Quantitative analysis of quinidine analogs using ion-pairing HPLC

Quinidine, a useful antiarrhythmic compound, is usually contaminated with dihydroquinidine, a compound that itself shows potent antiarrhythmic activity. Complete hydrogenation of quinidine followed by conversion to dihydroquinidine derivatives was explored as a basis for eliminating the analytical problems inherent in the quality control of quinidine products and for determining their pharmacological potency and pharmacokinetic parameters without interfering impurities. Attempts to resolve the quinidine analogs, dihydrocupreidine, and its benzoyloxy ester failed with normal and reversed-phase chromatography. Ion-pairing chromatography using n-octanesulfonate in methanol:water proved successful. Using 9-hydroxy-4-methoxy acridine as internal standard, separation and quantitation of the dihydroquinidine analogs from spiked plasma samples was achieved with 92 to 95% efficiency.