Quantification of Tricyclic and Nontricyclic Antidepressants in Spiked Plasma and Urine Samples Using Microextraction in Packed Syringe and Analysis by LC and GC-MS

A simple, fast, selective and very sensitive method based on sample preparation by the relatively new technique of microextraction in a packed syringe (MEPS) and analysis by liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the simultaneous determination of antidepressant drugs (amitriptyline, imipramine, clomipramine, mirtazapine and citalopram) was developed. MEPS is a new miniaturized, solid-phase extraction (SPE) technique that can be connected to LC or GC without any modifications. It is very easy to use, fully automated, inexpensive, quick and uses very small amounts (in mu L) of organic solvents. Drugs are extracted using the MEPS technique followed by their analysis using LC-UV and GC-MS. Limits of detection were in the range of 0.088-0.284 ng mL(-1) on GC-MS and between 0.133 and 0.360 ng mL(-1) on LC-UV. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate MEPS as a new sample preparation technique for antidepressant drugs using chromatographic methods to detect these drugs in human plasma and urine samples.