Gas chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of hydralazine and its acetylated metabolite in serum using a nitrogen-selective detector.

A relatively simple gas chromatographic method has been developed for the quantitative determination of hydralazine simultaneously with its acetylated metabolite, 3-methyl-s-triazolo[3,4-alpha]phthalazine (MTP). The proteins were removed by means of sulfosalicylic acid and Sure-Sep. On treatment with formic acid, hydralazine and its internal standard were converted into their formylated derivatives. These derivatives, MTP and its internal standard were extracted with toluene and determined by gas chromatography with a nitrogen-selective detector. The lower limits of detection for hydralazine and MTP were 0.13 and 0.27 mumol/l, respectively.