Journal de bioanalyse et de biomédecine

Validation of a Simple, Rapid and Sensitive LC Method for Quantification of Riluzole in Rat Plasma and its Pharmacokinetic Application

Abstract

Punna Rao Ravi, Rahul Vats and Kora Upendra Reddy

A simple, sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet (UV) detector was developed and validated for the analysis of riluzole (RLZ) in rat plasma. The plasma sample, spiked with nebivolol as an internal standard (IS), was subjected to a single step protein precipitation prior to analysis. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Phenomenex C18 (250 mm× 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column. A combination of methanol and phosphate buffer (25 mM KH₂PO₄, pH 3.5), in the ratio of 70:30% v/v was used as the mobile phase in isocratic mode. RLZ and IS were monitored at wavelengths of 264 nm and 280 nm respectively. No interference was observed from plasma components in the analysis of RLZ and IS. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 50–4000 ng/mL (r2 = 0.999). The drug was found to be stable under various processing and storage conditions. The assay provided good reproducibility, accuracy and proved to be suitable for oral pharmacokinetic studies of RLZ in rats.