Rapid thin-layer chromatographic photodensitometric method for the determination of metoclopramide and clebopride in the presence of some of their metabolic products.

Metoclopramide and its newly developed analogue clebopride, together with some of their metabolic products are quantitated, following extraction from biological tissues and fluids, and subsequent separation on silica gel thin-layer chromatographic plates. Diazotisation, followed by coupling with N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediammonium dichloride, carried out on the thin-layer plate, is utilised for visualisation. The intensity of the spots is measured by photodensitometric analysis. The effect of variation of various experimental conditions is studied. The method has proven to be satisfactory for the measurement of 20 ng/ml of these compounds in biological material; the results are well within the accepted limits of deviation.