Salt-assisted LLE combined with field-amplified sample stacking in CE for improved determination of beta blocker drugs in human urine

Abstract

Background: A simple and sensitive CE method was developed and validated for the analysis of some beta blockers in human urine. Methods: In this study, salting-out assisted LLE combined with field-amplified sample stacking method was employed for biological sample clean-up and sensitivity enhancement in CE. Results: Under the optimal conditions good linearity (r2 ≥0.998) was obtained, within 0.025–1 µg/ml for propranolol and metoprolol, and within 0.05–1 µg/ml for carvedilol in urine samples. LODs and LLOQs ranged from 0.005 to 0.015 µg/ml, and from 0.025 to 0.05 µg/ml, respectively. The RSDs of intra- and inter-day analysis of examined compounds were less than 4.0%. The recoveries were in the range of 98–119%. Conclusion: The validated method is successfully applied to determine propranolol, metoprolol and carvedilol in human urine samples obtained from the patients who received these drugs.