Micro-scale extractive alkylation procedure for the gas-chromatographic measurement of theophylline in serum and saliva, with use of a nitrogen detector.

In this 10-min gas-chromatographic assay for theophylline, a 25-microliter portion of serum or saliva sample, 100 microliter of extraction reagent, and 1.0 ml of solvent were mixed, the solvent separated and evaporated, and an aliquot of the reconstituted extract injected into the gas chromatograph. At a concentration of 11 mg/liter, within-run precision (CV) was 3.6% and run-to-run 2.9%. At 22 mg/liter, within-run precision was 2.8%. Concentration and instrument response are linearly related between 2 and 40 mg/liter. The limit of detection was 0.4 mg/liter. Results correlated well (r = 0.98) with those by another micro-scale gas-chromatographic procedure. Analytical recovery was estimated to exceed 90%, and no interferences from other xanthines or related drugs were observed.