High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of propafenone and 5-hydroxypropafenone in human serum.

A simple, rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of propafenone and 5-hydroxypropafenone in human serum is described. Method involves a single-step extraction of the drug and its metabolite with dichloromethane:2-propanol (4:1 v/v) mixture from 0.2 ml of serum. Separation of the investigated compounds on deactivated Supelcosil LC18-DB column is accomplished by ultraviolet detection at 210 nm. The limit of detection is 10 ng/ml for propafenone and 4 ng/ml for 5-hydroxypropafenone. The method is useful for the routine monitoring of propafenone and its main metabolite in serum as well as for the pharmacokinetic studies.