Automated determination of fluvoxamine in plasma by column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography

A column-switching system with high-performance liquid-chromatographic separation and ultraviolet detection is described for automated determination of fluvoxamine in human plasma or serum. Samples were injected and the drug was retained in a clean-up column [20 x 4.6 mm (i.d.)] filled with C8 reversed-phase material (10-micron particles). After unwanted material was washed out, the drug was eluted and separated with an analytical chromatography column, 4.6 x 250 mm (i.d.), filled with Nucleosil 100 CN (5-micron particles) with an acetonitrile:methanol:0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer eluent (188:578:235 by vol) at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min for < 20 min and detected by spectrometry at 214 nm. With oxaprotiline as internal standard, fluvoxamine could be easily quantified, and it was well separated from endogenous plasma constituents and various psychoactive drugs. The detection limit was 10 micrograms/L (31.6 nmol/L), the analytical recoveries were 97-100%, and the relationship between drug concentration and detector response was linear from 0 to 1000 micrograms/L (3160 nmol/L). The automated method is suitable for therapeutic monitoring of fluvoxamine in the treatment of psychiatric patients.