title: A rapid HPLC-DAD method for the analysis of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in plasma from overdose patients.
abstract: There is a need for fast, simple and reliable analytical methods for the analysis of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in patients who voluntarily or involuntarily have taken an overdose of the drug. A new liquid chromatographic method with diode array detection is presented herein for the determination of fluoxetine and its main active metabolite in human plasma for toxicological purposes. A mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and aqueous tetramethylammonium perchlorate allows to obtain the complete separation of the analytes on a C18 reversed phase column. The fast and accurate sample pre-treatment step is carried out by means of solid-phase extraction using hydrophilic-lipophilic balance cartridges and loading 100 microL of plasma only. This procedure gives satisfactory extraction yield values, as well as good plasma sample purification from matrix interference. Linearity was obtained in the 150-3000 ng/mL range for both analytes. Selectivity with respect to other psychotropic drugs was satisfactory. The method seems to be suitable for the analysis of fluoxetine and its metabolite in human plasma for depressed patients in overdose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabbioni
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bugamelli
authors.forename: Graziano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Varani
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mercolini
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Musenga
authors.forename: Maria Addolorata
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Saracino
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fanali
authors.forename: Maria Augusta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Raggi
mesh_terms: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000097:blood*; D002138:Calibration; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D062787:Drug Overdose; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012996:Solutions
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D012996:Solutions; D005473:Fluoxetine; C036139:norfluoxetine