Quantitative analysis of trifluoroacetate in the urine and blood by isotachophoresis

Trifluoroacetate (TFA), the major metabolite of halothane, was assayed by a newly developed isotachophoretic technique. This technique has several advantages over the presently used methods of analysis. It requires no special preparation of urine or blood samples. The sample volume is small (5--100 microliters) and the analysis time is short (30--90 min per sample). In addition, the method provides an analysis that is both qualitative and quantitative over a wide range of concentrations (from 2 nanomoles in 200 microliters to 200 nanomoles in 5 microliters). In this study, the assay was performed using HCl (0.001 M) in 1 per cent Triton X-100, titrated with beta-alanine to a pH value of 3.6--3.9 as the leading electrolyte and n-caproic acid (0.01 M) as the terminal electrolyte (50--100 muA migration current). Using this technique, daily urinary TFA excretion of seven patients was measured during halothane anesthesia and for 14 days postoperatively. The TFA values were highest on the second postoperative day (317--1,259 mg). The mean values of the urinary TFA excreted during the entire study (2,501 +/- 493 mg, mean +/- SEM) were much higher than those reported previously. The isotachophoretic technique provides a sensitive assay for future research into the biotransformation of halothane.