A simple colorimetric method for the determination of primaquine metabolites in urine.

A simple method of screening large numbers of urine samples for the presence of primaquine metabolites has been developed using a commercially available diazonium salt reagent and an extraction cartridge. The extraction requires only 1.0 ml of urine and is selective for acidic or neutral primaquine metabolites. With primaquine-dosed rats, primaquine metabolites could be detected 36 hours after administration of the drug. The sensitivity of the method was found to be approximately 400 mug/l.