Determination of propofol in human serum by HPLC using a semi-micro bore column and a column-switching technique

• Published in: BUNSEKI KAGAKU Vol. 46; no. 4; pp. 301 - 305
• Main Authors: HASHIMOTO, Yoshimi, CHIBA, Ryoko, KOBAYASHI, Yoshimi, MORIYAMA, Hiroyuki, MATSUMOTO, Yoshiaki, TANAKA, Akira, MATSUMOTO, Mitsuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Tokyo The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry 1997; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: column switching; HPLC; human serum; propofol; semi-micro bore column
• ISSN: 0525-1931
• DOI: 10.2116/bunsekikagaku.46.301

An analytical method for the determination of propofol (2, 6-diisopropylphenol) in human serum was investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography using a semimicro bore column and a column-switching technique. The semi-micro bore column {TSKgel ODS-80Ts (2 mm i.d. × 150 mm) } gave a higher peak height (ca. 3.5 folds) compared with that of a conventional column (4.6 mm i.d.). As the result of an examination of some pretreatment columns, higher recoveries of propofol on TSK precolumn BSA-ODS and TSKprecolumn PW were obtained. TSKprecolumn PW was adopted as a pretreatment column, because its less adsorptive ability was considered to be effective in eliminating the hydrophobic compounds in human serum. Under the optimized analytical conditions, the linearity of the calibration curve was obtained over the range of 5300 ng/ml and the detection limit was 1.5 ng/ml (S/N=3). The relative standard deviation against a practical sample was 2.4% (n =6). As a consequence, this method was suggested to be utilized for a highly sensitive quantitative analysis of propofol in human serum of an anesthetized patient.