Narrow-bore high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of cetirizine in human plasma using column switching.

An improved column switching high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for determination of cetirizine in human plasma. Plasma samples were prepared by liquid-liquid extraction using methylene chloride. The samples extracted were initially injected into a clean-up Capcell Pak MF C8 column and the peaks of cetirizine and internal standard were separated to an analytical C18 micro-column via column switching device. This analysis showed highly sensitive and selective results. Also, it was successfully applied to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of cetirizine in human volunteers after single oral administration.