ISOLATION OF MAPROTILYNE FROM BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS

Abstract

Introduction. Recently, the incident depression morbidity has shown a steady increasing trend thus the number of poisonings with antidepressant drugs is growing. Analytical aspects of the toxicology of Maprotilyne, an antidepressant medication, are not sufficiently developed.The aim of this study was to develop the conditions for Maprotilyne isolation from blood and urine by liquid-liquid extraction technique.Research Methods. Model samples of human biological fluids spiked with Maprotilyne were studied in the research. The antidepressant was isolated from blood and urine by the method of liquid-liquid extraction with methylene chloride from an alkaline aqueous medium at pH 9 in the presence of ammonium sulphate as a salting-out agent. Biogenic co-extractive impurities from biological fluids were removed by extraction with hexane from an acidic medium at pH 1. The red blood cell mass was pre-precipitated by adding 10% trichloroacetic acid solution. The quantitative content of the drug in the extracts was determined using the UV spectrophotometry method after additional TLC purification.Results and Discussion. Detection of Maprotilyne in the extracts from biological fluids was carried out by UV spectra, which coincided with the standard solution of the antidepressant being studied in 0.1 M hydrochloric acid solution and had light absorption maxima at wavelengths of 265±2 and 272±2 nm.Quantitative determination of the drug in the extracts was performed using the equation of the calibration curve y=(0.00320±5Ч10-5)Чx+(0.03±0.01), which was linear in the range of analyte concentrations of 20.0– 360.0 μg/mL. The recovery of Maprotyline from blood was 49.3±3.5% and from urine it was equal to 82.6±2.2%.Conclusions. Effective methods for Maprotilyne isolation from blood and urine using liquid-liquid extraction in the presence of ammonium sulphate as a salting-out agent have been developed. The suitability of the UV spectrophotometry method for Maprotilyne determination in the biological fluids has been proven, which was confirmed by a number of the validation parameters relating to the expected content of the antidepressant being studied in the biological fluids in fatal poisonings. The results obtained can be used for forensic toxicological examinations in acute and fatal poisonings with antidepressant drugs.