Derivatization techniques for automated chromatographic analysis of amphetamine using o-phthaldialdehyde:: a comparative study

The potential of different chromatographic systems for automated, on-line analysis of amphetamine in biological fluids is illustrated. The various systems integrate analyte purification and enrichment, separation, derivatization in different derivatization modes with o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), and fluorimetric detection. The reliability of the systems has been tested by analysing urine and plasma samples containing amphetamine in the 0.1 -20.0 mu g mL(-1) range. Pre, on and post-column derivatization strategies are compared in terms of their instrumental requirements, selectivity, sensitivity, linearity and reproducibility.