Rapid and sensitive quantitation of morphine using HPLC with electrochemical detection

Abstract

Background: Morphine is one of the most widely used opioid analgesics for controlling pain in cancer and post-operative patients. Objective: This study aimed at finding a sensitive method for measuring morphine. Method: A one-step solid phase extraction was developed for extracting morphine from various samples, and morphine concentration was measured using a high-performance liquid chromatographic system with electrochemical detection. The sensitivity of the assay was 1.53 ng/mL with a recovery of 93.4% +/- 0.01. The mean intra-assay and inter-assay test for three concentrations was 10.54 and 7.47, respectively. The assay showed no cross-reaction with a wide range of compounds. Conclusion: This method for morphine in small biological samples is easy, sensitive and reproducible with low cross-reactivity.