Prediction of the Trace Amounts of Atomoxetine in Biological Samples using Optimized Solvent Bar Microextraction Technique Coupled with HPLC-UV

Atomoxetine, an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) agent, has severe adverse effects, which causes suicidal ideation in patients and when combined with other drugs such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors or in patients with cardiovascular disorders or pheochromocytoma, it can be fatal. In order to monitor the trough level of the drug, sensitive analytical methods are in demand. Therefore, for detection of trace levels of this drug, the trend solvent bar microextraction method coupled with HPLC-UV was implemented. Application of pH gradient of 10.3 and 3.0 (donor and acceptor phase, respectively) enabled preconcentration and microextraction of the target analyte. The results were modeled using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) successfully. The optimum results were obtained with a stirring rate of 365 rpm and salt addition by 15.1% at 25°C after 26 min. The limit of detection and quantification were 7.0 ng mL-1 and 20 ng mL-1, respectively. It offered good linearity range of 20-5000 ng mL-1 with a coefficient of estimation higher than 0.9972 and a preconcentration factor of 112. The relative standard deviations of analysis were 4.6% within a day (n=3) and 6.2% between days (n=9). Overall, this method can be employed for several purposes such as for dosage adjustment in ADHD patients, clean validation in the pharmaceutical industry, and for trace determination in forensics.