High-performance liquid chromatography HPLC , drug analysis

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can rapidly separate drugs and metabolites from endogenous compounds in biological fluids. Fractions are readily collected and thus HPLC has been used in cannabinoid work to purify biological fluid extracts prior to analysis by techniques offering either more sensitive or specific detection than has been available for LC. 

The primary focus of this chapter in on general approaches and considerations toward development of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for separation of pharmaceutical compounds, which may be applied within the various functions in the drug development continuum. It is very important to understand the aim of analysis and the requirements for a particular method to be developed. The aim of analysis of each HPLC method may vary for each developmental area in the drug development process and specific examples are given in Section 8.2. 

When this article was first written several years ago, it appeared that the advent and establishment of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in pharmaceutical analysis had somewhat diminished with the utilization of GC. However, new regulatory requirements for drug approvals by the Federal Drug... 

Sample analysis requires specific techniques, such as fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These techniques are not always available in the pharmacy and so sample analysis is not always done in Spanish hospital pharmacy services but in laboratories. However, it is a pharmacist who interprets results, makes recommendations, and follows up on patients, all as part of clinical activities to pursue better patient care. In all hospitals with such a pharmaceutical service, doctors and other members of the health team welcome the contribution of pharmacists, with their pharmacokinetic knowledge, to the rational use of drugs. 

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