Determination of the Long-Term Stability of Propofol in Human Plasma Frozen for Eight Years and Quantified by UHPLC–MS/MS

Schmidt S, Ihmsen H, Münster T, Schüttler J, Jeleazcov C, Wehrfritz A (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Book Volume: 2025

Article Number: 7533068

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1155/ianc/7533068

Abstract

The intravenous anesthetic propofol is frequently used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. Propofol has, however, a potential for abuse, and it has been involved in suicide deaths particularly among medical personnel. The long-term stability of propofol concentrations in human plasma samples when stored under normal laboratory conditions over several years might be important for forensic toxicology. The present study investigated the long-term stability of propofol after storage at −20°C for eight years. For this purpose, 67 plasma samples from five patients, who had undergone a former clinical trial, were re-analyzed. Plasma samples were extracted using protein precipitation. Propofol plasma concentrations were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with gradient elution, followed by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. Deuterium-labeled propofol was used as an internal standard. The assay was linear in the range of 50–10,000 ng/mL with a limit of detection of 0.5 ng/mL and a lower limit of quantification of 50 ng/mL, respectively. Accuracy and precision were high with intra- and interassay errors within ±5%. The median relative deviation between the measurements in 2023 and 2015 was −7.0% (interquartile range: −19.7% and 5.3%). Therefore, propofol concentrations in human plasma can be considered relatively stable in samples frozen at −20°C over eight years, and plasma samples stored under these conditions might be used for forensic purposes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02199067.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Krankenhaus Barmherzige Brüder Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Schmidt, S., Ihmsen, H., Münster, T., Schüttler, J., Jeleazcov, C., & Wehrfritz, A. (2025). Determination of the Long-Term Stability of Propofol in Human Plasma Frozen for Eight Years and Quantified by UHPLC–MS/MS. International Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 2025(1). https://doi.org/10.1155/ianc/7533068

MLA:

Schmidt, Stefanie, et al. "Determination of the Long-Term Stability of Propofol in Human Plasma Frozen for Eight Years and Quantified by UHPLC–MS/MS." International Journal of Analytical Chemistry 2025.1 (2025).

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