Trace determination of acetaminophen in serum

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Clinical Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Accurate quantification of acetaminophen in biological samples is crucial for clinical diagnosis and therapeutic drug monitoring.
• Existing methods may lack simplicity, accuracy, or require larger sample volumes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple and accurate method for measuring acetaminophen concentrations in human serum.
• To establish the quantitative range, linearity, and reproducibility of the developed assay.

Main Methods:

• Liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (LC-ECD) was employed for acetaminophen analysis.
• A single liquid-liquid extraction step was utilized for sample preparation.
• N-propionyl-p-aminophenol served as the internal standard for enhanced accuracy.

Main Results:

• The method accurately quantifies acetaminophen in serum samples over a wide concentration range (20 ng/ml to 20 µg/ml).
• The assay demonstrated excellent linearity (correlation coefficient, r = 0.9997).
• High reproducibility was observed, with relative standard deviations (RSD) of 3.0% at 2 µg/ml and 5.1% at 200 ng/ml (n=6).

Conclusions:

• A simple, accurate, and reproducible liquid chromatography method with electrochemical detection for serum acetaminophen measurement has been successfully developed.
• This method is suitable for routine clinical laboratory use, requiring only 100 microliters of serum.
• The assay's performance characteristics support its utility in therapeutic drug monitoring and overdose assessment.