DIRECT ENANTIOSPECIFIC HPLC BIOANALYSIS OF (R,S)-ATENOLOL ON A CHIRALSTATIONARY-PHASE

The simultaneous determination of the enantiomers of the beta1-selecti ve adrenergic antagonist atenolol in human plasma and urine is describ ed. After an alkaline preextraction atenolol is extracted from biologi cal material at pH 12.3 using dichloromethane/propan-2-ol. The separat ion of the underivatized enantiomers is achieved by high-performance l iquid chromatography on a chiral stationary phase (Chiralcel OD, cellu lose tris-3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate, coated on silica gel) with fluo rimetric detection. (-)-(S)-Pindolol is used as an internal standard. The detection limits of 5 ng/ml enantiomer in plasma and 50 ng/ml enan tiomer in urine are sufficient for pharmacokinetic studies after thera peutic doses. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.