High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of busulfan in plasma

Abstract

KeyWordsColumn liquid chromatography Normal-phase chromatography Busulfan in plasma Derivatization with diethyldithiocarbamate SummaryBusulfan (Myleran; 1,4-bis-(methanesulfonyloxy) butane; BU) is a bifunctional alkylating agent used in clinical practice since 1959. It is currently included at high doses in conditioning regimens for bone marrow transplantation, usually in combination with cyclo-phosphamide. A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of BU in plasma. The basis of the assay is a derivatization with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate at 32 ~ C in the presence of 1-bromo-l-deoxy-3,6-anhydrogalactitol as internal standard. Analysis is performed on a cyano column with heptane-isopropanol-glacial acetic acid as mobile phase and UV detection at 280 nm. The calibration graph was linear in the concentration range 0.18 46.40 #M BU in plasma. The limit of detection was 0.1/tM. The precision and accuracy were between the limits required by good laboratory practice.