Determination of nitroimidazoles in biological fluids by differential pulse polarography

A sensitive differential pulse polarographic assay was developed for the determination of metronidazole, ornidazole, and 2-nitro-1H-imidazole-1-(3-methoxy-2-propanol) in plasma. The compounds are selectively extracted into ethyl acetate from a protein-free filtrate of plasma, buffered to pH 7.0 +/- 0.2. The residue of the ethyl acetate extract is dissolved in 0.1 N NaOH and analyzed by differential pulse polarography for the reduction of the nitro group at approximately -0.600 v versus the saturated calomel electrode. The overall recovery from plasma was about 55 +/- 3.0% (SD) for the three compounds investigated. A TLC step after the ethyl acetate extraction may also be included to ensure specificity. This step reduced the overall recovery to approximately 45%. The sensitivity limit of detection from plasma using a 2-ml sample is 0.1 mug/ml. The assay may also be employed for the analysis of urine. The urine is adjusted to pH 7.0 +/- 0.2 and extracted with ethyl acetate, and the residue is analyzed as described for plasma. The assay was applied to the determination of ornidazole in blood and urine in the dog following 10 mg/kg po.