Determination of belfosdil, a new calcium channel blocker, in human plasma by capillary gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection.

Belfosdil and the internal standard were extracted from human plasma by a double liquid-liquid extraction. After a concentration step, gas chromatographic analysis of the sample was performed using a capillary fused-silica column and a nitrogen-phosphorus detector. The limit of detection of belfosdil was 0.025 ng/ml and the standard curve was linear over the range 0.05-100 ng/ml. The intra-assay and inter-assay precisions were within 7% (relative standard deviation) and the intra-assay and inter-assay accuracy values deviated by less than 5%. The extractability of belfosdil was 79%. The assay method was successfully used for the analysis of plasma samples from clinical studies with dose ranges of 5-100 mg of belfosdil.