Fluorimetric quantification of clodronate and alendronate in aqueous samples and in serum

The bisphosphonates clodronate and alendronate are drugs in the therapy of osteoporosis or Paget's disease. They are highly hydrophilic and therefore of low oral bioavailability. Determination methods for bisphosphonates are often laborious and expensive equipment is needed. The presented quantification method based on kinetic measurement of the fluorescence decrease of an Al(3+)-morin complex can be used to determine the bisphosphonate content in aqueous and plasma samples. The intra- and inter-assay accuracies were found to be within 98.8% and 102.3% of the target samples for clodronate and within 97.2% and 105.0% of the target samples for alendronate. The LOQ was defined as 15.6 ng/ml for clodronate and 62.5 ng/ml for alendronate. In serum samples, intra- and inter-assay accuracy was found to be within 99.0% and 101.6% of the target samples for clodronate and within 97.8% and 102.6% of the target samples for alendronate. In serum samples, the LOQ was defined as 1.55 mg/ml for clodronate and 0.39 mg/ml for alendronate. Though less sensitive in serum, the presented method could support research on the development of drug delivery systems in vitro and in vivo for the investigated and other structurally related bisphosphonates.