Tricyclic Antidepressant Analysis by Reversed Phase Liquid Chromato-Graphy Using Phenyl Columns

Tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) analysis by reversed-phase liquid chromatography was achieved by a novel approach using two mini phenyl columns (4.5 × 50 mm). Analyses were organized into two drug groups: 1. n-desmethyl doxepin, doxepin, nortriptyline and amitriptyline, and 2. desipramine and imipramine. Sample preparation was modified from a published procedure (Wong and McCauley, J. Liq. Chrornatogr., 4, 849 (1981), using n-hexane/isoanyl alcohol (99:1) as the organic extractant, followed by back-extracting with dil. phosphoric acid. Both steps were carried out by using polypropylene tubes to minimize adsorptive