Comparison of derivatization procedures for the determination of diuretics in urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Three different GC-MS screening procedures, which use different ways of derivatization (methylation), are compared. In the first one, derivatization with iodomethane in acetone and a previous solid-liquid extraction is used; the second one is based on an extractive alkylation method using iodomethane in toluene (liquid-liquid extraction); and the last one is flash methylation by pyrolysis of tetraalkylammonium salts in the injector of the gas chromatograph using trimethylanilinium as the derivatization agent. The speed of the extraction, reproducibility and accuracy have been compared for 20 diuretics including the ones most often used in sports, such as bumetanide, ethacrynic acid, acetazolamide, dichlorphenamide, furosemide, hydroflumethiazide, hydrochlorothiazide and chlorthalidone; they have also been applied to the two uricosuric agents probenecid and benzbromarone.