Quantitative gas—liquid chromatographic determination of medroxyprogesterone acetate in human plasma

Abstract

MPA (medroxyprogesterone acetate), a synthetic hormone derived from progesterone, has been shown to have a strong progestational effect in both man and animals after oral administration. This is a report on a specific GLC (gas-liquid chromatographic) method for determining MPA in human plasma. Additional reagents used were: acetone, acetonitrile, benzene, cyclohexane, and heptafluorobutyric anhydride. Each of the following steps in the laboratory procedure is explained: 1) GLC; 2) mass spectrometry; 3) standard external calibration graphs; 4) plasma preparation; and 5) internal calibration graphs. After extraction of the plasma with cyclohexane and formation of the 3-enol heptafluorobutyrate ester of the drug, MPA was determined by GLC on an OV-17 column with an electron-capture detector. All results are graphed. Unfortunately, purification was impossible because MPA can be easily extracted at any pH and has a chemical structure similar to that of cholesterol.