Analysis of salbutamol in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection using a micro-electrochemical flow cell

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of salbutamol in human plasma is described based on separation on a reversed-phase C18 column followed by detection using a carbon fiber-based electrochemical detector. The carbon fiber-based flow electrode used in the analytical system showed some advantages over conventional electrochemical detectors using glassy carbon electrodes. It is easy to prepare, flexible to operate, and suffers less trouble from air bubbles and leaks. It was shown that this kind of microelectrode flow detector exhibits a better detection limit (1 ngml−1) to that obtained using a conventional glassy carbon electrode flow detector (3 ngml−1). The method was found to be reproducible, with a mean overall coefficient of variation (C.V.) of 5.4%, and drug recovery was in excess of 85% at the concentration levels studied.