前列腺癌细胞内冬凌草甲素的浓度动态变化

建立了高效液相色谱法测定人前列腺癌PC-3细胞内的冬凌草甲素.采用C<,18>色谱柱,以甲醇-水(53:47)为流动相,检测波长238 nm.细胞内冬凌草甲素在10～300 ng/ml浓度范围内线性关系良好,绝对回收率为77.79%～81.32%,RSD为3.29%～4.09%;日内和日间RSD均小于8%.人前列腺癌PC-3细胞与冬凌草甲素溶液或冬凌草甲素纳米粒孵育后,采用该法测定胞内药物浓度动态变化过程.结果表明,纳米粒可显著提高细胞内冬凌草甲素的聚集并减慢其消除.     

A validated chiral LC method for the determination of zolmitriptan and its potential impurities

A new, accurate and reliable chiral HPLC method was developed for the determination of Zolmitriptan, (4S)-4-[[3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-1H-indol-5-yl] methyl]-2-oxazolidinone an antimigraine agent and its potential impurities namely (4R)-4-[[3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-1H-indol-5-yl] methyl]-2-oxazolidinone [(R)-enantiomer] and (4S)-4-(4-aminobenzyl)-2-oxazolidinone (Imp-1) in pharmaceutical formulations and in bulk drugs. HPLC separation was carried out by normal phase chromatography with a mobile phase composed of hexane:isopropanol:methanol:diethylamine in the ratio (75:10:15:0.1, v/v/v/v) pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min on a Chiralpak AD-H column. Zolmitriptan and its potential impurities were baseline resolved in the optimized method. The presence of diethylamine in the mobile phase has played a key role in achieving chromatographic resolution between the enantiomers and also in enhancing chromatographic efficiency. The developed method was also found to be selective under exposed conditions UV light and 60 degrees C. The developed method was completely validated and proved to be robust. The values of the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of (R)-enantiomer and Imp-1 were 100, 250 ng/ml and 30, 1000 ng/ml, respectively, for 10 microl injection volume. The validated method yielded good results regarding selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy and ruggedness. Zolmitriptan sample solution and mobile phase are found to be stable for at least 24 h. The proposed method was found to be suitable and accurate for the quantitative determination of Zolmitriptan and its impurities namely (R)-enantiomer and Imp-1 in bulk drugs and commercial formulations.     

A sensitive LC-ESI-MS method for the determination of indapamide in human plasma: method and clinical applications

A sensitive LC-ESI-MS method for the determination of indapamide in human plasma using glibenclamide as the internal standard (IS) was established. Following acidification with 1 M hydrochloric acid solution, plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and separated on a C(18) column with a mobile phase of 10 mM ammonium acetate-methanol (22:78, v/v). Indapamide was determined using electrospray ionization in a single quadrupole mass spectrometer. LC-ESI-MS was performed in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode using target ions at m/z 364.3 for indapamide and m/z 492.4 for the IS. Calibration curves were linear over the ranges of 0.1-100 ng/ml for indapamide. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/ml. The intra- and inter-assay precisions were less than 9.5% and 10.6%, respectively. The mean plasma extraction recovery of indapamide was 90.5-93.9%. The method has been successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetics of indapamide in healthy male Chinese volunteers.     

Development and validation of enantioselective high performance liquid chromatographic method for Valacyclovir, an antiviral drug in drug substance

A chiral high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the enantiomeric resolution of Valacyclovir, L-valine 2-[(2-amino-1,6-dihydro-6-oxo-9h-purin-9-yl) methoxy] ethyl ester, an antiviral agent in bulk drug substance. The enantiomers of Valacyclovir were resolved on a Chiralpak AD (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 10 microm) column using a mobile phase system containing n-hexane: ethanol: diethylamine (30:70:0.1, v/v/v). The resolution between the enantiomers was found not less than four. The presence of diethylamine in the mobile phase has played an important role in enhancing chromatographic efficiency and resolution between the enantiomers. The developed method was extensively validated and proved to be robust. The limit of detection and limit of quantification of (D)-enantiomer were found to be 300 and 900 ng/ml, respectively, for 20 microL injection volume. The calibration curve showed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 900 ng/ml (LOQ) to 6000 ng/ml for (D)-enantiomer. The percentage recovery of (D)-enantiomer was ranged from 97.50 to 102.18 in bulk drug samples of Valacyclovir. Valacyclovir sample solution and mobile phase were found to be stable for at least 48 h. The proposed method was found to be suitable and accurate for the quantitative determination of (D)-enantiomer in bulk drugs substance. It can be also used to test the stability samples of Valacyclovir.     

A subnanogram API LC/MS/MS quantitation method for depsipeptide FR901228 and its preclinical pharmacokinetics

A highly sensitive and specific atmospheric pressure ionization (API) liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) method for the quantitation of depsipeptide FR901228 (NSC-630176, FR), a naturally occurring antitumor agent, was developed and validated. FR was extracted from human or rat plasma along with the internal standard, t-Boc-Met-Leu-Phe (BMLP) with ethyl acetate. Components in the extract were separated on a 5-microm C8 Spherisorb 50 x 4.6 mm i.d. column by isocratic elution with methanol/acetonitrile/12 mM ammonium acetate (60:10:30, v/v/v). The liquid flow was passed through a presource splitter and 5% of the eluate was introduced into the API source. The components were analyzed in the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode to enhance specificity. Linear calibration curves were obtained in the range of 0.1-100.0 ng/ml with 0.5 ml human plasma and 0.5-100.0 ng/ml with 0.1 ml rat plasma. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.1 ng/ml using 0.5 ml human plasma and 0.5 ng/ml using 0.1 ml rat plasma. The overall within-day precision was below 12% in human plasma and below 7% in rat plasma; and the between-day precision was below 10.2% in human plasma and 7.2% in rat plasma. The accuracy at low, medium and high levels ranged from 99.3 to 111.7% in human plasma and 96.2-107.3% in rat plasma. The high sensitivity permitted pharmacokinetic study of FR in the rat at a single i.v. dose as low as 1 mg/kg. At this dose, plasma FR levels declined biexponentially with a mean terminal t(1/2) of 187.7 min (n = 6) and were detectable up to 24 h. After an oral dose at 5 mg/kg, plasma FR levels were highly erratic and yielded a mean bioavailability of 1.6% (n = 6). At a higher oral dose of 50 mg/kg, a mean bioavailability of 10.6% was obtained, both being estimated by a non-crossover method.     

Quantitative determination of nitrendipine in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A sensitive and highly selective liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) method was developed to determine nitrendipine (4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(3-nitrophenyl)-3, 5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid ethyl methyl ester, CAS 39562-70-4) in human plasma. The analyte and the internal standard nimodipine (CAS 66085-59-4) were extracted from plasma samples by n-hexane-isopropanol (95:5, v/v), and analyzed on a commercially available column Interfaced with a mass spectrometer. Positive atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) was empolyed as the ionization source. The samples were detected by the use of selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-water (75:25, v/v). The method has a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.1 ng/ml. The linear calibration curves were obtained in the concentra tions range of 0.3-40 ng/ml (r2 > or = .99). The intra- and inter-day batch precisions were lower than 10% in terms of relative standard deviation (R. S. D.), and the accuracy ranged from 85 to 110% in terms of percent accuracy. The overall extraction recoveries were determined to be about 75% on average. This validated method was successfully applied to the evaluation of the pharmacokinetic profiles of nitrendipine tablets administered to 8 Chinese healthy volunteers.     

Determination of saquinavir and ritonavir in human plasma by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and the analytical error function

Two simple and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatography methods with ultraviolet detection were developed and validated for the quantitation of two protease inhibitors, saquinavir and ritonavir, in human plasma. The same single liquid-liquid extraction procedure with ethyl acetate-hexane (50:50, v/v), reversed-phase column and mobile phase were used. The analyses were accomplished using a Luna C(18) column (150 mm x 4.6mm i.d.) with a C(18) guard column and, the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 70 mM KH(2)PO(4) adjusted to pH 5 with 80 mM Na(2)HPO(4) (46:54, v/v). The wavelength was set at 240 nm for saquinavir and at 210 nm for ritonavir. The retention times were 6.4 min for saquinavir and 8.3 min for ritonavir. The methods were linear over the range of 100-2500 ng/ml for saquinavir and 200-2500 ng/ml for ritonavir. Intra and inter-day precision and accuracy were less than 10.2% for both drugs. Recovery were 90 and 87% for saquinavir and ritonavir, respectively. The drugs were stable at different relevant storage and working conditions. After the validation, their analytical error functions were established as standard deviation (S.D., ng/ml) = 4.84 + 7.14 x 10(-2)C (C is the theoretical concentration value) for saquinavir and S.D. (ng/ml) = 39.98 + 2.40 x 10(-5)C(2) for ritonavir.     

LC-MS determination and pharmacokinetic studies of ursolic acid in rat plasma after administration of the traditional chinese medicinal preparation Lu-Ying extract

Sambucus chinensis L. is a native perennial herb distributed throughout China. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), this herb is known as Lu-Ying. Ursolic acid is the major effective constituent of Lu-Ying. A rapid, sensitive, and accurate liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method for the determination of ursolic acid in rat plasma was developed and validated. Plasma samples taken from rats that had received Lu-Ying extract orally were acidified with acetic acid and then extracted with a mixture of hexane-dichloromethane-2-propanol (20:10:1, v/v/v). Separation of ursolic acid was accomplished on a C(18) column interfaced with a single quadrupole mass spectrometer. The mobile phase consisting of methanol and water (95:5, v/v) was delivered at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization was operated in negative-ion mode. Using selected ion-monitoring mode, the deprotonated molecules [M-H](-) at m/z 455 and 469 were used to quantify ursolic acid and glycyrrhetic acid (internal standard), respectively. The assay was shown to be linear over the range of 10-1000 ng/ml (r> or =0.9960) with a lower limit of quantification of 10 ng/ml. The method was shown to be reproducible and reliable with intraday precision below 7.8%, interday precision below 8.1%, accuracy within +/-4.3%, and mean extraction recovery excess of 83.6%, which were all calculated from the blank plasma sample spiked with ursolic acid at three concentrations of 20, 200, and 800 ng/ml. The LC-MS method has been successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of ursolic acid after oral administration of Lu-Ying ethanolic extract (at a dose containing 80.32 mg/kg ursolic acid) to rats. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were: t(1/2), 4.3 h; K(e), 0.16 1/h; t(max), 1.0 h; C(max), 294.8 ng/ml; AUC(0-t) and AUC(0-infinity), 1007.1 ng.h/ml and 1175.3 ng.h/ml, respectively.     

柱前衍生化反相HPLC法测定血浆中普罗帕酮的对映异构体

建立了选择性测定血浆中普罗帕酮对映异构体的柱前衍生化反相HPLC法。用S(+)-1-(1-萘基)乙基异氰酸酯为衍生化试剂,与血浆中提取出的普罗帕酮反应生成非对映立体异构体,以HPLC-UV检测法(220nm)定量。采用此法成功地测试了10名健康受试者单剂量口服300mg盐酸普罗帕酮片后对映异构体的药代动力学曲线。此法灵敏度高(7.5ng·ml^-1),操作简便,重现性好。     

Rapid and sensitive analysis of melatonin by LC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetic study in dogs

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for determination of melatonin in dog plasma using desvenlafaxine as an internal standard (IS). Plasma samples were pretreated by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a C18 column at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min by an isocratic mobile phase of methanol : 5 mM ammonium acetate : formic acid (40:60:0.1, v/v/v). Positive ion mode detection was performed using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) at m/z 233.2→174.2 for melatonin and m/z 264.2→58.2 for desvenlafaxine. The method was linear in the concentration range of 0.020–10 ng/ml with a correlation coefficient ≥0.996. The intra- and inter-assay precision (%RSD) values were within 12.6% (LLOQ 15.2%), and accuracy (%RE) ranged from −1.8% to 5.0% (LLOQ ±16.5%). The total analysis time was 3.0 min. The method was fully validated and successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of melatonin prolonged-release tablet in Beagle dogs. The values of half-life and T_max were similar to the corresponding data reported before.     

Determination of endothelin antagonist BMS182874 in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of BMS182874 (BMS) in mouse plasma. The drug was extracted from plasma by a liquid-liquid extraction process. The method consists of reversed-phase chromatography using a Thermo Hypersil-Keystone RP-18 5 microm, 250 x 2.1 mm column and UV spectrophotometer detection at 255 nm. The mobile phase consists of 45% (v/v) acetonitrile: 55% (v/v) trifluoroacetic acid (0.015% v/v; pH 3.0) at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. Validity of the method was studied and the method was precise and accurate with a linearity range from 100 ng/ml to 1000 ng/ml. The extraction efficiency was found to be 81, 84 and 87% for 100, 500 and 1000 ng/ml, respectively for spiked drug in plasma. The limit of quantification and limit of detection were found to be 50 and 10 ng/ml, respectively in plasma. Within-day and between-day precision expressed by relative standard deviation was less than 4% and inaccuracy did not exceed 4%. The assay was also used to analyze samples collected during animal studies. The suitability and robustness of the method for in vivo samples were confirmed by analysis of BMS from mouse plasma and tissues dosed with BMS.     

LC-ESI-MS method for the determination of bisoprolol in human plasma

A sensitive liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of bisoprolol in human plasma, using metoprolol as internal standard (I.S.). After alkalization with sodium hydroxide, the samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and separated by HPLC on a ZORBAX SB-C18 column with a mobile phase of 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer containing 0.1% formic acid-methanol (32:68, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. The chromatographic separation was achieved in less than 5 min. The linearity was established over the concentration range of 0.05-120 ng/ml. The intra- and inter-run standard deviation was less than 3.8 and 7.5%, respectively. The method had been successfully applied to study the relative bioavailability of bisoprolol fumarate tablets in healthy Chinese volunteers. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the reference and test tablets have been compared.     

Development and validation of a sensitive reversed-phase HPLC method to determine intracellular accumulation of hydroxycamptothecin

The intracellular accumulation of anti-cancer agents strongly influences the efficiency of chemotherapy for cancer. In the present study, a simple, rapid, sensitive reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated to determine hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) in Eca109 cells. HCPT in cellular lysis solution were measured by RP-HPLC with a C18 column after extraction with ethyl acetate. The mobile phase contained 0.1% triethylamine-phosphoric acid buffer (pH 3.0) and acetonitrile (75:25, v/v). Fluorescence detector with excitation and emission wavelengths of 382 and 528 nm was used for determination of HCPT. The calibration curve was linear from 2 to 100 ng/ml with correlation coefficient of 0.9999, while the limit of quantification is 2 ng/ml. The recovery of assay was between 86.5 and 105.2%. The intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation were less than 10% (R.S.D.). Furthermore, the validated method was used to determine the accumulation of HCPT after incubating the liposomal formulation of HCPT and HCPT for injection with the intact cells. HCPT liposomes showed higher intracellular accumulation of HCPT at different incubation times compared with that of conventional HCPT injection.     

Simple, precise and accurate HPLC method of analysis for nevirapine suspension from human plasma

A selective and sensitive high performance liquid chromatography with UV detector (HPLC-UV) method was developed and validated from human plasma. Nevirapine and internal standard (IS) zidovudine were extracted from human plasma by liquid-liquid extraction process using methyl tert-butyl ether. The samples were analysed using Inertsil ODS 3, 250×4.6 mm, 5 μ column using a mobile phase consists of 50 mM sodium acetate buffer solution (pH-4.00±0.05): acetonitrile (73:27 v/v). The method was validated over a concentration range of 50.00 ng/ml to 3998.96 ng/ml. The method was successfully applied to bioequivalence study of 10 ml single dose nevirapine oral suspension 50 mg/5 ml in healthy male volunteers.     

Determination of palonosetron in human plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

A high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) method for the determination of palonosetron (PALO) in human plasma using naloxone as the internal standard (IS) was established. After adjustment to a weakly basic pH with saturated sodium bicarbonate, plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and separated on a Hanbon Lichrospher 5-C18 column with a mobile phase of 40 mM ammonium acetate buffer solution containing 0.04% formic acid-methanol (46:54, v/v). PALO was determined with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). HPLC-ESI-MS was performed in the selected-ion monitoring (SIM) mode using target ions at [M+H]+ m/z 297.2 for PALO and [M+H]+ m/z 328.2 for the IS. Calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.02124-10.62 ng/ml. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.02124 ng/ml. The intra- and inter-run variability values were all less than 10.4%. The method has been successfully applied to determine the plasma concentration of PALO in healthy Chinese volunteers.     

Development of a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass method for determination of bis(7)-tacrine, a promising anti-Alzheimer's dimer, in rat blood

An analytical method using on-line high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization was developed and applied for the quantification of bis(7)-tacrine (B7T) in rat blood. B7T and pimozide (internal standard, IS) were extracted in a single step from 100 μl of alkalized blood with ethyl acetate. Analytes were separated using an Extend C-18 column at 25 °C. The elution was achieved isocratically with a mobile phase composed of 0.05% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile (60:40, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.35 ml/min. Quantification was achieved by monitoring the selected ions at m/z 247 for B7T and m/z 462 → m/z 328 for pimozide. Retention times were 1.45 and 2.23 min for B7T and IS, respectively. Calibration curves were linear in the range from 86.4 to 2160.0 ng/ml. The established method is rapid, selective and sensitive for the identification and quantification of B7T in biological samples. The assay is accurate (bias <10%) and reproducible (intra- and inter-day variation <10%), with detection and quantification limit of 3.6 and 42.3 ng/ml, respectively. Furthermore, it was successfully applied for the pharmacokinetic measurement of B7T in rat with a single intravenous administration at 0.3 mg/kg.     

Quantitative determination of a novel insulin sensitizer and its para-hydroxylated metabolite in human plasma by LC-MS/MS

I, 5-[3-[3-(4-phenoxy-2-propylphenoxy)-propoxy]-phenyl]-2,4-thiazolidinedione sodium salt, is a dual alpha/gamma peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist for potential use in diabetic patients. The compound has a para-hydroxylated metabolite, II, which has also been shown to exhibit PPAR activity. An LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of I and its active metabolite (II) in human plasma has been successfully developed. The method consists of treating 0.5 ml plasma with ammonium acetate (pH 9.6; 50mM) and extracting I, II and internal standard (III, Fig. 2) with 5 ml ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate is evaporated and the samples are reconstituted in 0.1 ml acetonitrile:0.1% formic acid (65:35, v/v). The entire extraction procedure, as well as sample collection, was performed in glass tubes and vials to overcome the analytes adherence to polypropylene. A linear HPLC gradient was used to separate the analyte, metabolite, internal standard, and other interfering, non-quantitated metabolites. Detection was by negative ionization MS/MS on a turbo ionspray probe. Precursor-->product ion combinations were monitored in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The linear range is 0.05-20 ng/ml for I and 0.1-20 ng/ml for II. Recoveries were 59.4, 90.1 and 56.8% for I, II and III, respectively. Intraday variation using this method was <==7.0% for I and <==9.2% for II. The method exhibits good linearity and reproducibility for each analyte and good sensitivity, selectivity and robustness when used for the analysis of clinical samples.     

A Sensitive Method for Quantitation of Rifabutin and Its Desacetyl Metabolite in Human Biological Fluids by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

Sensitive HPLC-UV methodology has been developed and validated for quantitating rifabutin, an antimycobacterial, and its 25-desacetyl metabolite, LM-565, in human plasma and urine. The HPLC separation for both plasma and urine samples was performed on an ODS, 5-µm, reverse-phase column (25 cm × 4.6-cm ID) using a mobile phase of acetonitrile/0.05 M potassium phosphate, pH 4.2, with triethylamine, (38:61.5:0.5, v/v), at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The separation eluate was monitored by absorbance at 275 nm. Plasma samples (1 ml) were spiked with an internal standard (medazepam), buffered at pH 7.4 and extracted with 80:20 (v/v) hexane:ethyl acetate, and then back extracted with acidified water (0.05 M H3PO4). Linearity was established between 5.0–800 and 2.5–400 ng/ml for rifabutin and LM-565, respectively. Intraday imprecision for rifabutin and LM-565 plasma quality controls prepared at 7.3 and 3.2 ng/ml, respectively, was <15% relative standard deviation (RSD). Absolute recovery for parent drug and metabolite, from plasma, was >90% throughout the respective dynamic ranges and >70% for medazepam. Urine samples (1 ml) were acidified with 50 µl of 3.6 M H2SO4 and diluted with 0.1 M ammonium acetate. Linearity was established between 100 and 5000 ng/ml for both rifabutin and LM-565. Intraday imprecision for a urine control at 200 ng/ml was 12% RSD for either component. The method is currently being used to support Phase I kinetics program for rifabutin in prophylaxis of MAC infection of AIDS patients. Application of this method to a bioavailability assessment is presented.     

A simple method for the determination of ethylene-thiourea (ETU) in biological samples

A direct, simple, and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of ethylene-thiourea (ETU) in biological fluids. Samples were chromatographed on a Lichrosorb RP8 (5 pm) column after extraction with dichloromethane. The mobile phase was a mixture of hexane/isopropyl alcohol/ethyl alcohol (93:6:1 v/v) added with 0.6 mL/L butylamine. Detection was done with a UV detector set at 243 nm. This method was validated to standard criteria. Calibration curves for ETU in 100 microL of 0.9% saline, 500 microL plasma, and 10 mL urine were linear (r2 > 0.99) from 0.05 to 30 microg/mL, 0.025 to 30 microg/mL, and 1 to 100 ng/mL, respectively. The lower limit of detection was 20 ng/mL in plasma, 25 ng/mL in 0.9% saline, and 0.5 ng/mL in urine.     

Determination of clarithromycin in human plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method has been developed for the determination of clarithromycin in human plasma with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Clarithromycin and the internal standard, telmisartan were precipitated from the matrix (50 microl) with 200 microl acetonitrile and separated by HPLC using formic acid:10 mM ammonium acetate:methanol (1:99:400, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The assay based on detection by electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction monitoring mode was finished within 2.4 min. Linearity was over the concentration range 10-5000 ng/ml with a limit of detection of 0.50 ng/ml. Intra- and inter-day precision measured as relative standard deviation were <3.73% and <9.93%, respectively. The method was applied in a bioequivalence study of two tablet formulations of clarithromycin.