Fast screening method for the determination of angiotensin II receptor antagonists in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection

A selective, accurate and precise high-performance liquid chromatographic assay coupled to fluorescence detection was developed for the detection of some angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARA II): Losartan, Irbesartan, Valsartan, Candesartan cilexetil and its metabolite Candesartan M1. The analytes and the internal standard (bumetanide, a high-ceiling diuretic) were extracted from plasma under acidic conditions by means of solid-phase extraction using C8 cartridges. This procedure allowed recoveries close to 80% for all these drugs excluding Candesartan cilexetil (70%) which presented adsorption processes on glass and plastic walls. The analytes and potential interferences were separated on a reversed-phase column, μBondapak C18, at room temperature. A gradient elution mode was used to carry out the separation, the optimal mobile phase being composed of acetonitrile–5 mM acetate buffer, pH 4, at variable flow-rates (from 1.0 to 1.2 ml/min). Fluorescence detector was set at an excitation wavelength of 250 nm and an emission wavelength of 375 nm. Intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations for all the compounds were lower than 8% except for Losartan (12%) and the method assesses a quite good accuracy (percentage of relative error ∼6% in most of the cases). The limit of quantitation for these compounds was 3 ng/ml for Candesartan cilexetil and M1, 16 ng/ml for Losartan and 50 ng/ml for Irbesartan and Valsartan, which allows their determination at expected plasma concentration levels. This assay method has been successfully applied to plasma samples obtained from hypertensive patients under clinical studies after oral administration of a therapeutic dose of some of these ARA II compounds.