Determination of pethidine in plasma by electron capture gas chromatography after reaction with trichloroethyl chloroformate.

Pethidine (meperidine) is determined in plasma by electron capture gas chromatography after derivatization with trichloroethyl chloroformate. The analytical procedure involves extraction of pethidine and the internal standard from plasma and their separation from metabolites by partition chromatography. After purification of the eluate, the derivatization is accomplished with trichloroethyl chloroformate in the presence of anhydrous sodium carbonate. The reaction mixture is further purified with methanolic alkali before gas chromatographic analysis. Optimum conditions for extraction and derivatization, as well as the sensitivity and selectivity of the method are discussed. Owing to the high sensitivity the pethidine levels are determined in 0.1 ml of plasma. The smallest amount of pethidine determined by the method was 100 ng/ml. The relative standard deviation at the 50-ng level of pethidine added to 0.1 ml of plasma was 5.8%(n =8).