UPLC–MS/MS method for the determination of voriconazole plasma concentration from pediatric patients with hematologic tumors: An application toward personalized therapy

Untreated invasive fungal infection is one of the important risk factors affecting the prognosis of pediatric patients with hematologic tumors. Voriconazole (VOR) is the first-line antifungal drug for the treatment of Aspergillus infections. In order to reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions while producing an ideal antifungal effect, therapeutic drug monitoring was performed to maintain the VOR plasma concentration in a range of 1,000–5,500 ng/ml. In the present study, a reliable, accurate, sensitive and quick ultra-high performance liquid chromatograph–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of the VOR level. Protein precipitation was performed using acetonitrile, and then the chromatographic separation was carried out by UPLC using a C₁₈ column with the gradient mobile phases comprising 0.1% methanoic acid in acetonitrile (A) and 0.1% methanoic acid in water (B). In the selective reaction monitor mode, the mass spectrometric detection was carried out using an TSQ Endura triple quadruple mass spectrometer. The performance of this UPLC–MS/MS method was validated as per the National Medical Products Administration for Bioanalytical Method Validation. Additionally, the plasma concentrations of VOR in pediatric patients with hematologic tumors were detected using this method, and the analyzed results were used for personalized therapy.