Development of a Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatographic Method with Indirect UV Detection for Pregabalin Determination in Serum Samples

Background: A micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC)/ indirect UV detection method with hydrodynamic and electrokinetic injection has been developed for the determination of pregabalin in the serum samples. Methods: Separation of the drug was achieved on Agilent capillary electrophorese in less than 5 min using a 50 cm × 75 μm i.d. uncoated fused-silica capillary and a background electrolyte (BGE) consisting of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA, 10 mmol L^-1), cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, 1 mmol L^-1) and tri-sodium citrate (4% w/v). The influence of various parameters on the separation such as separation voltage, injection time, cassette temperature, pH of BGE and organic modifier was investigated. Results: Method validation shown good linearity (R² 0.999) in the range of 1.5-100 μg mL^-1 of pregabalin. A limit of detection (LOD) of 0.8 μg mL^-1 and a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 2.6 μg mL^-1 were reported for pregabalin. Conclusion: The proposed method was found to be suitable and accurate for the determination of pregabalin in serum samples.