Results from a study are reported in which patients with
leishmaniasis were monitored by whole blood, blood plasma, urine, and hair analysis, before, during, and after intramuscular administration of N-methyl
meglumine antimoniate. Quadrupole ICP-MS was used for the detection of
antimony and on-line ion chromatography for the separation of its species. After typically 30 consecutive daily
injections of 5 mg
antimony per kg of
body weight, Sb concentrations of up to 250 microg L(-1) in whole blood and plasma, and 60 mg of Sb per gram of
creatinine in urine, were measured 24 h after
drug administration.
Antimony in hair samples of these patients showed concentrations of up to 24 microg g(-1). Speciation studies of Sb5+ and Sb3+ in
drug, urine, and plasma samples were performed by ion chromatography using a Hamilton PRP-100X
anion exchange column and
EDTA (2 or 20 mM, pH 4.7) as the mobile phases. Repeatability of elution time and peak area measurements for a 0.125 ng spike were <1.2% and <3.5%, respectively. Method detection limits for both species, using a 1:10 diluted urine or plasma sample, were typically 1.6 microg L(-1). The procedure was capable of separating the very intense
drug peak from its inorganic species, thus permitting the first studies on the bio-transformation of N-methyl
meglumine antimoniate to Sb5+ and Sb3+ in the human body.