Rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic measurement of buspirone in human plasma after overdose

For toxicological purposes, a rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of the anxiolytic drug, buspirone, in human plasma. A liquid-liquid procedure was used to extract this compound from plasma in the presence of an internal standard, quinupramine. The analysis was performed on a Spherisorb(R) S5 C-8 analytical column with UV detection at 240 nm. No endogenous compounds were found to interfere. A linear response was observed over the concentration range 5-100 ng/mL. A good accuracy (bias less than or equal to 7.9%) was achieved for all quality controls, with intra-day and inter-day variation coefficients equal or less than 7.6%. The limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL. Stability of buspirone in plasma stored at different temperatures was checked. This rapid method (run time < 12 min) was used to manage an acute poisoning involving buspirone. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.