Gas-chromatographic assay for thiopental in plasma, with use of a nitrogen-specific detector

An accurate, sensitive, and specific gas-liquid-chromatographic procedure is described for determining concentrations of thiopental in human plasma. After a double extraction of 0.2 or 1.0 mL of plasma containing phenobarbital as an internal standard, thiopental and the internal standard are derivatized in a polar non-aqueous solvent system with iodomethane. The reaction mixture is then evaporated, the residue reconstituted with ethyl acetate, and 20 μL injected into a 3% OV-17 column of a gas chromatograph equipped with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector. Linearity and reproducibility over the concentration range 25 μg/L to 10 mg/L in plasma are excellent. The sensitivity and wide range of linearity exhibited by this method permit thorough characterization of the disposition of thiopental after the usual induction doses of 3-4 mg/kg of body weight.