[Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic determination of propofol in human plasma]

An RP-HPLC method is described for the assay of propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol), a new anesthesia drug, in human plasma. Protein in sample was precipitated with methanol, followed by extraction of propofol with cyclohexane. Both propofol and the internal standard thymol were derivatized with Gibbs' reagent and then chromatographed on an ODS column (Ultrasphere, 250 mm x 4.6 mm i.d.) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water-trifluoroacetic acid (80:20:0.1) and UV detection at 276 nm. The detectable limit of propofol was 24.8 microg/L (S/N>2) and calibration curves were linear between 50 to 1500 microg/L (r=0.9991). The average coefficient of variation was 6.1%.