Stereoselective determination of benalaxyl in plasma by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector and application to pharmacokinetic study in rabbits.

A chiral high-performance liquid chromatography method with diode array detector was developed and validated for stereoselective determination of benalaxyl (BX) in rabbit plasma. Good separation was achieved at 20 degrees C using cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) as chiral stationary phase, a mixture of n-hexane and 2-propanol (97:3) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The assay method was linear over a range of concentrations (0.25-25 microg/ml) in plasma and the mean recovery was greater than 90% for both enantiomers. The limits of quantification and detection for both enantiomers in plasma were 0.25 and 0.1 microg/ml, respectively. Intra- and interday relative standard deviations (RSDs) did not exceed 10% for three-tested concentrations. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of BX enantiomers in rabbits. The result suggested that the pharmacokinetics of BX enantiomers was stereoselective in rabbits.