Reversed Phase High - Performance Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of Tricyclic Antidepressants in Plasma

A reversed phase HPLC procedure is described for measuring the plasma concentration of four commonly used tricyclic anti-depressants (TCA): amitriptyline, desipramine, imipramine and nortriptyline in the range of 25 to 800ng per ml. The procedure involves rapid extraction, and HPLC analysis using a μBondapak C-18 column at 50°C, and a 254nm detector. Coefficients of variation are less than 5% for within run, and 7% for day-to-day experiments. Detection limits are: desipramine -0.5ng, nortriptyline or imipramine -0.6ng, and amitriptyline -0.7ng. Propoxyphene interferes with amitriptyline while chlorpromazine interferes with clomipramine. The procedure is easily adapted for clinical drug monitoring of TCA.