S. A. Corlett

Development and validation of an ion-pair liquid chromatographic method for the quantitation of sodium cromoglycate in urine following inhalation

An ion-pair liquid high-performance chromatography method with solid-phase extraction for measuring urinary concentrations of sodium cromoglycate following inhalation has been developed and validated. Sodium cromoglycate was extracted from urine on a 100-mg phenyl cartridge (Isolute, Jones Chromatography) and then quantified on a 25-cm C8 Spherisorb 5 microns stationary phase with a mobile phase of methanol-0.045 M phosphate buffer-0.05 M dodecyl triethyl ammonium phosphate (550:447.6:2.4, v/v) pH 2.3, at 0.85 ml min-1 using nedocromil sodium as an internal standard and UV detection at 238 nm. The inter- and intra-day reproducibilities were 8.33 and 13.63%, respectively, at 0.25 mg l-1. The limit of determination for sodium cromoglycate was 0.25 mg l-1 (with a signal-to-noise ratio of greater than 10:1). Following oral and inhaled administration of 20 mg of sodium cromoglycate to eight healthy volunteers, the mean and S.D. of sodium cromoglycate excreted in the urine at 0.5, 1 and 24 h post-dose were 0.02, 0.05 and 0.33%, and 0.16, 0.30 and 1.55% of the dose, respectively. The urinary recovery of sodium cromoglycate at 0.5 and 1 h following inhalation can therefore be used to compare the amount of drug reaching the respiratory tract using different sodium cromoglycate inhaled products or inhalation methods.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of the enantiomers of cyclophosphamide in serum

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) achiral-chiral coupled assay to measure the serum concentration of the enantiomers of cyclophosphamide is described. The R- and S-enantiomers of cyclophosphamide were quantified using a 5-cm-long C1 Spherisorb 5-microns column, with switching of the eluent containing racemic cyclophosphamide onto a 10-cm-long alpha 1 acid glycoprotein column. The limit of determination was 1.25 mg l-1 for each enantiomer and the ratio of the enantiomers over the range 2.5 to 100 mg l-1 was I. Serum enantiomer concentrations in blood samples taken from patients receiving 0.30 to 0.75 gm-2 of intravenous racemic cyclophosphamide could be measured at least three half-lives post dose. In six patients no significant difference in the clearance of R- and S-cyclophosphamide was found.

Enantiomeric separation of R- and S-ifosfamide and their determination in serum from clinical subjects

A method to measure racemic, R- and S-ifosfamide concentrations from the serum of patients receiving ifosfamide chemotherapy has been developed. The racemic ifosfamide concentrations are quantified on a separate system and then the ratio of the enantiomers is determined using an achiral-chiral coupled system. Racemic ifosfamide is separated on the achiral system using a C1 spherisorb stationary phase and the eluent containing analyte is selectively transferred to the chiral system for separation of the two enantiomers by an alpha 1 glycoprotein column. On both systems the mobile phase is 1% acetonitrite in 0.015 M phosphate buffer (pH 4) at a flow-rate of 1 ml/min. The retention times of S- and R-ifosfamide were 11.6 and 13.0 mins, respectively, with a resolution factor of 1.53. Serum concentrations at least three to four half-lives post-infusion were detected by this method. In ten patients, following a mean +/- S.D. 1-h infusion of 3.9 +/- 0.32 g racemic ifosfamide, the mean +/- S.D. clearances of R- and S-ifosfamide were 0.061 +/- 0.013 and 0.072 +/- 0.014 1 h-1 kg-1.

Determination of the relative bioavailability of nedocromil sodium to the lung following inhalation using urinary excretion

AbstractObjective: To determine the relative lung deposition of nedocromil sodium following inhalation by comparing the amounts of nedocromil sodium excreted in the urine after oral and inhaled dosing. Methods: Ten healthy volunteers swallowed 8 mg of nedocromil and inhaled 4 × 2-mg doses on separate days. Urine was collected at 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 24 h and 36 h after dosing. Urinary excretion of nedocromil was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: A significantly greater amount of nedocromil was excreted following inhalation than after oral dosing. The mean with (SD) amount excreted at 0.5, 1.0 h and 24 h following inhalation of 4 × 2-mg doses was 41.0 (19.5), 93.0 (39.1) and 319.9 (138.1) μg. Corresponding values after oral administration of 8 mg of nedocromil were 2.1 (2.2), 6.3 (4.7) μg and 74.4 (58.8) μg, respectively. Conclusion: Nedocromil excreted in the urine at 0.5 h and 1.0 h after dosing is representative of the amount of drug delivered to the lungs. This method could be used to compare the relative bioavailability to the lungs following inhalation, and hence the performance of different inhaled products and inhalation techniques. The amount of nedocromil excreted in 24 h post-dose is representative of the emitted dose which was delivered to the body.

Validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography assay for urinary nedocromil sodium following oral and inhaled administration

The validation of a solid-phase extraction and an ion pair high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for the determination of nedocromil sodium (NCS) in urine samples following oral and inhaled administration to healthy volunteers is described. NCS and its internal standard sodium cromoglycate (SCG) were extracted from urine samples using solid-phase extraction and then quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A 25-cm C8 Spherisorb 5 microm stationary phase with a mobile phase containing a long alkyl chain ion-pair reagent (methanol-0.045 M phosphate buffer-0.05 M dodecyl triethyl ammonium phosphate; 550:447.6:2.4, v/v) was used. The mean (S.D.) intra-day accuracy and precision of the HPLC assay was 99.9 (1.6) and 7.05 (4.9)%, respectively. These values for the inter-day data were 102.4 (4.07) and 10.5 (2.7)%, respectively, over the concentration range investigated. The method described permits the detection of NCS in human urine at concentrations as low as 0.04 microg ml(-1) where the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 3:1. In 10 healthy volunteers a significantly greater amount of NCS was excreted in the urine following inhalation than after oral dosing (p<0.001). The mean (S.D.) amount of NCS renally excreted at 0.5, 1.0 and 24 h following inhalation of four 2-mg doses of NCS from a metered dose inhaler (MDI) was 0.513 (0.24), 1.163 (0.49) and 4.00 (1.73)% of the nominal dose. Similar values after oral administration of 8 mg of NCS were 0.026 (0.03), 0.079 (0.06) and 0.930 (0.74)%, respectively.