title: Improved assay for R(-)-apomorphine with application to clinical pharmacokinetic studies in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: A high performance liquid chromatographic assay for the quantitative determination of apomorphine in human plasma is described. Sample clean-up and concentration was optimised using solid-phase extraction on C18 cartridges, enabling rapid and sensitive determination of apomorphine and potential metabolites. The limit of apomorphine quantification, using fluorescence detection, was 0.5 ng/mL. The assay was stability-indicating, and allowed the detection of analytes in the presence of commonly co-administered anti-Parkinsonian drugs. Apomorphine was stable in frozen plasma containing 0.14% (w/v) ascorbic acid for 98 days, and through four freeze-thaw cycles. The assay has been used in clinical pharmacokinetic studies of apomorphine in patients with Parkinson's disease, and in preliminary studies of novel apomorphine delivery devices in volunteers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth PL6 8DH, UK. wendy.ingram@pms.ac.uk
authors.forename: Wendy M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Ingram
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Priston
authors.forename: Graham J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Sewell
mesh_terms: D001058:Apomorphine / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004355:Drug Stability; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001058:Apomorphine; D001205:Ascorbic Acid