High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of baclofen in plasma and urine of man after precolumn extraction and derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of the skeletal muscle relaxant baclofen in human plasma and urine is described. Cation-exchange extraction, precolumn derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde, and on-column concentration precede fluorimetric detection (excitation at 340 nm, emission at 460 nm). The precision of the assay was always better than 6%. Recoveries of standards added to plasma and urine were 92% and 93%, respectively. With a sample size of 0.5 ml, a detection limit of a few nanograms, and the possibility of analysing up to four samples per hour, this method is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies. An example is presented.