Determination of doxorubicin in human plasma by excitation–emission matrix fluorescence and multi-way analysis Original Research Article

Direct determination of doxorubicin (DXR), a cytotoxic anthracycline antibiotic, in human plasma was accomplished based on excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence measurements and multi-way chemometric methods based on parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and N-PLS. Several different procedures, such as residual analysis, core consistency diagnostic (CONCORDIA) and split-half analysis were employed to determine the correct number of factors in PARAFAC. These procedures converged to a choice of two factors, attributed to DXR and to the sum of two fluorescence species present in the plasma. Sample PARAFAC loadings were employed to build a regression model against concentration, resulting in a RMSECV of 0.060 μg ml−1. N-PLS using two factors produced a RMSECV of 0.045 μg ml−1. Figures of merit (FOM), such as sensitivity (SEN), selectivity (SEL) and limit of detection (LD) were determined for both PARAFAC and N-PLS.