Determination of tricyclic antidepressants in human breast milk by capillary electrophoresis.

A method for the determination of several tricyclic antidepressants (imipramine, desipramine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline, clomipramine, norclomipramine, doxepine and nordoxepine) in breast milk has been developed. This assay consists of a common extraction process in an organic phase, which is evaporated until dried and finally reconstituted in the appropriate buffer for injection in a capillary electrophoresis system. The capillary electrophoresis method used is an "acetonitrile stacking" method previously reported for determining these drugs in serum samples. The method developed was applied to the analysis of these compounds in human breast milk at different concentration levels (50, 100 and 200 ppb of the TCAs hydrochlorides). An interference study of some ansiolitic drugs such as lorazepam and alprazolam was made.