High-Performance Liquid-Chromatographic Analysis of Plasma Iohexol Concentrations

In this study, a high-performance liquid-chromatographic (HPLC) method using photodiode array detection and isocratic conditions was developed for the analysis of plasma iohexol concentrations. Plasma proteins were precipitated with 1:1 volume of plasma and acetonitrile-ethanol-water (60:38.4:1.6, v/v/v). Iohexol concentrations in the supernatant phase were analyzed on a Waters Symmetry C-18 reversed-phase column under isocratic conditions at 245 nm. The extraction recoveries of iohexol from plasma were >95% and the plasma iohexol calibration curves were linear (R(2) ≥ 0.9998) from 10 to 1500 µg/mL. The within-day coefficients of variation (CVs) at plasma iohexol concentrations of 100, 375, 750 and 1500 µg/mL were 5.1, 3.5, 1.3 and 2.5%, respectively; the between-day CVs at 100, 375, 750 and 1500 µg/mL were 8.6, 4.2, 4.0 and 3.7%, respectively. The day-to-day accuracies of the method at plasma iohexol concentrations of 50, 100, 375, 750 and 1500 µg/mL were 89.0, 99.4, 108.4, 103.6 and 101.2%, respectively (n = 5). The lower limit of plasma iohexol quantitation was 10 µg/mL and no interferences >9 µg/mL were found in over 75 pre-dose porcine plasma samples. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by determining the glomerular filtration rates of iohexol in the porcine (Sus scrofa) model.