Title:Trace Extraction of Metoprolol from Plasma, Urine and EBC Samples Using Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles Followed by Spectrofluorimetric Determination for Drug Monitoring Purposes
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 7
Author(s):Mohammad Ali Tarfiei, Ahad Bavili Tabrizi* and Abolghasem Jouyban
Affiliation:Pharmaceutical Analysis Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz 51664, Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Pharmaceutical Analysis Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz 51664
Keywords:Metoprolol, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, plasma, urine, exhaled breath condensate, spectrofluorimetry.
Abstract:
Background: Metoprolol is a selective β1-adrenergic receptor antagonist (β-blockers). It is
widely used for the treatment of hypertension and other related diseases. Metoprolol can be used as a
doping agent in sports, thus has been included in the list of forbidden drugs. In Iran, therapeutic drug
monitoring (TDM) of β-blockers is an applied procedure in some cases. A therapeutic regimen could be
easily managed by the determination of drug levels in biological fluids which is a relatively costly process
and requires highly skilled technical staff. Using a simple and low-cost analytical procedure may
help to use TDM in routine clinical practice.
Methods: A real biological sample was prepared and its pH was adjusted to 3-4, then metoprolol was
quickly extracted using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONPs) modified by sodium dodecyl sulfate
(SDS) and determined by applying spectrofluorimetry at 340 ± 3 nm after excitation at 283 ± 3 nm.
Results: The extraction and determination conditions including, the amount of MIONPs and SDS, pH of
the solution, standing time, desorption solvent type and volume were investigated and adjusted. Calibration
curves were linear over the concentration range of 6–100 ng/mL for plasma and 5–100 ng/mL for
water, urine and exhaled breath condensate samples, respectively. Intra and inter-day precision values
for determination of metoprolol in different samples were less than 5.6 % and 6 %, respectively, and
accuracy (as a relative error) was better than 5 %. Moreover, standard addition recovery tests were carried
out, and the analytical recoveries ranged from 86 % to 113 %. The limits of detection (LOD) and
limits of quantification (LOQ) of metoprolol were found to be in the range of 2.1-3.4 ng/mL and 6.3-
10.2 ng/mL, respectively.
Conclusion: The developed method was successfully applied to biological samples taken from a volunteer
who was given an oral tablet of 50 mg metoprolol.
