A Simplified Method for the Determination of Methylglyoxal Bis(Guanylhydrazone), Mgbg, in Biological Fluids by Reversed-Phase Ion-Pair HPLC

Abstract

Methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone, MGBG, is described as an important agent in the fight against certain types of leukemia and other proliferative processes.

For this study, we developed a paired-ion HPLC method in order to measure MGBG concentrations in serum and urine samples. MGBG recovery in serum and urine being 95–98%, ultrafiltered samples were then injected onto a C₁₈ column and eluted isocratically with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of phosphate buffer 0.05 M, pH = 3.0, methanol (80:20) and 1.0 mM sodium heptane sulfonate, with UV (280 nm) detection. The lower limit of MGBG detection was 1.0 μg/ml in urine and 0.1 μg/ml in serum.