Determination of verapamil and its primary metabolites in serum by ion-pair adsorption high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantitation of verapamil, norverapamil, N-dealkylverapamil (D617) and N-dealkylnorverapamil (D620) concentrations in serum is developed. Analysis is performed on a microparticulate (10 microns) silica column using a counter-ion solvent system (0.6 mM NaBr in methanol). Column effluent is monitored by fluorescence detection at an excitation wavelength of 203 nm. The limit of sensitivity is less than 1 ng for all compounds in serum. No potential sources of interference are identified and a coefficient of variation of less than 10% is observed on replicate verapamil determinations. The method has the advantages of complete resolution of the metabolites of verapamil, low limits of detection, high degree of reproducibility, and short analysis time.