Therapeutic Diazepam Monitoring in Human Plasma and Urine by HPLC: An Application for Alcoholism
April 1st 2009A rapid and simple high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with basic extraction assays was developed to investigate free diazepam levels in the plasma and urine samples of patients medicated with this drug for the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The HPLC analysis was optimized and evaluated for linearity, imprecision, recovery, detection and quantification limits. The method showed linearity between 50–500 ng/mL (r2 ≥ 0.990). Coefficients of variations (%CV) were calculated to be in the range of 1.77–9.60. According to ICH guidelines, theoretical limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for plasma and urine were calculated as 8.3 ng/mL, 27.5 ng/mL and 8.2 ng/mL, 26 ng/mL respectively. Diazepam monitoring in plasma and urine displayed remarkable variations. The importance of adjusting doses according to individual requirements and the routine monitoring of plasma or urine for patients under medication is highlighted.