High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the enantiomers of flurbiprofen and its metabolites in plasma and urine

Abstract

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic methods have been developed to quantitate the R- and S-enantiomers of flurbiprofen and its major metabolites, 4′-hydroxyflurbiprofen, 3′-hydroxy-4′-methoxyflurbiprofen, and 3′,4′-dihydroxyflurbiprofen. The compounds are extracted from plasma or urine and derivatized with S-(α)-methylbenzylamine to form diastereomeric amides which are readily separated on a C18 column. Fluorescence detection resulted in detection limits that readily allowed us to characterize the disposition of R- and S-flurbiprofen and its major metabolites in man following therapeutic doses. © 1989.