The capillary gas chromatographic determination of trazodone in biological specimens.

A simple and specific method is presented for the capillary gas chromatographic determination of trazodone in postmortem blood and tissues. The drug and trimethobenzamide, which was used as an internal standard, were extracted with 1% isopropanol in n-butyl chloride. Chromatography was accomplished with a short (4-m) methyl silicone capillary column and hydrogen carrier gas. This combination of extraction solvent and chromatographic conditions was demonstrated to be both accurate and precise. Since trazodone is a relatively new drug, additional thin layer and packed column gas chromatographic data is presented to augment the incorporation of trazodone into routine analytical protocols.