Performance analysis of a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic assay of lamotrigine in plasma using solvent-demixing extraction

A reversed-phase column liquid chromatographic assay is described and validated for lamotrigine, a new anticonvulsant drug. The drug and its internal standard were extracted from plasma into acetonitrile according to a previously described solvent-demixing procedure, separated on LiChrospher 100CN, and measured by ultraviolet absorption at 280 nm. The assay performance was evaluated through analysis of variance and of regression with our usual validation design. The method detects ca. 2 ng (55 micrograms/l x 30 microliters) and shows a linear response with a constant 5% coefficient of variation from 1 to 10 mg/l. It is easy and robust, and seems well suited to therapeutic drug monitoring.