A rapid electron-capture gas chromatographic procedure for the analysis of p-hydroxymephenytoin

An electron-capture gas chromatographic procedure was developed for detection and quantification of p-hydroxymephenytoin (OHMEP), a metabolite of S-mephenytoin, in human liver microsomal preparations. OHMEP was derivatized with pentafluorobenzoyl chloride (PFBC) under basic aqueous conditions prior to analysis on a gas chromatograph equipped with a capillary column and an electron-capture detector. Dextrorophan was carried through the procedure as internal standard. The structure of the PFB derivative was confirmed using combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The procedure is rapid and reproducible and produces a stable derivative that has excellent chromatographic properties. The limit of detection was less than 5 ng/ml, and the method was applied to extracts of human liver microsomes, which had been incubated with S-mephenytoin [a probe substrate for cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19].