Determination of alclofenac in equine plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography.

The study presents a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for measuring levels of a drug called alclofenac in horse plasma and urine. The method was found to be reproducible and accurate within acceptable limits.

Research Methodology

• This research revolves around isolating and measuring alclofenac—a specific therapeutic drug—in equine biofluids. The biofluids here refer to horse plasma and urine.
• A high-performance liquid chromatographic method, an advanced technique used to separate, identify, and quantitatively measure each component in an array of chemical mixtures, is utilized.
• The isolation method for alclofenac from plasma consisted of a liquid-liquid extraction with diethyl ether, which refers to the transfer of a dissolved compound from one solvent into another.
• The extraction of free and conjugated alclofenac from urine was achieved through reversed-phase C18 solid phase extraction. In this extraction, the sample is flowed through a solid phase column with nanoparticles that contain C18 (octadecyl) silane functional groups. The alclofenac is retained onto these particles and later eluted (removed) for detection.

Findings

• The research study concluded that the method explained above had satisfactory reproducibility and accuracy results within the concentration ranges 0 to 10 and 0 to 20 micrograms/ml for plasma and urine respectively.
• The liquid chromatographic method allows for a minimum of 2 ml of plasma to detect alclofenac concentration as low as 0.1 microgram/ml.
• For the urine samples, as little as 0.5 ml is needed to quantify an alclofenac concentration of 1 microgram/ml.
• The study also noted that strong alkali hydrolysis of urine resulted in alclofenac decomposition, which might be an important consideration in real-world applications.

Significance

• Apart from highlighting the robustness of the method adopted, the paper also showcases a pharmacokinetic profile of alclofenac in horses, which could have implications for understanding drug metabolism in horses.
• This research might be very useful to scientists working in veterinary drugs, as it provides an effective method for quantifying alclofenac—a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in horses—in biofluids.