Application of Optical Methods for Determination of Concentration of Doxorubicin in Blood and Plasma

The aim of presented research is to develop a simple and quick method of spectrophotometric detection for the determination of doxorubicin hydrochloride in blood and plasma. Anthracycline antibiotics are among the most effective antineoplastic agents. However, despite their high efficacy in the treatment of various types of cancer, their administration is limited primarily because they exhibit myocardial toxicity. This may be a limiting factor in the dosage of medications; nevertheless, drugs exhibiting this mechanism of action constitute a very important group of chemotherapeutics. One of the more widely studied antibiotics from the anthracycline group is doxorubicin. It exhibits the highest antineoplastic activity from among a number of derivative compounds. Because of the adverse effects of doxorubicin, especially cardiotoxicity, it is important to maintain control of its concentration in body fluids. The method in the study consists of extraction doxorubicin from the plasma or blood and measurements of the absorbance of light in the visible light range in a DOX solution with respect to a reference sample. The research used blood and plasma samples spiked with doxorubicin to give concentrations in the range of 0.2–10 µg/mL. Obtained LODs were 1.6 µg/mL and 1.2 µg/mL, respectively.