DETERMINATION OF ENANTIOMERS OF BUPIVACAINE IN SERUM USING AN ONLINE COUPLED 3 COLUMN LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC SYSTEM

An on-line coupled HPLC system is described for the determination of the enantiomers of bupivacaine in serum. The method involves three steps: (i) pre-concentration and clean-up; (ii) the determination of the racemates on a reversed-phase column; and (iii) the separation of the racemates, heart-cut from the reversed-phase column, on an alpha-glycoprotein column. The method is suitable to determine the enantiomers in serum down to 0.1 mug ml-1 and can be fully automated. The bupivacaine time course of patients will be shown.