A method for differentiation and analysis of quinine and quinidine by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A method is presented for the positive identification of quinine and quinidine. The method requires extraction of the compounds from an alkaline solution into an organic solvent and concentration of the sample by evaporation of the solvent. The sample is chromatographed without derivatization and may be detected by the flame ionization detector (FID) or mass spectrometry (MS). Limits of sensitivity are less than 5 ng per assay for the underivatized compounds. Analysis of urine extracts is discussed.