Application of 2-halopyridinium salts as ultraviolet derivatization reagents and solid-phase extraction for determination of captopril in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of captopril in human plasma. 1-Benzyl-2-chloropyridinium bromide (BCPB) was used as a precolumn derivatizing reagent. The mercapto group of captopril was arylated by the reagent to generate a stable UV-sensitive product. The derivative was solid-phase extracted (SPE), separated on a C18 column using reversed-phase ion-paring chromatography and monitored by a spectrophotometric detector at 314 nm. The method enabled sensitive determination of captopril and its disulphides in human plasma in patients after oral administration. Disulphides of captopril with captopril itself and with endogenous thiol compounds are reduced with triphenylphosphine to form captopril, followed by derivatization with the same reagent. The quantification limit was 10 ng/ml. Calibration curves were prepared for human plasma samples spiked with captopril and captopril disulphide. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 10 to 500 ng/ml for captopril and 10 to 1000 ng/ml for captopril disulphide.