High-performance liquid chromatography of platinum complexes on solvent generated anion exchangers. III. Application to the analysis of cisplatin in urine using automated column switching.

Platinum complexes are retained on solvent generated anion exchangers, prepared by coating reversed-phase (C-18) supports with a monolayer of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide. The retention mechanism is described in terms of ion--dipole interactions in the stationary phase, reinforced by a hydrophobic effect. The high degree of ligand selectivity exhibited by these systems arises from the use of purely aqueous mobile phases which maximize the differences in solute dipole and hydrophobic surface area. By using stationary phases of different surface characteristics and the application of automated column switching, the technique is applicable to the clinical analysis of cisplatin in urine. After chromatography, the purified cisplatin fractions area determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The recovery of cisplatin from urine is 101.1% with a relative standard deviation of 3.6% and the limit of detection is 2 micrograms/ml.