Rapid determination by high performance liquid chromatography of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate in plasma stored in plastic bags.

A rapid sensitive technique was developed for the analysis of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in plasma stored in plastic bags by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection and a Hypersil ODS column. The compound was easily and efficiently extracted with a mixture of sodium hydroxide and acetonitrile, which allowed the deproteinization of plasma samples. The recovery was greater than 95% and the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were better than 6.5%. The results obtained showed that the amount of DEHP accumulated in plasma varied according to different parameters and depended on the storage conditions (time, temperature and shaking) and also on the lipid content of the stored plasma and the sterilization process of the PVC bags.