SENSITIVE GLC ASSAY FOR PEMOLINE IN BIOLOGICAL-FLUIDS USING NITROGEN-SPECIFIC DETECTION

Extractive alkylation was used to determine intact pemoline in serum and urine. Pemoline was extracted into methylene chloride as an ion‐pair with tetrapentylammonium hydroxide under alkaline conditions. Evaporation of the solvent at 70° in the presence of methyl iodide yielded the N,N‐dimethylpemoline derivative. GLC analysis was performed on a 5% FFAP column with nitrogen‐specific detection. Sensitivity was 0.05 μg/ml with 1 ml of urine or serum. Calibration curves were linear to at least 4 μg/ml with serum and 15 μg/ml with urine. Precision was excellent with a pooled relative standard deviation of ±7.5% for serum samples in a 0.1–4‐μg/ml range. Copyright © 1979 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company