An HPLC method for the quantitation of quinidine and its metabolites in plasma: an application to a quinidine-phenytoin drug interaction study.

A rapid and simple method is described for the separation of quinidine (Q), its metabolites 3-hydroxyquinidine (30HQ) and 2'oxoquinidinone (QD) as well as the quinidine salt contaminant, dihydroquinidine (DHQ) in plasma by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). A silica column was used with methanol: 1 N ammonium nitrate: 2 N ammonium hydroxide (28:1:1 v/v) as the mobile phase to separate the compounds and a fluorescence spectrophotometer for detection. Application of this method is demonstrated by the analysis of human plasma samples collected from a volunteer during a phenytoin-quinidine drug interaction study.