Determination of pirprofen in biological material by gas-liquid chromatography with nitrogen-specific and...

Pirprofen, 2-[3-chloro-4-(3- pyrrolin -1-yl)phenyl]propionic acid, is an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent. Most of the pirprofen is present in plasma in the unchanged form (80-90%), the remainder in the form of the pyrrole derivative. However, pyrrole is also formed during sample manipulation by oxidation of pirprofen. Thus, a method based on conversion of pirprofen to pyrrole by oxidation with 2,3- dicyano -5,6- dichlorobenzoquinone and subsequent measurement of the total pyrrole concentration was developed. The method is based on the introduction of an internal standard, extraction and esterification followed by oxidation. The methyl ester of the pyrrole is then determined by gas-liquid chromatography. A nitrogen-specific detector is generally used. However, for small sample sizes (0.1 ml of plasma), an electron-capture detector may be utilized. With this detector measurements of concentrations as low as 0.02 nmol/g (5 ng/g) are still possible. The kinetics of the degradation of pirprofen to its pyrrole derivative were investigated. Plasma levels of pirprofen after a single oral dose of 400 mg in a healthy volunteer were measured by a method described previously as well as by the new method.