Preliminary evaluation of monolithic column high-performance liquid chromatography with tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection for the determination of quetiapine in human body fluids

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection methodology is reported for the determination of the atypical antipsychotic drug quetiapine and the observation of its major active and inactive metabolites in human urine and serum. The method uses a monolithic chromatographic column allowing high flow rates of 3 mL min−1 enabling rapid quantification. Flow injection analysis (FIA) with tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection and HPLC time of flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) were used for the determination of quetiapine in a pharmaceutical preparation to establish its suitability as a calibration standard. The limit of detection achieved with FIA was 2 × 10−11 mol L−1 in simple aqueous solution. The limits of detection achieved with HPLC were 7 × 10−8 and 2 × 10−10 mol L−1 in urine and serum, respectively. The calibration range for FIA was between 5 × 10−9 and 1 × 10−6 mol L−1. The calibration ranges for HPLC were between 1 × 10−7–1 × 10−4 and 1 × 10−8–1 × 10−4 mol L−1 in urine and serum, respectively. The quetiapine concentrations in patient samples were found to be 3 × 10−6 mol L−1 in urine and 7 × 10−7 mol L−1 in serum. Without the need for preconcentration, the HPLC detection limits compared favourably with those in previously published methodologies. The metabolites were identified using HPLC-TOF-MS.