[Pharmacokinetic study of bupivacaine in mice: proposal of a specific sensitive technic using gas chromatography]

For chronopharmacokinetic investigations on bupivacaine in mice we needed a gas liquid chromatographic (GLC) method with flame ionization detection, sufficiently sensitive, linear and precise: thus we describe in this paper a GLC method adapted from previous findings of Desh and al. A single extraction procedure involving methylene chloride was used with mepivacaine as internal standard. Under the conditions of the assay used, retention times were 3.3 minutes and 6.3 minutes for mepivacaine and bupivacaine, respectively. Repeatability and recovery of the method were good and standard calibration curves were linear in the concentration range studied. The assay described herein has been used to study single dose kinetics of bupivacaine in mice. The method herein described is more sensible and more rapid for the determination of bupivacaine than previous GLC methods.