GC with nitrogen phosphorus detection and HPLC with UV detection were used to determine midazolam (MDZ) levels in rabbit plasma following ocular and nasal administration. For GC with nitrogen phosphorus detection, the analyte was extracted from the plasma using a three-step liquid-liquid extraction including extraction with an isopropanol/butyl chloride mixture in an alkaline solution, followed by extractions with 1 M HCl, and finally with an alkaline solution of butyl chloride. The recovery of MDZ was dependent on the sample alkalization time prior to the final extraction. The procedure increased the recovery of MDZ up to 99.6%. Improved sample preparation led to a significant increase in the sensitivity of the determination by GC with nitrogen phosphorus detection. The achieved detection limit was 0.34 ng/mL, which is ten times lower than that obtained using HPLC with UV detection. The small plasma volume was another advantage of the GC with nitrogen phosphorus detection method (200 μL per assay). Both administration routes of the anesthetic (nasal and ocular) resulted in comparable plasma MDZ levels. Kinetic simulation of the MDZ plasma was performed for both administration routes.

Department of Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology 3rd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

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