Simultaneous determination of metformin and glipizide in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A method has been developed for the simultaneous quantification of metformin (I) and glipizide (II) in human plasma. It is based on high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass (LC-ESI-MS/MS) spectrometric detection in positive ionization mode. Phenformin (III) and gliclazide (IV) were used as internal standards for I and II, respectively. The MS/MS detection was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The precursor-product ion combinations of m/z 130 --> 71, 446 --> 321, 206 --> 60 and 324 --> 127 were used to quantify I, II, III and IV, respectively. This method was validated in the concentration ranges of 0.02-4 microg/mL for I and 0.004-0.8 microg/mL for II. It was utilized to support a clinical pharmacokinetic study after single dose oral administration of a combination of I and II.     

High-throughput LC-MS/MS assay for 6-methoxy-2-naphthylacetic acid, an active metabolite of nabumetone in human plasma and its application to bioequivalence study

A simple, precise and accurate assay for the determination of 6-methoxy-2-naphthylacetic acid (6-MNA), an active metabolite of nabumetone in human plasma, was developed and validated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The analyte (6-MNA) and propranolol (internal standard, IS) were extracted from 200 microL aliquot of human plasma via solid-phase extraction employing HLB Oasis cartridges and separated on a Discovery HS C18 (50 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) column. Detection of analyte and IS was done by tandem mass spectrometry with a turbo ion spray interface operating in positive ion and multiple reaction monitoring acquisition mode. The total chromatographic runtime was 3.0 min with retention time for 6-MNA and IS at 1.97 and 1.26 min, respectively. The method was validated over a dynamic linear range of 0.20-60.00 microg/mL for 6-MNA with mean correlation coefficient r > or = 0.9986. The intra-batch and inter-batch precision (%CV) across five validation runs (lower limit of quantiation, low-, medium- and high-quality controls and upper limit of quantitation) was less than 7.5%. The accuracy determined at these levels was within -5.8 to +0.2% in terms of percentage bias. The method was successfully applied for a bioequivalence study of 750 mg nabumetone tablet formulation in 12 healthy Indian male subjects under fasted condition.     

Simultaneous quantitation of nicorandil and its denitrated metabolite in plasma by LC-MS/MS: application for a pharmacokinetic study

A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of nicorandil and its denitrated metabolite, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-nicotinamide, in rat plasma. After a liquid-liquid extraction step, chromatographic separation was performed on a ShinPack C(18) column with an isocratic mobile phase composed of methanol and 2 mM aqueous ammonium acetate containing 0.03% (v/v) formic acid (33:67 v/v). Procainamide was used as an internal standard (IS). Selected reaction monitoring was performed using the transitions m/z 212 → m/z 135, m/z 166 → m/z 106 and m/z 236 → m/z 163 to quantify nicorandil, its denitrated metabolite and IS, respectively. Calibration curves were constructed over the range of 5-15,000 ng.ml(-1) for both nicorandil and its metabolite. The mean relative standard deviation (RSD%) values for the intra-run precision were 5.4% and 7.3% and for the inter-run precision were 8.5% and 7.3% for nicorandil and its metabolite, respectively. The mean accuracy values were 100% and 95% for nicorandil and its metabolite, respectively. No matrix effect was detected in the samples. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after per os administration of nicorandil in rats.     

Novel LC‐ ESI‐MS/MS method for desvenlafaxine estimation human plasma: application to pharmacokinetic study

A simple, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI‐MS/MS) method was developed for the quantification of desvenlafaxine in human plasma using desvenlafaxine d6 as an internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was performed using a Thermo‐BDS hypersil C₈ column (50 × 4.6 mm, 3 µm) with an isocratic mobile phase composed of 5 mM ammonium acetate buffer: methanol (20:80, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.80 mL/min. Desvenlafaxine and desvenlafaxine d6 were detected with proton adducts at m/z 264.2/58.1 and 270.2/ 64.1 in multiple reaction monitoring positive mode, respectively. Liquid–liquid extraction was used to extract the drug and the IS. The method was linear over the concentration range 1.001–400.352 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient of ≥0.9994. This method demonstrated intra and inter‐day precision within 0.7–5.5 and 1.9–6.8%, and accuracy within 95.3–107.4 and 93.4–99.5%. Desvenlafaxine was found to be stable throughout the freeze–thaw cycles, bench‐top and long‐term matrix stability studies. The developed and validated method can be successfully applied for the bioequivalence/pharmacokinetic studies of desvenlafaxine in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LC‐MS/MS‐ESI method for simultaneous quantitation of metformin and repaglinidie in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study in rats

A highly sensitive and specific LC‐MS/MS‐ESI method has been developed for simultaneous quantification of metformin (MFN) and repaglinide (RGN) in rat plasma (50 μL) using phenacetin as an internal standard (IS). Simple protein precipitation was used to extract MFN and RGN from rat plasma. The chromatographic resolution of MFN, RGN and IS was achieved with a mobile phase consisting of 0.2% formic acid in water–acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) with a time program flow gradient on a Chromolith RP‐18e column. The total chromatographic run time was 3.5 min and the elution of MFN, RGN and IS occurred at 1.64, 2.21 and 2.15 min, respectively. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 0.855–394 and 0.021–21.7 ng/mL for MFN and RGN, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision values for MFN and RGN met the acceptance as per FDA guidelines. MFN and RGN were stable in battery of stability studies viz., bench‐top, auto‐sampler and freeze–thaw cycles. The developed assay was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rats. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous quantitation of metformin and dapagliflozin in human plasma by LC–MS/MS: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

A single LC–MS/MS assay has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of metformin and dapagliflozin in human plasma using ion‐pair solid‐phase extraction. Chromatographic separation of the analytes and their internal standards was carried out on a reversed‐phase ACE 5CN (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column using acetonitrile–15 mm ammonium acetate, pH 4.5 (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase. To achieve higher sensitivity and selectivity for the analytes, mass spectrometric analysis was performed using a polarity switching approach. Ion transitions studied using multiple reaction monitoring mode were m/z 130.1 [M + H]⁺/60.1 for metformin and m/z 467.1 [M + CH₃COO]^?/329.1 for dapagliflozin in the positive and negative modes, respectively. The linear calibration range of the assay was established from 1.00 to 2000 ng/mL for metformin and from 0.10 to 200 ng/mL for dapagliflozin to achieve a better assessment of the pharmacokinetics of the drugs. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for the analytes were 0.39 and 1.0 ng/mL for metformin and 0.03 and 0.1 ng/mL for dapagliflozin, respectively. There was no interference of plasma matrix obtained from different sources, including hemolyzed and lipemic plasma. The method was successfully applied to study the effect of food on the pharmacokinetics of metformin and dapagliflozin in healthy subjects.     

Simple and sensitive LC‐MS/MS‐based assay for the quantification of dimemorfan in human plasma for use in a pharmacokinetic study

Dimemorfan phosphate has been widely used for 40 years throughout the world for the treatment of coughs. This is the first report on the use of an LC‐MS/MS‐based assay for the determination of dimemorfan in human plasma using estazolam as an internal standard after one‐step protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Phenomenex Luna C₁₈ column (3 µm, 50 × 2.0 mm) using a fast gradient method, which involves water and methanol as the mobile phase (both containing 0.1% formic acid). Dimemorfan and estazolam were detected with proton adducts at m/z values of 255.8 → 155.1 and 295.0 → 267.0, respectively, in the selected reaction monitoring positive mode. The linear dynamic range of the assay was 0.04–5.00 ng/mL. The chromatographic run time for each plasma sample was <5 min. The method was proven to be accurate, precise, and repeatable. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied for the determination of dimemorfan in a pharmacokinetic study using healthy Chinese subjects. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LC‐MS/MS determination and pharmacokinetic study of lacidipine in human plasma

A robust, specific and fully validated LC‐MS/MS method as per general practices of industry has been developed for estimation of lacidipine (LAC) with 100 μL of human plasma using lacidipine‐¹³C8 as an internal standard (IS). The API‐4000 LC‐MS/MS was operated under the multiple reaction‐monitoring mode. A simple liquid–liquid extraction process was used to extract LAC and IS from human plasma. The total run time was 3.0 min and the elution of LAC and IS occurred at 1.96 and 1.97 min; this was achieved with a mobile phase consisting of 5 mm ammonium acetate buffer–acetontrile (15:85 v/v) at a flow rate of 0.60 mL/min on a Zorbax SB C₁₈ (50 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 50–15,000 pg/mL (r > 0.998) for LAC. The current developed method has negligible matrix effect and is free from unwanted adducts and clusters which are formed owing to system such as solvent or mobile phase. The developed assay method was applied to an oral pharmacokinetic study in humans and successfully characterized the pharmacokinetic data up to 72 h. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A highly efficient and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of afatinib in human plasma: application to a metabolic stability study

Afatinib (AFT) is a new tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer. In the present study, a simple, specific, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass‐spectrometric method for the quantification of AFT in human plasma, was developed and validated. Chromatographic separation of the analytes was accomplished on a reversed‐phase Luna^®‐PFP 100 Å column (50 × 2.0 mm; 3.0 μm) maintained at ambient temperature. Isocratic elution was carried out using acetonitrile–water (40:60, v/v) containing 10 mm ammonium formate buffer (pH 4.5) adjusted with formic acid at a flow rate of 0.4 mL min^?1. The analytes were monitored by electrospray ionization in positive ion multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method yields a linear calibration plot (r² = 0.9997) from a quantification range of 0.5–500 ng mL^?1 with the lower limit of quantification and lower limit of detection of 1.29 and 0.42 ng mL^?1, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were estimated and found to be in the ranges of 1.53–4.11% for precision and ?2.80–0.38% for accuracy. Finally, quantification of afatinib in a metabolic stability study in rat liver microsomes was achieved through the proposed method. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of an LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for the quantitation of hemslecin A in rhesus monkey plasma and its application in pharmacokinetics

In this study, a new LC‐ESI‐MS/MS‐based method was validated for the quantitation of hemslecin A in rhesus monkey plasma using otophylloside A as internal standard (IS). Hemslecin A and the IS were extracted from rhesus monkey plasma using liquid–liquid extraction as the sample clean‐up procedure, and were subjected to chromatography on a Phenomenex Luna CN column (150 × 2.0 mm, 3.0 µm) with the mobile phase consisting of methanol and 0.02 mol/mL ammonium acetate (55:45, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Detection was performed on an Agilent G6410B tandem mass spectrometer by positive ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode, monitoring the transitions m/z 580.5 [M + NH₄]⁺ → 503.4 and m/z 518.2 [M + NH₄]⁺ → 345.0 for hemslecin A and IS, respectively. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 0.5–200 ng/mL and was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rhesus monkeys. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitive LC‐MS/MS‐ESI method for simultaneous determination of montelukast and fexofenadine in human plasma: application to a bioequivalence study

A rapid, simple, sensitive and selective LC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of montelukast (MT) and fexofenadine (FF) in human plasma (200 μL) using montelukast‐d₆ (MT‐d₆) and fexofenadine‐d₁₀ (FF‐d₁₀), respectively as an internal standard (IS) as per the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The chromatographic resolution was achieved on a Chromolith RP_18e column using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 20 mm ammonium formate–acetonitrile (20:80, v/v) at flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. The LC‐MS/MS was operated under the multiple‐reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization. The total run time of analysis was 4 min and elution of MT, FF, MT‐d₆ and FF‐d₁₀ occurred at 2.5, 1.2, 2.4 and 1.2 min, respectively. The standard curve found to be linear in the range 2.00–1000 ng/mL with a coefficient of correlation of ≥0.99 for both the drugs. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision values for MT and FF met the acceptance as per FDA guidelines. MT and FF were found to be stable in a battery of stability studies viz., bench‐top, auto‐sampler and repeated freeze‐thaw cycles. The validated assay was applied to an oral bioequivalence study in humans. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitive and selective liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of metoclopramide in human plasma: application to a bioequivalence study

A simple, sensitive and rapid method has been developed and validated for determination of the metoclopramide (MCP) in 100 μL human plasma. The analytical procedure involves a liquid–liquid extraction method using tramadol as an internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was carried out on a HyPURITY ADVANCE column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 10 mm ammonium acetate buffer in the ratio of 80:20 (v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The total run time of analysis was 2.5 min and elution of MCP and IS occurred at 0.9 and 1.3 min, respectively. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 0.53–42.07 ng/mL (r > 0.99). The intra‐ and inter‐day precision values for MCP met the acceptance as per FDA guidelines. MCP was stable in a battery of stability studies viz., bench‐top, auto‐sampler and freeze–thaw cycles. The developed assay method was successfully applied to an oral bioequivalence study in humans. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the estimation of amlodipine in human plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the estimation of amlodipine in human plasma. Amlodipine was extracted from human plasma by using a solid-phase extraction technique. Imipramine was used as the internal standard. A Hypersil BDS C18 column provided chromatographic separation of analytes followed by detection with mass spectrometry. The method involves a rapid solid-phase extraction from plasma, simple isocratic chromatography conditions and mass spectrometric detection that enables detection at sub-nanogram levels. The proposed method has been validated for a linear range of 0.1-10.0 ng/mL with correlation coefficient >or=0.9990. The intrarun and interrun precision and accuracy were within 10.0%. The overall recovery for amlodipine was 63.67%. Total run time was 3.2 min only.     

Rapid and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for determination of megestrol acetate in human plasma: application to a human pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, simple and fully validated LC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of megestrol acetate in human plasma using tolbutamide as an internal standard (IS) after one‐step liquid–liquid extraction with methyl‐tert‐butyl‐ether. Detection was performed using electrospray ionization in positive ion multiple reaction monitoring mode by monitoring the transitions m/z 385.5 → 267.1 for megestrol acetate and m/z 271.4 → 155.1 for IS. Chromatographic separation was performed on a YMC Hydrosphere C₁₈ column with an isocratic mobile phase, which consisted of 10 mm ammonium formate buffer (adjusted to pH 5.0 with formic acid)–methanol (60:40, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The achieved lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 1 ng/mL (signal‐to‐noise ratio > 10) and the standard calibration curve for megestrol acetate was linear (r > 0.99) over the studied concentration range (1–2000 ng/mL). The proposed method was fully validated by determining its specificity, linearity, LLOQ, intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and stability. The validated LC‐MS/MS method was successfully applied for the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters of megestrol acetate after oral administration of a single dose 800 mg of megestrol acetate (Megace?) to five healthy Korean male volunteers under fed conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bioanalysis of pentoxifylline and related metabolites in plasma samples through LC‐MS/MS

Analytical aspects related to the assay of pentoxifylline (PTX), lisofylline (M1) and carboxypropyl dimethylxanthine (M5) metabolites are discussed through comparison of two alternative analytical methods based on liquid chromatography separation and atmospheric pressure electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry detection. One method is based on a ‘pure’ reversed‐phase liquid chromatography mechanism, while the second one uses the additional polar interactions with embedded amide spacers linking octadecyl moieties to the silicagel surface (C‐18 Aqua stationary phase). In both cases, elution is isocratic. Both methods are equally selective and allows separation of unknowns (four species associated to PTX, two species associated to M1) detected through specific mass transitions of the parent compounds and owning respective structural confirmation. Plasma concentration–time patterns of these compounds follow typical metabolic profiles. It has been advanced that in‐vivo formation of conjugates of PTX and M1 is possible, such compounds being cleaved back to the parent ones within the ion source. The first method was associated with a sample preparation procedure based on plasma protein precipitation by strong organic acid addition. The second method used protein precipitation by addition of a water miscible organic solvent. Both analytical methods were fully validated and used to assess bioequivalence between a prolonged release generic formulation and the reference product, under multidose and single dose approaches. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative determination of metformin,glyburide and its metabolites in plasma and urine of pregnant patients by LC‐MS/MS

This report describes the development and validation of an LC‐MS/MS method for the quantitative determination of glyburide (GLB), its five metabolites (M1, M2a, M2b, M3 and M4) and metformin (MET) in plasma and urine of pregnant patients under treatment with a combination of the two medications. The extraction recovery of the analytes from plasma samples was 87–99%, and that from urine samples was 85–95%. The differences in retention times among the analytes and the wide range of the concentrations of the medications and their metabolites in plasma and urine patient samples required the development of three LC methods. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of the analytes in plasma samples was as follows: GLB, 1.02 ng/mL; its five metabolites, 0.100–0.113 ng/mL; and MET, 4.95 ng/mL. The LLOQ in urine samples was 0.0594 ng/mL for GLB, 0.984–1.02 ng/mL for its five metabolites and 30.0 µg/mL for MET. The relative deviation of this method was <14% for intra‐day and inter‐day assays in plasma and urine samples, and the accuracy was 86–114% in plasma, and 94–105% in urine. The method described in this report was successfully utilized for determining the concentrations of the two medications in patient plasma and urine. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the analysis of atomoxetine in human plasma and in vitro cellular samples

A simple, rapid and sensitive method for quantification of atomoxetine by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) was developed. This assay represents the first LC‐MS/MS quantification method for atomoxetine utilizing electrospray ionization. Deuterated atomoxetine (d3‐atomoxetine) was adopted as the internal standard. Direct protein precipitation was utilized for sample preparation. This method was validated for both human plasma and in vitro cellular samples. The lower limit of quantification was 3 ng/mL and 10 nm for human plasma and cellular samples, respectively. The calibration curves were linear within the ranges of 3–900 ng/mL and 10 nm to 10 µm for human plasma and cellular samples, respectively (r² > 0.999). The intra‐ and inter‐day assay accuracy and precision were evaluated using quality control samples at three different concentrations in both human plasma and cellular lysate. Sample run stability, assay selectivity, matrix effect and recovery were also successfully demonstrated. The present assay is superior to previously published LC‐MS and LC‐MS/MS methods in terms of sensitivity or the simplicity of sample preparation. This assay is applicable to the analysis of atomoxetine in both human plasma and in vitro cellular samples. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of piperaquine and its N‐oxidated metabolite in rat plasma using LC‐MS/MS

A sensitive and efficient liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of piperaquine (PQ) and its N ‐oxidated metabolite (PQ‐M) in plasma. A simple protein precipitation procedure was used for sample preparation. Adequate chromatographic retention was achieved on a C₁₈ column under gradient elution with acetonitrile and 2 mm aqueous ammonium acetate containing 0.15% formic acid and 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid. A triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source was set up in the positive ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method was linear in the range of 2.0–400.0 ng/mL for PQ and 1.0–50.0 ng/mL for PQ‐M with suitable accuracy, precision and extraction recovery. The lower limits of detection (LLOD) were established at 0.4 and 0.2 ng/mL for PQ and PQ‐M, respectively, using 40 μL of plasma sample. The matrix effect was negligible under the current conditions. No effect was found for co‐administrated artemisinin drugs or hemolysis on the quantification of PQ and PQ‐M. Stability testing showed that two analytes remained stable under all relevant analytical conditions. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study performed in rats after a single oral administration of PQ (60 mg/kg).     

Validated LC‐MS/MS assay for the quantitative determination of vardenafil in human plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC‐MS/MS) assay has been developed for the quantitative analysis of vardenafil in human plasma. Vardenafil and the internal standard, alprazolam, were extracted from 0.2 mL aliquots of alkalinized plasma by a single solvent extraction into hexane : dichloromethane. Reversed‐phase chromatographic separation was affected by gradient elution with mobile phases consisting of 10 mM ammonium formate pH 7.0 (solvent A) and methanol (100%, solvent B), delivered at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The analytes were detected by using an electrospray ion source on a 4000 QTrap triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in positive ionization mode. The mass transitions were m/z 489.3 → 312.2 for vardenafil and m/z 309.2 → 281.0 for alprazolam. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 0.2–100 ng/mL, with correlation coefficients ≥0.995. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision was less than 5.4% in terms of relative standard deviation and the accuracy was within 12.7% in terms of relative error. The lower limit of quantitation was set at 0.2 ng/mL. The high sensitivity and acceptable performance of the assay allowed its application to the analysis of plasma samples obtained following the oral administration of vardenafil to healthy male volunteers in a pharmacokinetic study. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validation of a HPLC‐ESI MS/MS method for the determination of clonidine in human plasma and its application in a bioequivalence study in Chinese healthy volunteers

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS) method to determine clonidine in human plasma was developed and fully validated. Sample preparation was involved an one‐step extraction with diethyl ether. Donepezil was employed as the internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was performed on a Hypersil BDS C₁₈ column (i.d. 2.1 × 50 mm, particle size 3μm) with a mobile phase of methanol–water (containing 0.1% formic acid; 60:40, v/v) at a flow rate of 200 μL/min. The peaks were detected by mass spectrometry using the electrospray ion source in selected reaction monitoring mode. The extraction recovery was 72.53–85.25%. The method was found to be linear in a concentration range of 0.02–6.00 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantification was 0.02 ng/mL. The within‐ and between‐batch precisions at three concentrations were 4.33–16.47 and 7.24–17.24% with accuracies of ?2.47–10.91 and 1.86–10.19%, respectively. This validated method was successfully used for a bioequivalence study of two clonidine transdermal patches on healthy volunteers. The results suggested that the test formulation of clonidine patch met the regulatory criterion for bioequivalence to the reference formulation, but a larger sample size should be needed for the estimation of bioequivalence. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.