Determination of terbinafine hydrochloride in cat hair by two chromatographic methods.

Terbinafine hydrochloride (terbHCl) concentration on the site of infection with Microsporum canis is a very important indicator of drug effectiveness. Several chromatographic methods exist that can be used for the determination of terbHCl concentration in biological samples. A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method and a gas chromatographic (GC) method have been compared and critically evaluated for the determination of a terbHCl levels in cat hair. The sensitivity and the linearity of the previously developed HPLC method were 0.25 ng/mL and 0.25-3000 ng/mL, respectively. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.01 microg/g of terbHCl in cat hair, and reproducibility of 96.6% and recovery of 93.8% were achieved using appropriate sample pre-treatment and optimal chromatographic conditions. The sensitivity of the GC method, 25 ng/mL (LOQ 625 ppb), was much lower than that of the HPLC method. The GC method still enables determination of terbHCl in a range of concentrations in cat hair. The reproducibility of terbHCl for the cat hair samples was 95.3% and the recovery was only 70.0%. Both methods can be used for the evaluation of drug effectiveness in cats and both of them require only basic chromatographic equipment that can be found in most analytical laboratories. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.