mL(-1) for SOS and 0.041-4.2 microg mL(-1) for FDS. The methods had very high sensitivities and good selectivities, and the detection limits were 0.003 microg mL(-1) for RRS, 0.008 microg mL(-1) for SOS and 0.012 microg mL(-1) for FDS, respectively. Therefore, a new method was developed to determinate trace amounts of TA. The recovery for the determination of TA in blood serum and urine samples was between 97.0% and 103.8%. In this study, mean polarizability was calculated by AM1 quantum chemistry method. In addition, the reasons for the enhancement of scattering spectra and the energy transfer between absorption, fluorescence and RRS were discussed.

Pharmacokinetics of lidocaine following the application of 5% lidocaine patches to cats

Lidocaine patches have been used to provide local analgesia in dogs and cats. We conducted this study to assess the systemic and local absorption of lidocaine from topical patches in cats. Eight 2-year-old cats received either intravenous lidocaine at 2 mg/kg or one 700 mg lidocaine patch placed on the lateral thorax for 72 h, in a cross-over randomized repeated measures design. Plasma was collected at specific times and the skin was biopsied at the time of patch removal for the quantitative analysis of lidocaine and its major metabolite, monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX), by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Percent absorption time plots for systemic lidocaine appearance were constructed using the Loo-Riegelman method. Approximately, constant rate absorption was observed from 12-72 h after patch application at a mean +/- SD rate of 109 +/- 49 microg/kg/h, resulting in steady-state lidocaine plasma concentrations of 0.083 +/- 0.032 microg/mL and MEGX concentrations of 0.012 +/- 0.009 microg/mL. Overall bioavailability of transdermal lidocaine was 6.3 +/- 2.7%, and only 56 +/- 29% of the total lidocaine dose delivered by the patch reached systemic circulation. Skin lidocaine concentrations were much higher than plasma concentrations, at 211 +/- 113 microg/g in the thoracic skin beneath the patch and 2.2 +/- 0.6 microg/g in the contralateral thoracic skin without the patch. As both lidocaine and MEGX were recovered from contralateral skin, it is likely that lidocaine accumulated in the skin from low systemic concentrations of circulating lidocaine over the 72-h period of patch application. Plasma lidocaine concentrations remained well below systemically toxic concentrations, and no obvious clinical side effects were observed in any of the cats. The low systemic absorption rate coupled with high local lidocaine concentrations on the skin support the safe use of lidocaine patches in cats.

Simultaneous determination of dibucaine and naphazoline in human serum by monolithic silica spin column extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple, sensitive, and specific liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method for simultaneous determination of dibucaine and naphazoline from serum was developed and validated. The extraction procedure was performed using a monolithic silica spin column. Chromatographic separation of dibucaine and naphazoline was achieved on a C(18) reverse phase column with a mobile phase gradient (mobile phase A: 10 mM ammonium formate and mobile phase B: acetonitrile) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. LC-MS was operated under the selective ion monitoring mode using the electrospray ionization technique in the positive mode. The retention times for naphazoline, dibucaine, and the internal standard (IS) were 6.7, 7.8, and 8.0 min, respectively. A linear graph was obtained for dibucaine and naphazoline with correlation coefficients >0.998 for all analytes by this method. The limit of quantification of dibucaine and naphazoline was 10 and 25 ng/mL, respectively. The mean recoveries were greater than 70%. Both compounds were stable under conditions of short-term storage, long-term storage as well as after freeze-thaw cycles. Monolithic spin column extraction and LC-MS analysis enabled the separation of dibucaine and naphazoline within 20 min.

Simultaneous determination of nikethamide and lidocaine in human blood and cerebrospinal fluid by high performance liquid chromatography

Nikethamide and lidocaine are often requested to be quantified simultaneously in forensic toxicological analysis. A simple reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method has been developed for their simultaneous determination in human blood and cerebrospinal fluid. The method involves simple protein precipitation sample treatment followed by quantification of analytes using HPLC at 263 nm. Analytes were separated on a 5 microm Zorbax Dikema C18 column (150 mm x 4.60 mm, i.d.) with a mobile phase of 22:78 (v/v) mixture of methanol and a diethylamine-acetic acid buffer, pH 4.0. The mean recoveries were between 69.8 and 94.4% for nikethamide and between 78.9 and 97.2% for lidocaine. Limits of detection (LODs) for nikethamide and lidocaine were 0.008 and 0.16 microg/ml in plasma and 0.007 and 0.14 microg/ml in cerebrospinal fluid, respectively. The mean intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CVs) for both analytes were less than 9.2 and 10.8%, respectively. The developed method was applied to blood sample analyses in eight forensic cases, where blood concentrations of lidocaine ranged from 0.68 to 34.4 microg/ml and nikethamide ranged from 1.25 to 106.8 microg/ml. In six cases cerebrospinal fluid analysis was requested. The values ranged from 20.3 to 185.6 microg/ml of lidocaine and 8.0 to 72.4 microg/ml of nikethamide. The method is simple and sensitive enough to be used in toxicological analysis for simultaneous determination of nikethamide and lidocaine in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

Flow injection amperometric determination of procaine in pharmaceutical formulation using a screen-printed carbon electrode

A rapid and simple method for procaine determination was developed by flow injection analysis (FIA) using a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) as amperometric detector. The present method is based on the amine/hydroxylamine oxidation from procaine monitored at 0.80 V on SPCE in sodium acetate solution pH 6.0. Using the best experimental conditions assigned as: pH 6.0, flow rate of 3.8 mL min(-1), sample volume of 100 microL and analytical path of 30 cm it is possible to construct a linear calibration curve from 9.0x10(-6) to 1.0x10(-4) mol L(-1). The relative standard deviation for 5.0x10(-5) mol L(-1) procaine (15 repetitions using the same electrode) is 3.2% and detection limit calculated is 6.0x10(-6) mol L(-1). Recoveries obtained for procaine gave a mean values from 94.8 to 102.3% and an analytical frequency of 36 injections per hour was achieved. The method was successfully applied for the determination of procaine in pharmaceutical formulation without any pre-treatment, which are in good accordance with the declared values of manufacturer and an official method based on spectrophotometric analysis.

Rapid determination of cinchocaine in skin by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple, rapid, accurate, precise and specific analytical method has been developed, validated and applied for determination of cinchocaine in guinea pig and albino rabbit dorsal skins, after in vivo application of cinchocaine formulations. Extraction was performed using a solvent mixture of ethanol and 0.1 M hydrochloric acid (90:10; v/v). Samples were chromatographed on Spheri-5, RP(18) column with a particle size of 5 microm and 220 mm x 4.6 mm i.d. The mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile and triethylamine phosphate buffer (pH 2.8; 0.04 M) (60:40, v/v). UV detection was carried out at 247 nm and the run time was 6 min with typical retention time of cinchocaine of 3.63 +/- 0.02 min. Specificity was demonstrated, showing that the cinchocaine peak was free of interference from skin endogenous components. The detector response was found to be linear in the concentration range 0.96-56.00 microg/mL with a coefficient of correlation r = 0.99996. The relative standard deviations of within- and between-day analyses were all below 5%. The drug extraction procedure was validated. Satisfactory recoveries with relative standard deviation values below 5% were obtained, indicating efficient quantitative reproducible extraction procedure.

Simultaneous determination of procaine and para-aminobenzoic acid by LC-MS/MS method

A sensitive high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed for simultaneous determination of procaine and its metabolite p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA). N-Acetylprocainamide (NAPA) was used as an internal standard for procaine and PABA analysis. This assay method has also been validated in terms of linearity, lower limit of detection, lower limit of quantitation, accuracy and precision as per ICH guidelines. Chromatography was carried out on an XTerra MS C(18) column and mass spectrometric analysis was performed using a Quattro Micro mass spectrometer working with electro-spray ionization (ESI) source in the positive ion mode. Enhanced selectivity was achieved using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) functions, m/z 237-->100, m/z 138-->120, and m/z 278-->205 for procaine, PABA and NAPA, respectively. Retention times for PABA, procaine and NAPA were 4.0, 4.7 and 5.8min, respectively. Linearity for each calibration curve was observed across a range from 100nM to 5000nM for PABA, and from 10nM to 5000nM for procaine. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD) were <5%.

Simultaneous determination of ethamsylate, tramadol and lidocaine in human urine by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection

Ethamsylate, tramadol and lidocaine, partly excreted by the kidney, are generally used as hemostatic, analgesic and local anesthetic in surgery. We developed a simple and sensitive method for their simultaneous monitoring in human urine based on CE coupled with electrochemiluminescence detection by end-column mode. Under optimized conditions the proposed method yielded linear ranges from 5.0 x 10(-8) to 5.0 x 10(-5), 1.0 x 10(-7) to 1.0 x 10(-4) and 1.0 x 10(-7) to 1.0 x 10(-4) M with LODs of 8.0 x 10(-9) M (36 amol), 1.6 x 10(-8) M (72 amol) and 1.0 x 10(-8) M (45 amol) (S/N = 3) for ethamsylate, tramadol and lidocaine, respectively. The RSD for their simultaneous detection at 1.0 x 10(-6) M was 2.1, 2.8 and 3.2% (n = 7), respectively. For practical application an extraction step with ethyl acetate at pH 11 was performed to eliminate the influence of the sample ionic strength. The recoveries of ethamsylate, tramadol and lidocaine at different levels in human urine were between 87 and 95%. This method was used for simultaneous detection of ethamsylate, tramadol and lidocaine in clinic urine samples from two medicated patients. It was valuable in clinical and biochemical laboratories for monitoring these drugs for various purposes.

Electrochemistry and voltammetry of procaine using a carbon nanotube film coated electrode

A new rapid, convenient and sensitive electrochemical method is described for the determination of procaine in pharmaceutical preparations, based on the unique properties of a multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) thin film. The electrochemical behavior of procaine at the MWNT film-coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was investigated in detail, showing that the MWNT-coated GCE exhibits electrocatalytic activity to the oxidation of procaine because of the significant peak current enhancement and the lowering of oxidation overpotential. Furthermore, the mechanism for the oxidation of procaine at the MWNT-coated GCE was also studied. Finally, various experimental parameters such as solution pH value, the amount of MWNT, accumulation conditions and scan rate were optimized for the determination of procaine, and a new method with detection limit of 2 x 10(-7) mol/L was developed for procaine determination. This newly proposed method was successfully demonstrated with procaine hydrochloride injection.

The characterisation of selected drugs with amine-containing side chains using electrospray ionisation and ion trap mass spectrometry and their determination by HPLC–ESI-MS

The electrospray ionisation-ion-trap mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)) of selected drug compounds with amine-containing side chains has been investigated. Certain characteristic in-source fragmentations have been observed for these molecules. Sequential product ion fragmentation experiments (MS(n)) have been performed in order to elucidate the degradation pathways for the [M + H](+) ions and their predominant fragment ions. These MS(n) experiments also show certain characteristic fragmentations with respect to the amine-containing side chains. QTOF-MS/MS has been used to support the identity of the proposed fragments. The data presented in this paper therefore provides useful information on the structure of these compounds with amine-containing side chains and can be used in the characterisation of such drugs, their structurally related metabolites and unknown molecules of pharmaceutical significance extracted from animal and plant sources, for example. Amphetamine, clenbuterol, flurazepam and methadone can be identified and determined in mixtures at low ng/ml concentrations by the application of HPLC-ESI-MS which can also be used for their analysis in saliva samples.

Determination of some local anesthetics in human serum by gas chromatography with solid-phase extraction

A method of analysis based on solid-phase extraction coupled with capillary gas chromatographic system for determination of mepivacaine, bupivacaine and lidocaine from human serum was developed. As extraction sorbents were used Chromosorb 103, Tenax-GC and Chromosorb T. The best extraction sorbent proved to be Chromosorb 103. Their recoveries ranged from 91 to 94% at the target concentrations of approx. 1.5 microgml(-1) in serum. Relative standard deviation of the recoveries ranged from 3.11 to 5.30 at these concentrations. As internal standard was used lidocaine. The chromatographic analysis was performed on a gas chromatograph equipped with a capillary column, HP-Innowax, and flame ionisation detector. Samples were injected in splitless mode. This method was applied in a stomatological clinic to healthy volunteers to whom superior-posterior alveolar nerve block anesthesia with mepivacaine was administered.

Utility of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis for the determination of lidocaine and its metabolites in human plasma: a comparison of ultraviolet and mass spectrometric detection

A nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis/electrospray mass spectrometry method for the separation of lidocaine (LID) and two of its metabolites, monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and glycinexylidide (GX), has been developed. The separation medium was: 70 mM ammonium formate and 2.0 M formic acid in acetonitrile/methanol (60:40 v/v). With a sheath liquid of methanol/water (80:20 v/v) containing 2% formic acid and positive ion detection, reproducible determinations (8-11% relative standard deviation (RSD)) of lidocaine and its metabolites were performed in spiked human plasma. The limits of detection (LODs) were between 69.1 and 337 nM. The influences of sheath liquid composition, nebulizing gas pressure and drying gas temperature on the separation were examined.

Determination of cetylpyridinium chloride and tetracaine hydrochloride in buccal tablets by RP-HPLC

The HPLC method for simultaneous determination of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), tetracaine hydrochloride (TTC) in Xipiluan buccal tablets was developed and validated. The HPLC method was performed on a CN column (150 x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm particle size); the mobile phase was methanol-tetramethylammonium hydroxide (20 mM)-potassium dihydrogen phosphate (3 mM) (90:10:3, v/v/v) (pH* 5.0), pumped at a flow rate 1.5 ml min(-1). The UV detector was set at 230 nm. The retention time for CPC and TTC was 3.52 and 3.10 min, respectively. Calibration curves were linear (r=0.9999, n=6) in the range of 5-2000 microg ml(-1) for CPC and 1-500 microg ml(-1) for TTC. Limit of detection and quantitation for CPC was 0.033 and 0.11 microg ml(-1), for TTC were 0.0056 and 0.019 microg ml(-1). The R.S.D. of repeatability and intermediate precision for CPC and TTC were less than 2.0%.

Stability-indicating HPLC assays for the determination of prilocaine and procaine drug combinations

Stability-indicating, reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed for the determination of several procaine hydrochloride and prilocaine hydrochloride combinations. The separation and quantitation of epinephrine-prilocaine and epinephrine-procaine drug combinations were achieved on a phenyl column using a mobile phase of 80:20% v/v 25 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) containing 50 mM heptanesulfonic acid sodium salt-acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1 ml x min(-1) and UV detection at 254 nm. The method showed linearity for the epinephrine and prilocaine hydrochloride mixture in the 0.25-2.5 and 8-200 micro g ml(-1) ranges, respectively. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 0.26 to 2.05% and 0.04 to 0.61% for epinephrine and prilocaine hydrochloride, respectively. The epinephrine and procaine hydrochloride mixture yielded linear ranges of 0.25-2.0 and 5-100 micro g ml(-1) and intra- and inter-day RSDs ranged from 0.23 to 1.88% and 0.07 to 0.26% for epinephrine and procaine hydrochloride, respectively. The assays were shown to be suitable for measuring epinephrine-prilocaine and epinephrine-procaine combinations in their respective injection dosage forms. Stability-indicating HPLC assays were also developed for several other procaine drug combinations since their monographs are present in the USP 24; however, quantitation was not investigated since these combinations are not commercially available. A mobile phase consisting of 80:20% v/v 25 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) containing 50 mM heptanesulfonic acid-acetonitrile was utilized for the levonordefrin-tetracaine-procaine drug combination, while a mobile phase consisting of 70:30% v/v 25 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) containing 50 mM heptanesulfonic acid sodium salt-acetonitrile was utilized for the separation of levonordefrin-procaine-propoxycaine and norepinephrine-procaine-propoxycaine. All separations were achieved on a phenyl column at a flow rate of 1 ml x min(-1) and UV detection at 254 nm.

Differential pulse adsorption voltammetry for determination of procaine hydrochloride at a pumice modified carbon paste electrode in pharmaceutical preparations and urine

Procaine hydrochloride was determined by the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) using a 6% (m/m) pumice modified carbon paste electrode in 1.25 x 10(-3) mol x l(-1) KH(2)PO(4) and Na(2)HPO(4) buffer solution (pH 6.88, 25 degrees C). The anodic peak potential used was +0.980 V (vs. SCE). A good linear relationship was realized between the anodic peak current and procaine concentration in the range of 9.0 x 10(-7)-2.6 x 10(-5) mol x l(-1) with the detection limit of 5.0 x 10(-8) mol x l(-1). The recovery was 95.2-104.8% with the relative standard deviation of 3.2% (n=10). The pharmaceutical preparations, procaine hydrochloride injection and the urine samples were determined with the desirable results.

Development and validation of a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the assay of lidocaine in aqueous humour samples

A simple, fast and reliable reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method was developed for the assay of lidocaine in human aqueous humour samples. The samples were analysed without any preliminary treatment on a C8 column with UV detection at 225 nm. The mobile phase consisted of methanol/sodium dihydrogen phosphate (30 mM) containing sodium pentansulphonate (10 mM) adjusted to pH 2.5 with phosphoric acid (50:50 v/v). Validation of the method showed it to be precise, accurate and linear over the concentration range of analysis with a limit of detection of 0.2 microgml(-1). The limit of quantitation was 2.5 microgml(-1) with a relative standard deviation of 2.5%. Linear regression analysis in the range 2.5-60 microgml(-1) gave correlation coefficients higher than 0.999. No interference from three commonly co-administered drugs was observed. The method developed was applied to the analysis of lidocaine in aqueous humour samples in order to evaluate and compare the efficacy of two different forms of administration of lidocaine for topical anaesthesia in cataract surgery.

Simultaneous determination of mepivacaine, tetracaine, and p-butylaminobenzoic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the present study was to develop a simple method for the simultaneous determination of mepivacaine, tetracaine, and p-butylaminobenzoic acid (BABA) in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a multiwavelength detector.

METHODS

Human blood samples containing heparin, as an anticoagulant, and physostigmine (100 microg/ml), as an anticholinesterase, or human plasma containing physostigmine were spiked with various concentrations of mepivacaine, tetracaine and, in some cases, BABA. Blood samples were centrifuged and plasma was deproteinized with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA; 7%). After centrifugation, the pH was adjusted to 4.5 and an aliquot of 20, 50 or 100 microl was injected into the HPLC apparatus. The detection was done simultaneously at wavelengths of 214 and 300 nm. Analytical chromatography was done on a Waters microBondapak C(18) reverse-phase column (3.9 x 300 mm; particle size 10 microm) with a 30-min increasing linear gradient of 20-40% acetonitrile+0.05% TFA in H(2)O+0.05% TFA at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. The Waters HPLC system included two pumps, an automatic injector, a column oven, and a M490 multiwavelength detector. Quantification was done using integration of peak areas with peaks of authentic mepivacaine, tetracaine, and BABA standards.

RESULTS

Calibration curves for standards of mepivacaine, tetracaine, and BABA were linear in the concentration ranges from 0.1 to 100 microg/ml, and the correlation coefficients exceeded.99 for all compounds. The lower limits of detection were 100 ng/ml for mepivacaine and 50 ng/ml for tetracaine and BABA. The yields for mepivacaine, tetracaine, and BABA were 91+/-2.1%, 82+/-3.3%, and 88+/-2.0% (mean+/-S.E.M., n=6), respectively. Degradation of tetracaine by human plasma at 37 degrees C was inhibited by physostigmine.

DISCUSSION

The method is sensitive enough to allow blood concentration determinations of mepivacaine and tetracaine or its metabolite, BABA, following local anesthesia induced by these two drugs, especially when their toxic effect may be present. This method also may be useful in forensic medicine for determination of the cause of death after local anesthesia with mepivacaine and/or tetracaine.

Solid-phase trapping of solutes for further chromatographic or electrophoretic analysis

Because of its simplicity, speed and effectiveness, solid-phase extraction (SPE) has become the preferred technique for concentration of selected analytes prior to chromatographic or electrophoretic analysis. In this review the historical development of SPE is briefly traced. Then the principles of SPE are reviewed in some detail. Numerous references are given on the format, sorbents, elution conditions, online techniques and automation with special emphasis on relatively recent developments. The principles and recent advances in solid-phase microextraction (SPME) are also reviewed. The final section on selected recent applications includes an extensive list of references to work published within the last three years. Future trends and developments are discussed briefly.