A rapid, specific, and sensitive method for the determination of acetylation phenotype using dapsone

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacokinetics
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Dapsone and its metabolite monoacetyldapsone are essential drugs with varying pharmacokinetics.
• Determining acetylator phenotype is critical for personalized dapsone therapy.
• Existing methods for drug quantification in plasma may lack simplicity, specificity, or speed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel, rapid, and specific high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay.
• To quantify dapsone and monoacetyldapsone concentrations in human plasma samples.
• To establish a reliable method for acetylator phenotype determination in population studies.

Main Methods:

• Plasma samples (1 mL) were extracted using ethyl ether at alkaline pH.
• A reversed-phase 5-microm C8 analytical column was employed for separation.
• Quantification was performed using HPLC with UV detection at 286 nm, with a flow rate of 1 mL/min.

Main Results:

• The developed HPLC method demonstrated acceptable precision, linearity, and limit of quantitation.
• The assay is specific for dapsone and monoacetyldapsone in human plasma.
• The method proved adequate for routine use in pharmacokinetic and population studies.

Conclusions:

• A simple, rapid, and specific HPLC assay for dapsone and monoacetyldapsone in human plasma has been successfully developed.
• This validated method is suitable for determining the acetylator phenotype in large population studies.
• The assay provides a valuable tool for therapeutic drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic research.