Determination of centpropazine and its metabolite in rat serum by high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection

A new HPLC assay method was developed for the simultaneous assay for centpr opazine (antidepressant) and its hydroxylated metabolite (II) to assess the ir pharmacokinetics and metabolism characteristics. Rat serum samples were extracted with ether, backwashed with n-hexane and injected onto the HPLC s ystem, which used a C-18 column, gradient elution and fluorescence detectio n at 250 Ex/350 nm Em. Variations in intra- and inter-batch accuracy and pr ecision were within acceptable limits of <+/-20% at low and <+/-15% at high er concentrations. Samples were stable in autosampler prior to injection an d after multiple freeze-thaw cycles. Linearity was observed between 0.625 a nd 20 ng/ml for both I and II in serum. Overall the method developed was hi ghly sensitive and could be employed for a wide range of studies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.