title: Determination of nitrazepam and its main metabolites in urine by gas--liquid chromatography: use of electron capture and nitrogen-selective detectors.
abstract: Nitrazepam and its main urinary metabolites, 7-aminonitrazepam and 7-acetamidonitrazepam, free and conjugared, were determined from 24-h fractions of human urine after a single oral dose of 5 mg of nitrazepam. Nitrazepam and the metabolites were extracted before and after glusulase hydrolysis with benzene--dichloromethane (90:10) from a 1.0 ml sample. Methylnitrazepam and methylbromazepam served as internal standards. Recoveries were better than 90%. GLC analysis of nitrazepam was performed using a 63Ni electron-capture detector. The metabolites were measured by a dual flameless nitrogen selective detector. The detection limits were about 0.2 ng/ml for nitrazepam and 50 ng/ml for the metabolites. The nitrogen-selective detector responds similarly to all three compounds. The 63Ni electron-capture detector gives very poor response to 7-amino-nitrazepam but allows very sensitive detection of nitrazepam. Combined use of the two detectors gives valuable information about the metabolic profile of nitrazepam.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000295:instrumentation; D004583:Electrons; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009567:Nitrazepam / Q000652:urine*; D009584:Nitrogen
chemical_list: D009567:Nitrazepam; D009584:Nitrogen