[Determination of free catecholamines in the urine using high efficiency liquid chromatography with an electrochemical detector].

The authors describe electrochemical detector high-pressure liquid chromatography (EDHPLC) technique for measuring nanogram amounts of catecholamines in human urine. Alumina-treated samples are layered onto a reverse-phase column for the separation of catecholamines, with a monochloracetate buffer/acetonitrile mixture containing 75 mg of sodium octyl sulfate as the mobile phase. Electrochemical detector was employed for the quantitative detection of catecholamines. Catecholamine levels of up to 1000 ng are detectable with the use of electrochemical detector. EDHPLC is a highly suitable method for clinical investigations.