title: Rapid determination of lithium in serum samples by capillary electrophoresis.
abstract: Lithium salts are still one of the most popular therapeutic approaches to the treatment of bipolar disorders, notwithstanding the introduction of more modern, less toxic drugs. Because of a narrow therapeutic range, lithium serum concentrations must be strictly monitored during the treatment to avoid life-threatening neurotoxicity. For this purpose, methods based on flame photometry or ion-selective electrodes are usually applied. The aim of the present work was to develop and validate a simple method for the determination of lithium in serum based on capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect detection. A validation of the method was carried out, including a comparison with an automated routine method based on ion-selective electrodes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Public Health, Unit of Forensic Medicine, University of Verona, P.le L.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy. jennifer.pascali@univr.it
authors.forename: Jennifer P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pascali
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sorio
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bortolotti
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tagliaro
mesh_terms: D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018020:Lithium Compounds / Q000097:blood*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D018020:Lithium Compounds