Direct determination of methamphetamine enantiomers in urine by liquid chromatography with a strong cation-exchange precolumn and phenyl-beta-cyclodextrin-bonded semi-microcolumn

Methamphetamine enantiomers in drug abusers' urine were clearly separated b y semi-microcolumn liquid chromatography using a column-switching system. T he system consists of two separation processes: firstly, a strong cation-ex change precolumn removes neutral and anionic substances in urine, and then methamphetamine enantiomers trapped in the column are transferred to and se parated in a phenyl-P-cyclodextrin-bonded semi-microcolumn (Chiral Drug(TM) , 150 mmx1.5 mm I.D.). (S)-(+)-Methamphetamine was baseline separated from (R)-(-)-methamphetamine within 25 min, directly from urine samples. The det ection limit for both enantiomers was 0.1 mu g/ml. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights reserved.