A new method for high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of drotaverine in plasma.

A sensitive, specific high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure was developed for the determination of plasma drotaverine levels. Basic plasma samples were adjusted to pH 1.5 and extracted with chloroform. HPLC [n-heptane-dichloromethane-diethylamine (50:25:2)] on a microporous silica column, with a variable-wavelength UV detector set at 302 nm allowed the measurement of drotaverine at the 50-ng/mL level. The utility of this method for determination of drotaverine in dog and rat plasma was demonstrated.