DETERMINATION OF NALBUPHINE USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED TO PHOTODIODE-ARRAY DETECTION AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED TO MASS-SPECTROMETRY

A procedure involving capillary column gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and a method involving liquid chromatography coupled to a diode-array detector have been developed for the analysis of nalbuphine. The extraction step is the same for both techniques and involves extraction under alkaline conditions in chloroform-2-propanol-n-heptane (50:17:33, v/v/v) with levallorphan as the internal standard. After purification by acidic extraction and back alkaline extraction, drugs are derivatized with N,O-bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide with 1% trimethylchlorosilane for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and directly injected for high-performance liquid chromatography diode-array detection. The limits of detection are 2.0 and 25.0 ng/mg, respectively.