Determination of captopril and its mixed disulphides in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed which enables sensitive determination of captopril and its mixed disulphides in plasma and urine after oral administration of a new antihypertensive agent, 1-(D-3-acetylthio-2-methylpropanoyl)-L-prolyl-L-phenylalanine (DU-1219, I). Captopril is derivatized with a new reagent, N-(4-benzoylphenyl)maleimide and the derivative is extracted with chloroform and assayed using a liquid chromatograph equipped with an ultraviolet detector at 254 nm. Mixed disulphides of captopril with thiol compounds such as cysteine, glutathione and plasma proteins are reduced with tributylphosphine to form captopril, followed by derivatization with N-(4-benzoylphenyl)maleimide. Accurate determinations are possible over a concentration range of 10-500 ng/ml captopril in plasma, and 100-2500 ng/ml captopril in urine. The coefficients of variation of captopril in plasma (200 ng/ml) and urine (500 ng/ml) are 3.7% and 2.6%, respectively, and those of mixed disulphides of captopril are similar to those of captopril. Plasma levels and urinary excretion of captopril and its mixed disulphides in healthy volunteers following single oral administration of I (50 mg) have also been determined.