Microassay of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone in serum by capillary electrophoresis with head-column field-amplified sample stacking.

Binary-system capillary electrophoresis (CE) with head-column field-amplified sample stacking permits determination of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone in 20-microL serum samples. The assay is characterized by a detection limit for both compounds of 80 nmol/L and by excellent linear response over the recommended therapeutic range for amiodarone (1.5-4 mumol/L). Intra- and interday reproducibilities (CVs) between 3% and 6% and run times of approximately 10 min are comparable with those for conventional HPLC. Besides excellent sensitivity, attractive features of the assay include low operating costs, high separation efficiency, rapid drug extraction, consumption of almost negligible amounts of organic solvents, and simple operation. If appropriate microvessels and liquid-handling facilities are available, the same assay can be performed with 2 microL of serum, and if the serum is not diluted but rather is concentrated during extraction, < 1 nmol/L of amiodarone can be detected.