Determination of Suramin in Plasma and Urine by Ion-Paired Reverse-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

A high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay has been developed for the quantification of the anti-viral drug suramin (SUR) in human plasma and urine. This assay is simple and accurate, using an isocratic mobile phase in a reverse-phase ion-pairing mode. This assay was developed for the determination of high levels of suramin in the urine and plasma of patients being treated for the acquired immunodefficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The limit of detection of this assay was 0.25 μg/mL. Congo red (CR) was used as the internal standard with a retention time of 5.9 min, while suramin had a retention time of 13 min.