Journal of Analytical & Bioanalytical Techniques
Open Access

Research Article

Simultaneous Quantification of Propofol and its Non-Conjugated Metabolites in Several Biological Matrices Using Gas Chromatography/Ion Trap – Mass Spectrometry Method

¹CITAB - Centro de Investigação e de Tecnologias Agro-Ambientais e Biológicas, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal and LAS - Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, nº 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal

²REQUIMTE – Toxicological Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

³CESPU, Institute of Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences (ISCS-N), Rua Central de Gandra 1317, 4585-116, Gandra PRD, Portugal

⁴REQUIMTE - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University Nova of Lisbon, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal

*Corresponding Author:

Sónia Campos
REQUIMTE – Toxicological Laboratory, Biological Science Department
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira
228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351 22 0428000(ext. 8796)
E-mail: soniapatcampos@gmail.com

Paula Guedes de Pinho
REQUIMTE – Toxicological Laboratory, Biological Science Department
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira
228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351 22 0428000 (ext.8796)
E-mail: pguedes@ff.up.pt

Received date: May 27, 2014; Accepted date: June 30, 2014; Published date: July 02, 2014

Citation: Campos S, Monteiro J, Antunes L, Branco PS, Ferreira LM, et al. (2014) Simultaneous Quantification of Propofol and its Non-Conjugated Metabolites in Several Biological Matrices Using Gas Chromatography/Ion Trap – Mass Spectrometry Method. J Anal Bioanal Tech 5: 195. doi: 10.4172/2155-9872.1000195

Copyright: © 2014 Campos S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Propofol is an important compound used for anaesthetic purposes in clinical practice. Nevertheless, in the recent years, the use of propofol has also been reported for recreational, abusive or even for suicidal and criminal purposes. So far, there is a lack of practical techniques validated for simultaneous quantification of propofol and its non-conjugated metabolites (2,6-diispropyl-1,4-quinol and 2,6-diispropyl-1,4-quinone) in plasma and organs, to optimize therapeutics, to prevent undesired effects, and for application in forensic settings.
A simple gas chromatography/ Ion trap – mass spectrometry method was optimized for the detection and quantification of propofol and its non-conjugated metabolites in plasma and organ (liver, heart, kidney and lungs) samples. All compounds were simultaneously extracted from 0.5 mL of plasma and 0.2 g of each organ, following a straightforward and rapid procedure using thymol as internal standard. This method was validated according to international guidelines for analytical methods.
The standard curve ranged from 0.005 to 100 μg/mL for propofol and 0.005 to 50 μg/mL for the non-conjugated metabolites. Intra and inter-assay variability for propofol and its metabolites was less than 15% and the average recovery was greater than 90%. The proof of applicability of this methodology allowed the successful measurement of propofol and its non-conjugated metabolites in plasma and solid tissues from seven New Zealand White rabbits that were submitted to a long-term anaesthesia protocol with a continuous infusion of propofol ranging from 20 to 60 mg/kg/h.
This optimized and validated assay may also be suitable in the monitoring of sedated or anaesthetised animals and humans with continuous infusions of propofol and for use in pharmacokinetic and toxicological studies.

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