Determination of ropivacaine and [2H3]ropivacaine in biological samples by gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection or mass spectrometry

Bioanalytical methods for determining the total concentration of the new local anaesthetic drug ropivacaine in blood plasma, urine and tissues are presented. Ropivacaine is a drug mainly used in connection with surgery and for post-operative pain relief. The biological samples were prepared using liquid-liquid extraction and analysed using capillary gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection or mass spectrometry, The methods are highly selective and reliable with a between-day precision, given as the relative standard deviation, generally below 6%. More than 20000 samples have been analysed using the methods described. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.