Optimization for detection of flunarizine by high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray/mass spectrometry

This paper describes a newly developed high performance liquid chromatograp hy/electrospray/mass spectrometry (HPLC/ES/MS) method for the determination of flunarizine (FZ) in artificial cerebrospinal fluid. The optimization fo r the detection of FZ in biological fluid by LC/ES/MS was investigated,The effects of solvent composition, the addition of modifier and flow rate on t he detection of FZ by ES/MS were examined. The detection limit of this meth od (similar to 0.8 nM) proved to be much better than previously reported me thods. Satisfactory accuracy (98.2-106.0%) of this newly developed method w as obtained. The application of this method was demonstrated by analyzing F Z in rat microdialysis samples. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.