High-performance liquid chromatography and preliminary pharmacokinetics of rufloxacin and its metabolites, N-desmethylrufloxacin and rufloxacinsulfoxide, in urine of rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta.

A gradient high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of rufloxacin and two of its metabolites in urine, N-desmethylrufloxacin and rufloxacinsulfoxide, has been developed and validated. Monkey urine samples were diluted ten times with distilled water and 20 microliters were injected onto a Cp Spher 5-ODS column, 5 microns particle size. The mobile phase was a mixture of 4% acetonitrile and 96% buffer at time 0, which changed linearly over 37 min to 26% acetonitrile and 74% buffer. Detection was achieved at 246 nm. The limit of detection of the three compounds was 0.50 microgram/ml. An example of a pharmacokinetic study of rufloxacin and its metabolites in monkeys is shown.