Luminescence analysis of anti-inflammatory agents in blood or plasma following thin-layer chromatographic separation.

The luminescence properties of some anti-inflammatory agents and of 6-chloro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazole-2-carbox-ylic acid, 6-chloro-9-[2-(2-methyl-5-pyridyl)ethyl]-1,2,3,4-tet-rahydrocarbazole-2-methanol.HCl, and (d,l)-6-chloro-alpha-methyl-carbazole-2-acetic acid have been examined at both ambient and cryogenic temperatures. Assays were developed for indomethacin, the tetrahydrocarbazoles, and the carbazole based upon solvent extraction from blood or plasma, thin-layer chromatographic separation of the drugs from interfering materials and phosphorimetry of the eluted materials. The solvent elution may be accomplished either by manual scraping and elution or by the use of a semiautomated elution apparatus. These two techniques were compared with respect to overall recovery and precision using both fluorometry and phosphorimetry.