GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS FOR PHENCYCLIDINE IN PLASMA, WITH USE OF A NITROGEN DETECTOR

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 26  (3) , 437-440
Abstract
A reliable gas-chromatographic analysis for unchanged phencyclidine, a drug of abuse, in human plasma, with use of a N detector was described. The assay is sufficiently sensitive to permit measurement of as little as 5 .mu.g of the drug/l, in 2 ml of plasma. Phencyclidine is extracted from plasma at pH 10.5 into hexane/iso-amyl alcohol containing meperidine as the internal standard, back-extracted into dilute HCl and re-extracted into hexane/iso-amyl alcohol after alkalinization of the HCl. The coefficients of variation for the analysis at respective concentrations of 100 and 200 .mu.g/l are: within-run, 4.0% and 3.4%; between-run, 2.8% and 5.2%. This procedure, used in a laboratory for more than 1 yr, has been applied to plasma from numerous individuals with nonfatal phencyclidine intoxication.