Determination of celiprolol in human plasma using high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for clinical application

A new method of analysis has been developed and validated for the determination of plasma celiprolol concentration. Plasma samples (1 ml) were pre-purified by solid-phase extraction with Bond Elut® C18. The separation was achieved with XBridge™ C18 column (150 mm × 3.0 mm i.d., 3.5 μm) at 35 °C using a mixture of acetonitrile and 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 10.5) (34:66, v/v) under isocratic conditions at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min. The peak was detected using a fluorescence detector at excitation 250 nm and emission 482 nm. Retention times for the internal standard (acebutolol) and celiprolol were 4.2 min and 6.3 min, respectively. Calibration curves were linear over the range of 1.0–1000 ng/ml (r > 0.999), with a limit of quantification at 1.0 ng/ml. Intra- and inter-assay precision (relative standard deviation) were less than 13.3% and the accuracy (relative error) was −5.1% to 11.5% at four different concentrations. This proposed method was successfully applied to a study of pharmacokinetic interactions between celiprolol and apple juice in humans.

► A simple and sensitive HPLC method for determination of celiprolol in plasma was developed.
► The plasma samples were prepared by solid phase extraction.
► The calibration curves were linear over the range of 1–1000 ng/ml (LLOQ, 1 ng/ml).
► This validated method was successfully applied to an interaction study in humans.