Simple and rapid micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of four antiepileptics in human serum.

A very rapid and simple MEKC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of four antiepileptic drugs, ethosuximide (Etho), primidone (Pri), phenytoin (Pht) and carbamazepine (Cbz) in human serum. Sample analysis required only 100 microL of human serum which only needed to be centrifuged, decanted and combined with the running buffer [5.3 mM Na(2)HPO(4)/3.2 mM borax buffer (pH 9.5) containing 55 mM SDS and 3.5% (v/v) acetone]. The analysis was performed in only 10 min into fused-silica capillaries (57 cm total length with 50 microm i.d. and 50 cm to the detector) using the MEKC methodology with diode-array detection at 220 nm. The calibration graphs were established for ethoximide, primidone, phenytoin and carbamazepine between 0 and 20 mg/L. Recoveries were between 85 and 87%. The simplicity of the proposed methodology makes it suitable for routine clinical use, especially for epileptic patients on polytherapy.