Extraction of Anthracyclines from Biological Fluids for HPLC Evaluation

Abstract

A new technique for the extraction of anthracyclines and their metabolites from plasma or serum is described, which gives suitable extracts for HPLC analysis of these drugs in patients. This technique consists in a very rapid chromatographic step on the bonded silica contained in small open columns (C-18 Sep-Paks, Waters Associates). This extraction gives quantitative recoveries of all the anthracyclines and metabolites that have been tested; 0.2 to 3 ml of plasma can be processed, with concentrations up to 5,000 ng/ml. The advantages of this technique over classical techniques using an organic extraction with a partition between two phases are: speed, simplicity, efficacy, reproducibility and similarity of recoveries for various anthracyclines.