The use of graphitized carbon black in solid phase extraction: comparison with C18 bonded silica gel

Preliminary studies on the properties of a commercially available graphitized carbon black for the solid-phase (or liquid-solid) extraction of drugs and metabolites from biological fluids such as urine and plasma are described. A variety of basic drugs, all of the beta-blocker type, were efficiently extracted from dog plasma and subsequently recovered from the adsorbent using chloroform-methanol mixtures. Similarly metabolites of the non-steroidal anti-flammatory drug ibuprofen also were efficiently extracted from human urine. The proportions of methanol and chloroform used for elution were found to be critical to ensure complete recoveries of adsorbed material. Proton NMR studies of the column eluates from both carbon and C18 bonded silica gel extraction cartridges revealed differences in capacity and selectivity following the application of ibuprofen containing metabolite samples.