Determination of chloroacetaldehyde, a metabolite of oxazaphosphorine cytostatic drugs, in plasma

Abstract A derivatization high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection to monitor the plasma concentration of chloroacetaldehyde, a neurotoxic metabolite of oxazaphosphorine drugs, is presented. To prevent the rapid degradation of chloroacetaldehyde, the plasma samples are stabilized with formaldehyde. The method is linear in the concentration range 1–250 nmol/ml. Blood samples from a patient who was treated with a ten-day continuous infusion of ifosfamide were assayed. The chloroacetaldehyde concentrations did not exceed 10 nmol/ml.