Simultaneous analysis of acetaminophen, p-aminophenol and aspirin metabolites by hydrophilic interaction and strong anion exchange capillary liquid chromatography coupled to amperometric detection.

A simple and sensitive method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of polar nonsteroidal pharmaceuticals and metabolites, including acetaminophen, p-aminophenol and several aspirin metabolites (salicylic acid, gentisic acid, salicyluric acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid), by capillary liquid chromatography with amperometric detection. Using a capillary monolithic column with mixed mode stationary phases and a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and Tris buffer, rapid separation of six polar analytes was achieved within 8 min, and a hydrophilic interaction and strong anion exchange separation mechanism were exhibited. Method detection limits of six analytes ranged from 10 to 50 ng/mL. In terms of precision, the intra- and interday relative standard deviation values in all analytes never exceeded 3.1% for migration time and 8.9% for peak areas, respectively. This method provided a simple, rapid and cost-effective approach for the analysis of polar pharmaceuticals. The applicability of the method in pharmacokinetics was verified by spiking human serum samples with the compounds and analyzing the recoveries.