Rapid and selective analysis of secnidazole in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

A rapid, reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of secnidazole, 5-nitroimidazole class of antiprotozoals from blood is described. Metronidazole was used as an internal standard. A simple extraction step with dichloromethane was done before chromatography on a C18 column with the wavelength fixed at 276 nm on the UV detector. Blood levels up to 500 ng/ml have been measured with good precision in the healthy volunteers after 1 g of secnidazole was administered. The present described method can readily be utilized for routine pharmacokinetic studies.