Anthracycline assay by high-pressure liquid chromatography.

A general method of analysis of anthracycline concentrations was developed. Drug is extracted from plasma with organic solvent and separated from metabolites by high-pressure liquid chromatography on an aminocyanosilica column. Detection and quantitation are by the endogenous fluorescence of compounds having an intact tetracyclic ring structure. Limits of sensitivity are 5, 1, and 5 ng/ml of plasma for doxorubicin, carubicin, and marcellomycin, respectively. The assay can be used for studying the aldo-keto reductase and reductive glycosidase reactions with anthracyclines as the substrates and for the evaluation of the clinical pharmacology or pharmacodynamics of various doxorubicin analogs.