Determination of acetaminophen concentrations in serum by high-pressure liquid chromatography

We describe a method for determination of serum acetaminophen concentrations in serum by reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. The homolog N-propionyl-p-aminophenol was used as an internal standard. The procedure, which requires only a single extraction with diethyl ether, can be optimized to be linear over the ranges of 10 to 100 or 1 to 20 mg/liter. Within-run CV was 1.2%; between-run CV was 4.4% and 4.9% at two different concentrations. Many commonly used drugs were tested and found not to interfere. The procedure is simple and rapid enough for use on an emergency basis in cases of overdosage, and can be optimized for measurement of either therapeutic or toxic concentrations.