Rapid determination of valproate sodium in serum by gas-liquid chromatography.

A rapid and simple gas-liquid chromatographic procedure is described for the measurement of valproate sodium (sodium di-n-propylacetate) in serum. Valproate is extracted from serum by a micro-extraction method and chromatographed on a 10% Carbowax 6000 column using 2-ethyl-2-methyl-caproic acid as internal standard. The method is capable of measuring at least 2 microgram of valproate per milliliter serum.