Fully automated on-line quantification of quetiapine in human serum by solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography

A quantitative method for determination of quetiapine (QTP) in human serum is presented. The method is fully automated and based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line solid phase extraction (SPE). The extraction procedure is based on a C2 cartridge, which is eluted with methanol. The eluate is injected onto a silica column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol:20 MM NH4CH3COO, pH 5.0 (99: 1). Quetiapine is quantified by ultra-violet (UV) absorbance at 257 nM with trifluoperazine as the internal standard (I.S.). The extraction recoveries for quetiapine and trifluoperazine were 69 and 57%, respectively. The total inter day coefficient of variation was 11.1, 3.8 and 3.1 % at 20, 500 and 1000 nM, respectively. The detection limit was 10.3 nM quetiapine. The method has been used in our therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) laboratory where co-administered drugs often are observed. In an investigation of analytical interference from co-administered drugs, demethyl-mianserine was the only drug which interfered with the internal standard. There was no interference with quetiapine itself. The method showed good agreement with mass spectrometric quantification of quetiapine. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.