Standardized procedure for the assay and identification of hypoglycemic sulfonylureas in human plasma.

A standardized procedure for the assay and identification of hypoglycemic sulfonylureas in plasma is presented. External standards and plasma extracts containing glibenclamide, gliquidone, glipizide, or gliclazide were examined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The four sulfonylureas could be identified and measured with a precision of 5%-7% and a limit of detection close to 1-2 ng in injected external standards and 10-40 ng/ml in plasma samples. This method is suitable to study the pharmacokinetics of hypoglycemic sulfonylureas, for blood drug monitoring in diabetic patients, for diagnostic purposes in factitious hypoglycemia, and in cases relevant to forensic medicine.