Sample Preparation Overview for the Chromatographic Determination of 1,4-Benzodiazepines in Biological matrices

Benzodiazepines due to their sedative, anti-depressive, muscle relaxant, tranquilizer, hypnotic and anticonvulsant properties, have become common worldwide prescribed medicines in the therapy of anxiety, sleep disorders and convulsive attacks, as relatively safe, with mild side effects. The availability of rapid, sensitive and selective analytical methods is essential for the determination of these drugs in clinical and forensic cases. Benzodiazepines are usually present at trace levels (μgmL-1 or ngmL-1) in a complex biological matrix, and the potentially interfering compounds need to be removed prior to analysis. Therefore, a sample preparation technique is often mandatory both to extract the drugs of interest from the matrix and concentrate them. An extended and comprehensive review on sample preparation giving emphasis on extraction techniques for the chromatographic determination of major benzodiazepines and their metabolites in biological samples is presented providing important physicochemical and bio-pharmacological data to be useful for the development of procedure.

Keywords: Benzodiazepines, chromatography, sample preparation, biological matrices.