Quantitative determination of clozapine in plasma using an environmentally friendly technique

A new method for the determination of clozapine in blood samples, a common antipsychotic drug, has been developed. It is based upon a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique employed as the extraction method together with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry operating in selected ion monitoring (SIM). The method was fully validated including selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision and recovery steps. The limit of quantification was set at 50 ng/mL. Intra and interday accuracy and precision values were lower than 17% at the concentration levels studied. Good recovery results were obtained for all concentrations. The proposed method was satisfactory applied to 10 plasma samples received at the Forensic Toxicology Service of the Forensic Science Institute of Santiago de Compostela, obtaining results within the therapeutic range. The results showed the usefulness of the analysis in any forensic toxicology laboratory and the posibility of determining clozapine in the presence of other drugs or drugs or abuse.

Automated summary

A new method for determining clozapine in blood samples has been developed, which combines dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The method has been fully validated and demonstrated to have high accuracy and precision. It can be applied in forensic toxicology laboratories for analysis.