Improved HPLC method for the determination of ribavirin concentration in red blood cells and its application in patients with COVID‐19

Abstract

Ribavirin is a synthetic, broad‐spectrum antiviral drug. Ribavirin is recommended as an antiviral drug in the Interim Guidance for Diagnosis and Treatment (the seventh edition) of COVID‐19. The ribavirin levels in red blood cells may be closely related to both its efficacy and adverse drug reactions. In this study, a simple and fast HPLC–UV method was established to determine the concentrations of total ribavirin in the red blood cells of 13 patients with COVID‐19. Phosphorylated ribavirin was dephosphorylated by phosphatase incubation to obtain the total amount of ribavirin in red blood cells. The chromatographic column was an Atlantis C18. The recoveries were 85.45–89.05% at three levels. A good linear response was from 1 to 200 μg/ml, with a correlation coefficient of r2 = 0.9991. The concentration of total ribavirin in the red blood cells of the patients ranged from 30.83 to 133.34 μg/ml. The same samples without phosphatase incubation ranged from 4.07 to 20.84 μg/ml. About 85% of ribavirin was phosphorylated in red blood cells. In addition, we observed changes in these patients' hematological parameters and found that the erythrocyte, hemoglobin and hematocrit declined to the lowest levels on the fifth day after discontinuation of ribavirin (p < 0.05).

Crystallization Selectivity of Ribavirin Solution and Amorphous Phase

“…Ribavirin (C 8 H 12 N 4 O 5 , 1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-lH-1, 2, 4-triazole-3-carboxamide, CAS: 36791-04-5, Figure 1) is a broad-spectrum nucleoside antiviral drug and was recommended in the Interim Guidance for Diagnosis and Treatment (Seventh Edition) of COVID-19 [20]. The molecular structure of ribavirin contains flexible ribofuranosyl and rigid triazole structures.…”

RP-HPLC Method for Simultaneously Quantifying the Antiviral Drug Contents of Acyclovir, Amantadine, and Oseltamivir in Pharmaceutical Formulations

“…Using UPLC BEH Amide and Agilent SB-Aq columns, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) [25,26] was utilized to determine acyclovir, amantadine, and oseltamivir in chicken tissues and muscle. Multiple methods have been developed for detecting antiviral medicines in bodily fluids [27,28]. Using Diamonsil-5 m and Novaflex C18 columns and HPLC with fluorescence and ultraviolet detection, antiviral drugs in human plasma were determined [29][30][31] using fluorescence and ultraviolet detection.…”