Simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of medroxyprogesterone acetate in human plasma

Abstract

The high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed as a simple, reliable alternative to available methods for measuring plasma concentrations of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA). The HPLC method has been successfully automated and is suitable for the rapid, inexpensive analysis of large batches of plasma samples. The best approach involves a solvent extraction followed by HPLC separation and analysis. MPA can be efficiently extracted, at all pH values, by nonpolar solvents. The Spherisorb 5-ODS2 HPLC column provides excellent separation of MPA from endogenous steroids of similar structure and from extraneous plasma blank peaks. A batch of 30-40 samples can be prepared by HPLC analysis in 2-3 hours, with a chromatographic run time of 10 minutes/sample. Calibration curves between 5-250 ng/ml show a good correlation between peak height ratio and MPA concentration, even at low levels. Plasma concentrations of MPA in patients receiving 1 g/day were between 12.6-270 ng/ml in this study, suggesting that the sensitivity of this method, 10 ng/ml, is sufficient for monitoring therapeutic concentrations of MPA. The results show a wide individual variation in plasma concentrations following similar dosing schedules--a finding reported by other workers.