Prevention of tricyclic antidepressant adsorption loss with diethylamine during solvent evaporation.
The authors evaluated the adsorption loss of tricyclic antidepressants in analytical procedures with solvent extraction and evaporation. In standard procedures with the use of triple solvent extraction between alkalinized and acidified samples before chromatographic analysis, the adsorption loss was more significant with the demethylated metabolites. As much as 50% adsorption loss can occur; this irreversible loss can be accounted for entirely during the solvent evaporation step. Because of differential adsorption loss among parent drugs, metabolites, and internal standards, the analytical methods usually had wide within-day and day-to-day variations. The authors found that the addition of as little as 0.05% diethylamine to the extract before evaporation completely eliminated the adsorption loss of amitriptyline-nortriptyline, imipramine-desipramine, and doxepin-desmethyldoxepin. with subsequent improvement in procedure performance. This simple modification can be adopted readily by all laboratories that use solvent extraction and subsequent chromatographic analysis of tricyclic antidepressants.
Tserng
K Y
KY
Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Department of Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
McPeak
R J
RJ
Dejak
I
I
Tserng
K
K
D000327:Adsorption; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D004048:Diethylamines / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005021:Ethylamines; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009025:Morpholines; D011437:Propylamines; D012997:Solvents; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D004048:Diethylamines; D005021:Ethylamines; D009025:Morpholines; D011437:Propylamines; D012997:Solvents; C037574:morpholine; C034281:diethylamine; C016162:triethylamine