Simple determination of terbutaline in dog plasma by column-switching liquid chromatography

Terbutaline is a β-adrenergic receptor antagonist that acts as a bronchodilator in the treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis. In the present work, a column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed to monitor terbutaline sulphate in dog plasma. The system consists of a C2 pre-column (PC) and a C18 analytical column connected in series via a switching valve. Atenolol was used as the internal standard. Good linearity was achieved in the range of 5–800 ng/ml plasma. The mean intra- and inter-assay variation coefficients for this analysis were 2.3 and 4.7%, respectively. The average recovery for terbutaline was 87.4% from plasma. The mean concentration after three freeze-thaw cycles was 99.4% of the normal value. The analytical sensitivity and accuracy of this assay is adequate for characterisation of the pharmacokinetics of oral administration of terbutaline to dogs and has been successfully used to provide pharmacokinetic data using pulsatile and immediate-release tablets.