CHEMOTOXICOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SERTRALINE IN BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

Sertraline, an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class, one of the most potent of reversible serotonin inhibitors, is used to treat severe depressions, but it was on repeated occasions a cause of fatal poisoning. The trial established the degree of sertraline isolation from biological material, by using the universally accepted chemotoxicological methods described by A.A. Vasilyeva, V.F. Kramarenko, and Stas-Otto. Sertraline was found in the alkaline-chloroform extracts that had been previously subjected to additional extraction and TLC purifications. Sertraline eluates were analyzed by HPLC and multi-wave UV detection. The drug was identified from its retention time (tR = 23.32±0.01 min) and spectral characteristics; LOD = 5 μg/ml (criterion, Ss/Sn = 3:1 for λ = 280 nm). The quantity of sertraline in the eluates was determined using the calibration ratio of the area of the chromatographic peak (Y) to the concentration (X) (detected at a wavelength of 280 nm), which was described by the equation: Y = (1.75•10-4 ± 3•10-6) × (r = 0.999; So 2 = 3•10-8). There were some validation characteristics of the methods: linearity was observed in the range from 12.2 to 100 μg/ml; LOQ = 12.2 μg/ml (criterion, 10σ). The correctness and accuracy of the procedure were (n = 5): the range of low (98.9%, RSD = 1.6%); moderate (100.8%; RSD = 1.4%), and high (100.5%, RSD = 1.0%) concentrations. Sertraline was isolated from the liver in a quantity of 20.8±1.9% by the Vasilyeva method, 11.1±1.4% by Stas-Otto method, and 14.8±1.8% by the Kramarenko method. The methods to isolate sertraline from biological material should be further optimized using amphiphilic or lipophilic extragents.