Determination of trazodone in urine and pharmaceuticals using micellar liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A simple and reliable liquid chromatographic procedure is described for the determination of trazodone in pharmaceutical formulations and urine samples. The optimized procedure uses fluorimetric detection, a C18 column and a micellar mobile phase of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 1-butanol. The mobile phase selected for use was 0.2 M SDS and 8% 1-butanol fixed at pH 3 with phosphate buffer. The total analysis time was 10 min. For the analysis of urine samples, one great advantage of the method is that no extraction step is required. The quantification limit was 9.5 ng mL−1, ensuring the analysis of the drug in biological fluids. The procedure shows good accuracy, repeatability and selectivity. Repeatability and intermediate precision were tested for several concentrations of the drug. Good claim percentages were obtained in the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations. Calibration repeatability in urine matrix was also studied in the 0.06–22.4 μg mL−1 range. Good recoveries were obtained from spiked urine samples. No interferences from common additives frequently administered with trazodone or from endogenous compounds in urine samples were found. The results show that the procedure is suitable for routine analysis of the drug.