HPLC method for determination of SN-38 content and SN-38 entrapment efficiency in a novel liposome-based formulation, LE-SN38

A simple HPLC method was developed for quantification of SN-38, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin, in a novel liposome-based formulation (LE-SN38). The chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 (4.6 mmx250 mm, 5 microm) analytical column using a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of NaH2PO4 (pH 3.1, 25 mM) and acetonitrile (50:50, v/v). SN-38 was detected at UV wavelength of 265 nm and quantitatively determined using an external calibration method. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were found to be 0.05 and 0.25 microg/mL, respectively. The individual spike recovery of SN-38 ranged from 100 to 101%. The percent of relative standard deviation (%R.S.D.) of intra-day and inter-day analyses were less than 1.6%. The method validation results confirmed that the method is specific, linear, accurate, precise, robust and sensitive for its intended use. The current method was successfully applied to the determination of SN-38 content and drug entrapment efficiency in liposome-based formulation, LE-SN38 during early stage formulation development.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the anticancer drug irinotecan (CPT-11) and its active metabolite SN-38 in human plasma

A rapid, sensitive, and specific high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of irinotecan (CPT-11) and its active metabolite SN-38 in human plasma is described. The analytes are quantified as the totals of their carboxylate and lactone form. The sample pretreatment consisted of a simple protein precipitation with acetonitrile-methanol (1:1, v/v), after which CPT-11 and SN-38 were quantitatively converted to their carboxylate form by adding 0.01 mol/L sodium tetraborate (pH, 9). Chromatography was carried out on a Zorbax SB-C18 column with fluorescence detection. The method has been validated, and stability tests under various clinically relevant conditions have been performed. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 5.0 ng/mL for CPT-11 and 0.5 ng/mL for SN-38. Standard concentration ranges were linear between 5 and 1,500 ng/mL for CPT-11 and between 0.5 and 100 ng/mL for SN-38. This assay is simple, rapid, and very useful for therapeutic monitoring of CPT-11 and SN-38.     

Rapid and sensitive LC/MS/MS analysis of the novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD6474 in mouse plasma and tissues

ZD6474 (N-(4-Bromo-2-fluorophenyl)-6-methoxy-7-[(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)methoxy] quinazolin-4-amine) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity that is currently undergoing human trials for cancer treatment. Pharmacokinetic studies in animal models are an important component in clinical development of this agent to relate pre-clinical models to patient treatment. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of ZD6474 levels in mouse plasma and tissues. Plasma (0.05 mL) and tissue homogenates (0.1 mL of 10 mg/mL) were extracted under alkaline conditions with ethyl acetate:pentane (1:1, v/v) after addition of the internal standard (trazodone, 2-[3-[4-(3-chlorophenyl)-1-piperazinyl]propyl]-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine-3(2H)-one). Separation was achieved on a C18, 50 mm x 2 mm column with quantitation by internal standard reference and multiple reaction monitoring of the ion transitions m/z 475-->112 (ZD6474) and m/z 372-->176 (trazodone). The calibration curve was linear from a range spanning 20-20,000 ng/mL in plasma and 10-320 ng/mg in tissue homogenates. Mean recoveries from plasma and tissue homogenates were 88 and 90%, respectively. The accuracy in plasma was 88% at the lower limit of quantitation (20 ng/mL with a 50 microL plasma sample) with high precision (R.S.D.%<10%). Assay performance in liver and other tissue homogenates is also reported. The assay was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in mice to determine dosing schedules that would approximate therapeutic ZD6474 levels determined in humans.     

Enhanced therapeutic efficacy of a novel liposome-based formulation of SN-38 against human tumor models in SCID mice

SN-38 is an active metabolite of CPT-11. The poor solubility of SN-38 in any pharmaceutically acceptable solvent and pH-dependent activity has limited its clinical use. Our objective was to evaluate an easy-to-use liposome-based formulation of SN-38 (LE-SN38) and compare the antitumor activity with its pro-drug CPT-11 against cancer cell lines and human xenograft tumor models. The cytotoxicity of LE-SN38 and CPT-11 was determined in four human cancer cell lines using the sulforhodamine B assay. The therapeutic efficacy was tested against human colon (HT-29) and breast (MX-1) xenograft tumor models in SCID mice. LE-SN38 with greater than 95% drug entrapment was found to be highly cytotoxic against four different cell lines with GI50 values of less than 0.1 microM. In the HT-29 tumor model, LE-SN38 (q x d5) at 2, 4 or 8 mg/kg resulted in 33, 81 and 91% tumor growth inhibition, respectively, compared to the drug-free liposome group. In contrast, similar dose levels of CPT-11 treatment led to only 2, 36 and 46% growth inhibition. For the MX-1 model, LE-SN38 (q x d5) regressed tumor growth by 44 and 88% at 4 and 8 mg/kg dose, respectively, whereas no regression was observed in the CPT-11-treated group. We conclude that LE-SN38 is a novel liposome-based formulation with enhanced therapeutic efficacy against human tumor models.     

pH-dependent association of SN-38 with lipid bilayers of a novel liposomal formulation

The aim of this study was to determine the location of SN-38 molecules in a liposomal formulation as a function of pH. Steady-state fluorescence polarization anisotropy and gel filtration studies of blank (placebo) liposomes, liposomes containing SN-38 and SN-38 solutions (in some cases suspensions) were conducted before lyophilization and after re-hydration at different pH conditions. SN-38, l-(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)-6-phenyl-l,3,5-hexatriene p-toluenesulfonate (TMA-DPH), N-((4-(6-phenyl-l,3,5-hexatrienyl)phenyl)propyl)trimethylammonium p-toluenesulfonate (TMAP-DPH) and l,6-diphenyl-l,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) were used as fluoroprobes in the polarization anisotropy measurements. The localization of SN-38 was governed by the degree of hydrophobicity of the drug molecules. At high pH, SN-38 is in its inactive, hydrophilic form and partitioned into the water phase of the liposome suspensions. In lyophilized LE-SN38 liposomes re-hydrated with low pH buffer, SN-38 was found at the water-lipid interface of the bilayer.     

LC/MS/MS quantitation assay for pharmacokinetics of naringenin and double peaks phenomenon in rats plasma

A highly sensitive and specific electrospray ionization (ESI) liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for quantitation of naringenin (NAR) and an explanation for the double peaks phenomenon was developed and validated. NAR was extracted from rat plasma and tissues along with the internal standard (IS), hesperidin, with ethyl acetate. The analytes were analyzed in the multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode as the precursor/product ion pair of m/z 273.4/151.3 for NAR and m/z 611.5/303.3 for the IS. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 5-2500 ng/mL. The lower limit quantification was 5 ng/mL, available for plasma pharmacokinetics of NAR in rats. Accuracy in within- and between-run precisions showed good reproducibility. When NAR was administered orally, only little and predominantly its glucuronidation were into circulation in the plasma. There existed double peaks phenomenon in plasma concentration-time curve leading to the relatively slow elimination of NAR in plasma. The results showed that there was a linear relationship between the AUC of total NAR and dosages. And the double peaks are mainly due to enterohepatic circulation.     

LC-MS/MS 法测定人血浆中倍他米松

建立测定人血浆中倍他米松的LC-MS/MS方法。采用Venusil XBP C₈ (200 mm×3.9 mm ID, 5 μm)色谱柱，流动相为甲醇-水(含甲酸铵5 mmol·L^-1)(80∶20)，流速0.4 mL·min^-1；质谱仪离子源为电喷雾离子源(ESI)，正离子模式检测，监测离子为393.3→355.2(倍他米松)和361.3→343.2(泼尼松龙,内标)。血浆样本用乙酸乙酯处理。倍他米松在0.5~80.0 ng·mL^-1线性关系良好(r=0.999 2)， 血浆低、 中、 高3种浓度(1.0， 10.0， 60.0 ng·mL^-1)平均提取回收率为88.24%，定量限为0.5 ng·mL^-1。本方法操作简便、准确、灵敏，适用于复方倍他米松注射液人体药代动力学研究。     

In Vitro Binding and Partitioning of Irinotecan (CPT-11) and its Metabolite, SN-38, in Human Blood

The binding of CPT-11 and SN-38 to human plasma proteinswas studied by ultrafiltration at 37°C and pH 7.4. In plasma,CPT-11 was 66–60% bound in the range 100–4000ng/ml and SN-38 was 94–96% bound in the range50–200 ng/ml. At these concentrations the plasma bindingof CPT-11 was slightly saturable, but the plasma binding of SN-38was concentration-independent. Albumin was the main carrier ofCPT-11 and SN-38 in plasma. In blood, the binding of CPT-11 wasmoderate (80%), mainly to plasma proteins (47%) anderythrocytes (33%). The binding of SN-38 was high(99%) and most of SN-38 in blood was located in bloodcells (approximately 66%) The simulation of a grade 3hematotoxicity (according to National Cancer Institute's CommonToxicity Criteria grading) on the SN-38 blood distributionyielded an increase in fu (free fraction of drug in plasma) from1.05 to 2.08 and a decrease in C_Bl/C_P from1.66 to 1.14 (both resulting from a decreased cellbinding).     

LC-MS/MS法分析人血浆中西格列汀浓度及其应用研究

摘要：目的 建立一种测定人血浆中西格列汀浓度的液相色谱-串联质谱（LC-MS/MS）分析方法,并将该方法应 用于西格列汀在人体内的药代动力学研究。方法 以西格列汀-d4为内标,血浆样品经CleanertPPT沉淀板沉淀后, 通过Diamonsil C18色谱柱（100 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm）进行分离,使用甲醇-10 mmol/L甲酸铵水溶液（含10%甲醇,0.1% 甲酸）作为流动相,进行梯度洗脱,流速为0.5 mL/min。通过电喷雾电离源（ESI）,以多反应监测（MRM）模式进行正离 子检测。从选择性、残留、线性范围与定量下限、精密度与准确度、基质效应和回收率、稳定性方面进行方法学验证。 同时考察健康人口服西格列汀片100 mg后的主要药代动力学参数。结果 西格列汀、西格列汀-d4的MRM离子对 分别为 m/z 408.0→235.2、m/z 412.1→239.0。人血浆中西格列汀在 0.5～1 000 μg/L 浓度范围内线性关系良好（R2> 0.99）,定量下限为0.5 μg/L;定量下限和质控样品的批内、批间精密度（RSD）在0.83%~12.80%之间,准确度（RE）在± 10.0%以内。健康人口服西格列汀片100 mg后主要药代动力学参数：达峰时间（Tmax）、达峰浓度（Cmax）、、生物利用度 （AUC）、半衰期（T1/2）分别为（2.44±1.29）h、（375±138）μg/L、（2 915±585）h·μg/L、（11.10±2.41）h。结论 本LC-MS/ MS分析方法敏感度高且样品处理方法简单快速,满足生物分析的法规要求,可应用于人体内西格列汀的药代动力学 研究。     

Development and characterization of a novel liposome-based formulation of SN-38

SN-38, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin, is the active metabolite of Irinotecan (CPT-11), a topoisomerase I inhibitor commercially available as Camptosar^®. SN-38 is approximately 200–2000-fold more cytotoxic than CPT-11. Despite its promising anticancer potential, SN-38 thus far has not been used as an anticancer drug due to its poor solubility in any pharmaceutically acceptable solvents. In addition, SN-38 has low affinity to lipid membranes; it tends to precipitate in aqueous phase resulting in a very low drug-to-liposome entrapment. SN-38 also reversibly converts to an inactive open lactone ring structure at physiological pH. We have developed a novel, liposome-based SN-38 formulation (LE-SN-38). The formulation contains liposomes of uniform size distribution (<200 nm), and it is easy-to-use. Drug entrapment efficiency of the formulation is>95%. Long-term stability studies indicate that the lyophilized LE-SN-38 is physically and chemically stable for at least 6 months at 2–8 °C. In preclinical studies, LE-SN38 has shown promising results in terms of increased cytotoxicity against various tumor cell lines and better therapeutic efficacy towards xenograft mouse models compared to CPT-11.     

Development of a method to quantify total and free irinotecan and 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) for pharmacokinetic and bio-distribution studies after administration of irinotecan liposomal formulation

In 2015, liposomal formulation of irinotecan (ONIVYDE) has been approved by FDA and widely applied in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. ONIVYDE is a novel liposome formulation, entrapping CPT-11 in the aqueous core of vesicles using a modified gradient loading method. Due to toxicity concerns, it is essential to explore a rapid and reliable method to effectively isolate and quantify the non-liposomal, namely, free CPT-11and total CPT-11 in plasma. This study focuses on separation of non-liposomal CPT-11, evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of free CPT-11 and total CPT-11 and bio-distribution after intravenous administration of CPT-11 liposome. Free CPT-11 in plasma was separated by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The amount of total CPT-11 and main metabolite 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) in plasma was quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–MS/MS. The calibration curves fitted well and lower limit of quantitation for SN-38, free CPT-11, total CPT-11 and CPT-11 in tissue and were 5 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 4.44 ng/ml and 25 ng/ml respectively. The recoveries, precision and accuracy of the method appear satisfactory. Using this method, the pharmacokinetics and bio-distribution of CPT-11 liposome formulation after an intravenous dose of 2.5 mg/kg were then investigated.     

Pharmacokinetic characterization of a novel α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) positive allosteric modulator LD486 in rat plasma using a validated LC-MS/MS assay

The deficiency of neuronal α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR) channel is implicated in cognition deficit and neuropsychiatric disorders. Chemical activation of α7 nAChR improves learning, memory, and sensory gating in animal models. To identify novel α7 nAChR activators, we recently identified a lead compound LD486 that as a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) selectively activates α7 nAChR. In this study we developed a simple, reliable and efficient assay of high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and analyzed the pharmacokinetics of this novel LD486 in rat plasma. Separation of compound LD486 from plasma was achieved using a reversed-phase C₁₈ column with a mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid in H₂O (80:20, v:v), using compound A1223 as an internal standard (IS) with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The quantitative analysis was performed using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) at the specific ion transition of m/z 419.0 [M+H]⁺→m/z 169.0 for LD486 and m/z 400.0 [M+H]⁺→m/z 129.9 for A1223 in the positive ion mode with electrospray ionization (ESI) source. This validated LC-MS/MS method shows good linearity over the range 4–4000 ng/mL with the lowest limit of quantitation (LLOQ) at 4 ng/mL as well as satisfied intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy, extraction recovery and matrix effect.The stability testing indicates that LD486 in rat blood is stable under three freeze-thaw cycles, in room temperature at 22 ^oC for 2 h and 12 h, and for 2 weeks at −20 ^oC. This developed method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic analysis of intravenous (1 mg/kg) and oral (3 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg) administration of LD486 in SD rats.     

Development and validation of a UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the determination of N-butylscopolamine in human plasma: application to a bioequivalence study

A sensitive and fast ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for measurements of N-butylscopolamine in plasma was developed and validated. A single protein precipitation was proposed for the clean up of the plasma and N-methylhomatropine was added as internal standard (IS). The analyses were carried out using a C(18) column and mobile phase of acetonitrile: 5?mM ammonium acetate?+?0.1% formic acid (90:10, v/v). The triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source in positive mode, was set up in selective reaction monitoring, to detect precursor?→?product ion 360.0?→?194.0?m/z and 290.3?→?138.0?m/z transitions, for N-butylscopolamine and IS, respectively. The method was linear in 0.03 (lower limit of quantitation; LLOQ) - 10.00?ng/ml range for N-butylscopolamine. Satisfactory selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness were obtained for the UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method. The proposed method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of healthy human volunteers; the results showed that the two scopolamine butylbromide formulations tested are not bioequivalent in rate and extent of absorption.     

Bioequivalence study of bromhexine by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry after oral administration of bromhexine hydrochloride tablets

A simple, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry method was developed for the quantitative determination of bromhexine in human plasma. Sample preparation involved simple liquid-liquid extraction. Simvastatin was used as internal standard. The separation of the analyte, internal standard and possible endogenous compounds were accomplished on a Shim-pack ODS column (150 mm x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm) with methanol-water (98:2, v/v) as mobile phase. Detection was performed in positive selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode at m/z 264.1 (for bromhexine) and m/z 441.7 (for IS). The method was validated over the range of 0.5-60 ng/mL and the results were acceptable. The method could offer the advantages of shorter run time (5.5 min) and lower LLOQ (0.5 ng/mL) with a decreased plasma volume requirement (250 microL) and it had been successfully applied to a bioequivalence study in healthy Chinese volunteers after single oral administration of 16 mg bromhexine.     

Validated LC/MS/MS assay for curcumin and tetrahydrocurcumin in rat plasma and application to pharmacokinetic study of phospholipid complex of curcumin

To study pharmacokinetic properties of curcumin, a fast sensitive assay method was developed to determine curcumin and its metabolite tetrahydrocurcumin in rat plasma. The assay was based on tandem mass spectrometry detection (LC/MS/MS). Salbutamol was used as the internal standard (IS). The method had the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 0.5 ng/ml in rat plasma, which corresponds to 2.5 pg for the 5 microl injection volume. Good linearity was got to 500 ng/ml. The precision, accuracy, recovery and applicability were found to be adequate for pharmacokinetic studies. Phospholipid complex of the natural compound curcumin was prepared in order to improve its bioavailability. Complex formation resulted in an obvious increase in bioavailability of curcumin in rat in vivo according to the assay by above LC/MS/MS method.     

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of nitrendipine in dog plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study of a solid self-emulsifying pellet formulation

A rapid, sensitive and selective ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of nitrendipine (NTD, CAS 39562-70-4) in dog plasma. Using propranolol hydrochloride (CAS 318-98-9) as an internal standard (IS), plasma samples pretreatment adopted a simple liquid-liquid extraction process with diethyl ether. Separation was carried out by a gradient elution on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of water (containing 0.1% formic acid) and acetonitrile. Detection was performed by a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry with positive electrospray ionization (ESI) as source ionization in multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode at m/z 361.0 --> 315.0 for NTD and m/z 260.2 --> 116.0 for IS. The method demonstrated good linearity at the concentrations ranged from 0.1-200 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of NTD was 0.1 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD) were less than 10%. The mean extraction recoveries of NTD and IS were 90.2% and 82.4%, respectively. Finally, the method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of home-made solid self-emulsifying pellets and conventional NTD tablets in beagle dogs following a single oral administration.     

Rapid and simultaneous measurement of midazolam, 1'-hydroxymidazolam and digoxin by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry: application to an in vivo study to simultaneously measure P-glycoprotein and cytochrome P450 3A activity

In order to simultaneously determine in vivo P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and Cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) activity, a new, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and fully validated to simultaneously determine midazolam (MDZ, as CYP3A substrate), 1'-hydroxymidazolam (1'-OHMDZ) and digoxin (DG, as P-gp substrate) in rat plasma using digitoxin as the internal standard (IS). After a single step liquid-liquid extraction with tert-butyl methyl ether/dichloromethane (75:25, v/v), analytes were subjected to LC-MS/MS analysis using positive electro-spray ionization (ESI(+)) under selected reaction monitoring mode (SRM). Chromatographic separation was performed on an XTerra MS C18 column (50mm×2.1mm, i.d. 3.5μm). The MS/MS detection was conducted by monitoring the fragmentation of 326.05 → 244.00 (m/z) for MDZ, 342.02 →168.01 (m/z) for 1'-OHMDZ, 798.33 → 651.36(m/z) for DG and 782.67 → 635.24 (m/z) for IS. The method had a chromatographic running time of 3min and linear calibration curves over the concentrations of 2-400ng/mL for MDZ and 1'-OHMDZ and 0.5-100ng/mL for DG. The recoveries of the method were 86.8-96.3% for MDZ, 84.6-86.4% for 1'-OH MDZ, and 81.7-85.1% for DG. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of the method was 2ng/mL for MDZ and 1'-OHMDZ and 0.5ng/mL for DG. The intra- and inter-batch precision were less than 15% for all quality control samples at concentrations of 5, 50 and 320ng/mL for MDZ and 1'-OHMDZ and 1, 10 and 80ng/mL for DG. The validated LC-MS/MS method has been successfully used to analyze the concentrations of MDZ, 1'-OH MDZ and DG in rat plasma for simultaneous measurement of in vivo P-gp and CYP 3A activity.     

LC-MS/MS法测定人血浆中表柔比星浓度及其药动学研究

目的:建立测定人血浆中表柔比星浓度的方法并研究其药动学行为。方法:以液-液萃取法进行样品前处理,采用液-质联用法进样测定。色谱柱为Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18,流动相为甲醇-水(含0.1%甲酸)(55∶45),流速为0.3 ml/min。电喷雾离子化电离源(ESI),正离子方式检测,扫描方式为多反应监测(MRM),用于定量的离子分别为表柔比星m/z 544.2→397.1和柔红霉素(内标)m/z 528→321。结果:表柔比星血药浓度在0.506²02.4 ng/ml范围内线性关系良好,最低定量限(LLOQ)为0.506 ng/ml;提取回收率均>80%,方法回收率为95.09%202.4 ng/ml范围内线性关系良好,最低定量限(LLOQ)为0.506 ng/ml;提取回收率均>80%,方法回收率为95.09%¹12.93%,日内、日间精密度良好(RSD<4%)。4名患者应用表柔比星治疗后,药动学参数cmax、t1/2、tmax、AUC0-144 h分别为(37.54±21.13)μg/L、(38.02±7.63)h、(47.00±8.25)h、(1 132.81±414.92)μg·h/L。结论:本方法经考察符合生物样品的分析要求,可以应用于临床上血浆中表柔比星浓度的测定和药动学研究。     

Development and validation of a UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous detection of doxorubicin and sorafenib in plasma: Application to pharmacokinetic studies in rats

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the simultaneous quantitation of doxorubicin (DOX) and sorafenib (SOR) in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation was performed using a reversed-phase column C₁₈ (1.7 μm, 1.0 × 100 mm Acquity UPLC BEH™). The gradient mobile phase system consisted of water containing 0.1% acetic acid (mobile phase A) and methanol (mobile phase B) with a flow rate of 0.40 mL/min over 8 min. Erlotinib (ERL) was used as an internal standard (IS). The quantitation of conversion of [M + H]+, which was the protonated precursor ion, to the corresponding product ions was performed using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) with a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of 544 > 397.005 for DOX, 465.05 > 252.03 for SOR, and 394 > 278 for the IS. Different parameters were used to validate the method including accuracy, precision, linearity, and stability. The developed UPLC–MS/MS method was linear over the concentration ranges of 9–2000 ng/mL and 7–2000 ng/mL with LLOQ of 9 and 7 ng/mL for DOX and SOR, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy, expressed as % relative standard deviation (RSD%), was below 10% for both DOX and SOR in all QC samples that have drug concentrations above the LLOQ. The intra-day and inter-day precision, expressed as percent relative error (Er %), was within the limit of 15.0% for all concentrations above LLOQ. Four groups of Wistar rats (250–280 g) were used to conduct the pharmacokinetic study. Group I received a single intraperitoneal (IP) injection of DOX (5 mg/kg); Group II received a single oral dose of SOR (40 mg/kg), Group III received a combination of both drugs; and Group IV received sterile water for injection IP and 0.9% w/v sodium chloride solution orally to serve as a control. Non-compartmental analysis was used to calculate the different pharmacokinetic parameters. Data revealed that coadministration of DOX and SOR altered some of the pharmacokinetic parameters of both agents and resulted in an increase in the Cmax and AUC and reduction in the apparent clearance (CL/F). In conclusion, our newly developed method is sensitive, specific, and can reliably be used to simultaneously determine DOX and SOR concentrations in rat plasma. Moreover, the results of the pharmacokinetic study suggest that coadministration of DOX and SOR might cause an increase in exposure of both drugs.     

Simultaneous determination of amoxicillin and ambroxol in human plasma by LC-MS/MS: validation and application to pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, simple and sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of amoxicillin and ambroxol in human plasma using clenbuterol as internal standard (IS). The plasma samples were subjected to a simple protein precipitation with methanol. Separation was achieved on a Lichrospher C(18) column (150 mm x 4.6mm ID, dp 5 microm) using methanol (containing 0.2% of formic acid) and water (containing 0.2% of formic acid) as a mobile phase by gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Detection was performed using electrospray ionization in positive ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode by monitoring the ion transitions from m/z 365.9-->348.9 (amoxicillin), m/z 378.9-->263.6 (ambroxol) and m/z 277.0-->203.0 (IS). Calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 5-20,000 ng/mL for amoxicillin, and 1-200 ng/mL for ambroxol, with the intra- and inter-run precisions of <9% and the accuracies of 100+/-7%. The method has been validated and applied to pharmacokinetic studies of compound amoxicillin and ambroxol hydrochloride tablets in healthy Chinese volunteers.