High-performance Liquid Chromatography-positive Ion Electrospray Research Articles

LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for quantification of ambrisentan in plasma and application to rat pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of ambrisentan in plasma. The analyte and the internal standard (armodafinil) were extracted from plasma by acetonitrile precipitation and they were separated on a reversed-phase C(18) column with a gradient program. The MS acquisition was performed with multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H](+) ions, m/z 379-347 for ambrisentan and m/z 274-167 for the IS. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 1-2000 ng/mL for ambrisentan in plasma. Acceptable precision (<10%) and accuracy (100 ± 8%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The method was successfully applied to quantify ambrisentan concentrations in a rodent pharmacokinetic study after a single oral administration of ambrisentan at 2.5 mg/kg to rats. Following oral administration the maximum mean concentration in plasma (C(max) ; 1197 ± 179 ng/mL) was achieved at 1.0 ± 0.9 h (T(max) ), and the area under the curve (AUC) was 6013 ± 997 ng h/mL. Therefore, development of such a simple and sensitive method in rat plasma should translate into a method for ambrisentan in human plasma for clinical trials.

Quantification of cinacalcet by LC–MS/MS using liquid–liquid extraction from 50 μL of plasma

A simple and economical high-performance liquid chromatography–positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of cinacalcet in plasma. Following liquid–liquid extraction, the analyte was separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reversed-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M+H] + ions, m/ z 358–155 for cinacalcet and m/ z 310–148 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.1–200 ng/mL for cinacalcet in plasma. Acceptable precision (<10%) and accuracy (100 ± 5%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 3.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 250 samples per day. The method was successfully applied to quantify cinacalcet concentrations in a preclinical pharmacokinetic study after a single oral administration of cinacalcet at 10 mg/kg to rats. Following oral administration the maximum mean concentration in plasma ( C max; 160 ± 56 ng/mL) was achieved at 1.0 h ( T max), area under the curve (AUC) and half-life ( t 1/2) were 949 ± 257 ng h/mL and 3.58 ± 0.4 h, respectively.

Quantification of methyllycaconitine, selective α7 nicotinic receptor antagonist, in rodent plasma and brain tissue by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry – application to neuropharmacokinetics of methyllycaconitine in rats

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of methyllycaconitine (MLA) in rat plasma and brain tissue. Following acetonitrile protein precipitation, the analyte was separated using a gradient mobile phase on a reversed-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H](+) ions, m/z 683-216 for MLA and m/z 260-116 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.5-250 ng/mL for MLA in rat plasma and brain tissue. The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 ng/mL. Acceptable precision (<12%) and accuracy (100 ± 6%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The method was successfully applied to quantify MLA concentrations in a rodent pharmacokinetic and brain penetration study.

Quantification of urapidil, α-1-adrenoreceptor antagonist, in plasma by LC-MS/MS: validation and application to pharmacokinetic studies

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of urapidil in plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analyte was separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H](+) ions, m/z 388 to 205 for urapidil and m/z 452 to 344 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.1-500 ng/mL for urapidil in plasma. Acceptable precision (<7%) and accuracy (100 ± 8%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The method was successfully applied to quantify urapidil concentrations in a preclinical pharmacokinetic study after a single oral administration of urapidil at 3 mg/kg to rats. Following oral administration the maximum mean concentration in plasma (C(max); 616 ± 73 ng/mL) was achieved at 0.5 h (T(max)) and area under curve (AUC(0-24)) was 1841 ± 308 ng h/mL. The half-life (t(1/2)) and clearance (Cl) were 2.47 ± 0.4 h and 1660 ± 276 mL/h/kg, respectively. Moreover, it is plausible that the assay method in rat plasma would facilitate the adaptability of urapidil quantification in human plasma for clinical trials.

Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of dimebon in rat plasma and brain tissue

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography–positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of dimebon in rat plasma and brain tissue. Following liquid–liquid extraction, the analyte was separated using a gradient mobile phase on a reversed phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H] + ions, m/ z 320–277 for dimebon and m/ z 407–100 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.25–250 ng/mL for dimebon in rat plasma and brain tissue. Acceptable precision (<11%) and accuracy (100 ± 7%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 250 samples per day. The method was successfully applied to quantify dimebon concentrations in a rodent pharmacokinetic study. Moreover, it can be believed that the assay method in rat plasma would facilitate the ease of adaptability of dimebon quantification in human plasma for clinical trials.

Sensitive Liquid Chromatography Positive Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for the Quantitation of Tegaserod in Human Plasma Using Liquid-Liquid Extraction

A sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method is developed and validated for the quantitation of tegaserod in human plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes are separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reversed-phase column and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective (M+H)+ ions, m/z 302 to 173 for tegaserod and m/z 409 to 228 for the internal standard. The assay exhibits a linear dynamic range of 100-10000 pg/mL for tegaserod in human plasma. The lower limit of quantitation is 100 pg/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 7%. Acceptable precision and accuracy are obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.0 min for each sample makes it possible to analyze more than 250 human plasma samples per day. The validated method is successfully used to analyze human plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic, bioavailability, or bioequivalence studies.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of amisulpride with LLOQ of 100 pg/mL using 100 µL of plasma

A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of amisulpride in 100 microL of human plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective (M + H)(+) ions, m/z 370-242 for amisulpride and m/z 341-112 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range with a lower range of 0.1-100 ng/mL and a higher range of 1-500 ng/mL of amisulpride in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 10%. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for both linearity ranges. A run time of 2.0 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 275 human plasma samples per day. The validated method has been successfully used to analyze plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic studies.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of clonidine with LLOQ of 10 pg/mL in human plasma

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of clonidine in human plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H](+) ions, m/z 230 to 44 for clonidine and m/z 254 to 44 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 10-2000 pg/mL for clonidine in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 10 pg/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 6.8%. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 250 human plasma samples per day. The validated method was successfully used to analyze human plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic studies.

Sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of sitagliptin, a DPP‐4 inhibitor, in human plasma using liquid–liquid extraction

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of sitagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor, in human plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H](+) ions, m/z 408-235 for sitagliptin and m/z 310-148 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.1-250 ng/mL for sitagliptin in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 6%. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.0 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 300 human plasma samples per day. The validated method has been successfully used to analyze human plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic studies.

Quantitative determination of BMS-186716, a thiol compound, in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray mass spectrometry after hydrolysis of the methyl acrylate adduct by the native esterases

During method development in support of non-clinical studies in animal models, BMS-186716 was found to be extremely unstable in blood and plasma. Stabilization of the compound was achieved by reacting the compound with methyl acrylate (MA) in blood, from which the plasma was then prepared. While the resulting BMS-186716-MA adduct was found to be stable in dog plasma, and hence it was used as the basis for the method developed for analysis of dog plasma samples, the BMS-186716-MA adduct was found to be unstable in rat plasma as it was readily hydrolyzed to BMS-186716-acrylic acid (AA) by native esterases found in rat plasma. Although the finding of the instability of BMS-186716-MA in rat plasma was not the result of prospective planning, we were able to successfully develop a quantitative bioanalytical method using BMS-186716-AA as the analyte instead of the originally planned BMS-186716-MA analyte. The standard and quality-control (QC) samples were prepared by spiking blank plasma with BMS-186716-MA, and then allowing them to stand at room temperature for 1 h to convert BMS-186716-MA to BMS-186716-AA. After adding the internal standard BMS-188035-AA, each sample was acidified with HCl and then extracted with methyl tert.-butyl ether. The reconstituted extract was injected into a HPLC-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric system for detection by positive ion electrospray ionization. A lower limit of quantitation (LLQ) of 5 ng/ml was achieved, using 0.1 ml plasma and a standard curve range of 5–5000 ng/ml.

Analysis of terfenadine in human plasma using microbore high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

An assay based on combined microbore high-performance liquid chromatography–positive ion electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry with selected ion recording has been developed for the measurement of the antihistamine drug terfenadine in human plasma. A deuterated analogue of terfenadine was synthesised for use as an internal standard and extraction of terfenadine was carried out on C 18 solid phase extraction columns. The limit of detection of terfenadine in plasma is 0.1 ng/ml and the intra-assay coefficient of variation at 1 ng/ml is 10.1%. Plasma concentrations of terfenadine measured in six normal subjects following a 120 mg oral dose are reported.

Quantitative determination of BMS186716, a thiol compound, in dog plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray mass spectrometry after formation of the methyl acrylate adduct.

As it is extremely unstable in blood, the thiol compound BMS186716 was stabilized by the addition of methyl acrylate (MA) to blood samples. The blood samples were then kept in ice for 10-15 min for completion of the Michael addition reaction to occur between the thiol group of BMS186716 and MA, after which the plasma was separated by centrifugation under refrigeration. For sample analysis, the standard and quality control samples were prepared by spiking blank plasma with the BMS186716-MA adduct. After addition of the internal standard, BMS 188035-MA, each sample was acidified with HCI and then extracted with methyl tert.-butyl ether. Each reconstituted extract was injected into a high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometric system. The electrospray condition was chosen to enhance the [M+NH4]+ signal at the expense of the [M+H]+ signal. Monitoring the [M+NH4]+ signal, a lower limit of quantitation of 2.5 ng/ml was achieved, with 0.5 ml plasma. We have thus shown that a sulfhydryl compound (BMS186716) in blood can successfully be stabilized by reacting it with MA and that the adduct produced is adequately stable in blood and plasma to allow the development of a rugged quantitative bioanalytical method.