Bioanalytical method development for quantification of ulifloxacin, fenbufen and felbinac in rat plasma by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and HPLC with PDA detection

A procedure based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with PDA detection has been developed for the analysis of multiple drugs in rat plasma. The analytes evaluated were ulifloxacin, fenbufen and felbinac. Eight different solid phase extraction cartridges were tested to evaluate their applicability for the isolation of drugs from rat plasma. Comparison were recovery of different drugs and reproducibility. The samples were analyzed by HPLC using a Kinetex C18 EVO column and acetonitrile-10 mM ammonium acetate-methanol as the mobile phase under gradient elution conditions. SPE combined with HPLC-PDA allowed the determination of drugs over a linear range of 0.05-15 μg/mL for ulifloxacin while 0.5-50 μg/mL for felbinac and fenbufen, with limit of detection at 0.05 for ulifloxacin and 0.5 for felbinac and fenbufen. Bond Elut Plexa sorbent was found to provide the most effective clean-up, removing the greatest amount of interfering substance and simultaneously ensuring analyte recoveries higher than 93.54% with relative standard deviation (RSD) <10%. The method was applied with good accuracy and precision in the determination of ulifloxacin, fenbufen and felbinac in rat plasma obtained from rats treated with selected drugs. This method permits its application to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of these analytes and will facilitate detailed investigations on the interactions between new fluoroquinolones and fenbufen.