The development of the conditions for vortioxetine isolation from biological fluids

The chemical-toxicological significance of antidepressant drugs is steadily increasing. The development of effective methods of the sample preparation of the biological material is an important analytical aspect in toxicology of the newgeneration antidepressants. Aim. To develop the conditions for the sample preparation of biological fluids in order use them in the chemicaltoxicological analysis of the new antidepressant vortioxetine. Materials and methods. The studies were performed with model blood and urine samples spiked with vortioxetine. When examining the blood the formed blood elements were pre-precipitated by adding 10 % solution of trichloroacetic acid. The extraction purification was performed with hexane at pH 1-2, and the drug was extracted from the biologicalfluids with methylene chloride at pH 8-9. The extracts obtained were further subjected to TLC purification. Vortioxetine in eluates from chromatograms was determined by the UV-spectrophotometric method. Results and discussion. The Rf value of vortioxetine in the mobile phase of ethyl acetate-methanol-25 % ammonium hydroxide solution (85 : 10 : 5) was 0.77 ± 0.05. The UV spectra of the eluates from the chromatograms had absorption maxima at the wavelengths of 229 ± 2 and 232 ± 2 nm and matched with the UV spectrum of the standard solution of vortioxetine in methanol. The quantitative determination was performed at λmax232 nm by the equation of the calibration curve y = (0.0172 ± 3 · 10-4)x + (0.027 ± 0.008). Under the conditions of the sample preparation developed 27 ± 1 % of vortioxetine from the blood and 62 ± 2 % of the drug from the urine were isolated. Conclusions. The efficiency of the sample preparation of biological fluids by the method of liquid-liquid extraction in relation to the new antidepressant vortioxetine has been determined. The methods developed are recommended for use in forensic and clinical toxicology.