Simultaneous determination of lamotrigine, zonisamide, and carbamazepine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography assay with ultraviolet detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of the anti-epileptic drugs lamotrigine, carbamazepine and zonisamide in human plasma and serum. Lamotrigine, carbamazepine, zonisamide and the internal standard chloramphenicol were extracted from serum or plasma using liquid-liquid extraction under alkaline conditions into an organic solvent. The method was linear in the range 1-30 mu g/mL for lamotrigine, 220 mu g/mL for carbamazepine, and 1-40 mu g/mL for zonisamide. Within- and between-run precision studies demonstrated coefficient Of variation < 10% at all tested concentrations. Other anti-epileptic medications tested did not interfere with the assay. The method is appropriate for determining lamotrigine, carbamazepine and zonisamide serum or plasma concentrations for therapeutic monitoring. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.