Quantitative determination of low levels of daunomycin and daunomycinol in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the measurement of daunomycin and its main metabolite, daunomycinol, at low concentrations in plasma is described. Quantitative determinations were obtained by the use of adriamycin, another cystostatic anthracycline antibiotic, as an internal standard. The separations were carried out on a 5-mum silica microsphere column with a quaternary solvent mixture as eluent. The components in the eluted peaks were detected by visible absorption at 490 nm and there were no interfering peaks. The advantages of the method are specificity, sensitivity, minimal pre-analysis sample work-up and small sample size. The method is sensitive for plasma levels of daunomycin and daunomycinol above 10 ng/ml. Experimental animal data are presented to illustrate the application of the method.