Rapid determination of X-ray contrast agent iomeprol in human plasma by on-line solid-phase extraction coupled with...

Phase optimized liquid chromatography (POPLC) allows for the optimized combination of column segments of any length and stationary phases with different functionalities. In this study, a simple and rapid method using POPLC coupled with on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) for the analysis of X-ray contrast media agent iomeprol (IOM) in human plasma was developed. Because the phenyl (PH) stationary phase has strong hydrophobic and π-π interactions with IOM and iopromide (IOP, internal standard), the best separation efficiency was achieved with a 250mm×3mm homogenous PH POPLC-column. Different kinds of on-line SPE sorbents were studied, including restricted access material-alkyl diol silica (ADS), LiChrolut EN with excellent absorption capacity and hydrophilic-lipophilic-balanced Oasis HLB. The most efficient on-line sample clean-up was carried out using a fast-flow on-line purification approach with an Oasis HLB pre-column ((20mm×2mm, 30μm). This pre-column showed excellent durability and reproducibility. At least 400 samples could be analyzed with one pre-column. Each plasma sample was directly injected and analyzed within 15min. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 10-1000μg/mL. The limit of quantitation was 2.26μg/mL. The inter-day precision of this method was excellent and less than 1.44%, and the intra-day precision was less than 4.44%. The inter-day and intra-day accuracy ranged from 94.33% to 104.36% and 94.60% to 101.71%, respectively. This validated method is expected to be useful in the analysis of human plasma samples for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurements and assessment of kidney function.