Bimetallic metal–organic framework as an efficient sorbent for the extraction of tacrolimus and cyclosporine from plasma before HPLC-MS/MS analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the application of pores-size protocols into metal–organic frameworks that can lead to improved adsorption capacity of sorbents. A selective, fast, and sensitive analytical procedure based on dispersive solid phase extraction using a bimetallic metal organic framework named ZrZnMOF coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was established for the simultaneous quantification of tacrolimus and cyclosporine in plasma. The effects of several parameters, such as the dosage of sorbent, separation and elution times, volume and type of elution solvent, were investigated. Under optimal conditions, high extraction recovery (70 and 89 for tacrolimus and cyclosporine, respectively), low limits of detection (0.15 and 0.31 μg L-1 for tacrolimus and cyclosporine, respectively) and quantification (1.0 and 0.51 μg L-1 for tacrolimus and cyclosporine, respectively) wide linearity (1.0–1000 and 0.51–500 μg L-1 for tacrolimus and cyclosporine, respectively), and acceptable repeatability (n = 5, relative standard deviation less than 5.6 %) were attained. The validated method was successfully applied to quantify tacrolimus and cyclosporine A in plasma samples obtained from different volunteers.