Validation of an LC–MS/MS method for simultaneous detection of diverse components of Qinxing Qingre Zhike Granule in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study after oral administration to rats

A sensitive and validated method of liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was established to test the plasma concentrations of active ingredients in Qinxing Qingre Zhike Granule, namely geniposide, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, baicalin, wogonoside, baicalein, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin and glycyrrhetinic acid. The analysis was performed on an Ultimate XB‐C₁₈ column at the flow rate of 0.4 mL min^?1 in a single run of 18 min. The mobile phase was composed of 0.05% formic acid in water and acetonitrile with gradient elution. Positive and negative scanning and selected multiple reaction monitoring modes were applied for quantization. The proposed method showed good linearity in the given ranges from 0.6800–340.0 to 3.920–1960 ng mL^?1 with r² > 0.9917 for all the analytes. The precision (RSD) was no more than 12%, and the accuracy (RE) was less than ±11% for intra‐ and inter‐day. The extract recovery and matrix effect were acceptable for the requirements of biological sample analysis. Moreover, the developed method was effectively applied to the pharmacokinetic investigation of Qinxing Qingre Zhike Granule after oral administration in rats.     

Method development aspects for the quantitation of pharmaceutical compounds in human plasma with a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization source in the multiple reaction monitoring mode

The present work investigates various method development aspects for the quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical compounds in human plasma using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and multiple reaction monitoring (MALDI-MRM). Talinolol was selected as a model analyte. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and protein precipitation were evaluated regarding sensitivity and throughput for the MALDI-MRM technique and its applicability without and with chromatographic separation. Compared to classical electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) method development, with MALDI-MRM the tuning of the analyte in single MS mode is more challenging due to interfering matrix background ions. An approach is proposed using background subtraction. With LLE and using a 200 microL human plasma aliquot acceptable precision and accuracy could be obtained in the range of 1 to 1000 ng/mL without any LC separation. Approximately 3 s were required for one analysis. A full calibration curve and its quality control samples (20 samples) can be analyzed within 1 min. Combining LC with the MALDI analysis allowed improving the linearity down to 50 pg/mL, while reducing the throughput potential only by two-fold. Matrix effects are still a significant issue with MALDI but can be monitored in a similar way to that used for LC/ESI-MS analysis.     

Rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for quantification of ziprasidone in human plasma

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of ziprasidone (ZIP) in human plasma was developed. ZIP and N-methyl ziprasidone as internal standard (IS) were extracted from alkalinized plasma using tert- butyl methyl ether. Separation was performed isocratically on a C8 column with 90% acetonitrile containing 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate as a mobile phase with a total run time of 2.5 min. MS/MS transitions of m/z 413 --> 194 and m/z 427 --> 177 of the analyte and internal standard were used for quantification. Confirmatory ions of m/z 413 --> 177 and m/z 427 --> 180 were collected as well. The calibration curve based on peak-area ratio was linear up to at least 200 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.1 ng/mL. The method showed satisfactory reproducibility with a coefficient of variation of less than 5%. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of ZIP in spiked human plasma.     

Simultaneous determination of multiple active components in rat plasma using ultra‐fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Suan‐Zao‐Ren decoction and Suan‐Zao‐Ren granule

Suan‐Zao‐Ren decoction has been used to treat insomnia for many years. In this work, a rapid and sensitive ultra‐fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was first developed and fully validated for the simultaneous quantification of seven main active components, spinosin, mangiferin, neomangiferin, ferulic acid, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, and liquiritin apioside in rat plasma. The method was also successfully applied to compare the pharmacokinetics of these active ingredients after oral administration of Suan‐Zao‐Ren decoction and Suan‐Zao‐Ren granule. The separation was achieved on a Venusil MP C₁₈ column and the detection was conducted by the multiple reaction monitoring mode using negative ion mode. Each calibration curve had good linearity over a wide concentration range. The precision of intra‐ and interday were all within 15%, and the extraction recoveries at different analyte concentrations were all above 82.0%. The established method was successfully applied to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of the analytes between Suan‐Zao‐Ren decoction and Suan‐Zao‐Ren granule groups. The results indicated that all the analytes had similar mean concentration‐time curves trend between two groups. No significant differences were observed in pharmacokinetic parameters of mangiferin, while the others had significant differences.     

Chemical profiling by LC–MS/MS and HPLC fingerprint combined with chemometrics and simultaneous determination of 16 characteristic ingredients for the quality consistency evaluation of Shaoyao‐Gancao Decoction

In this paper, to evaluate the effect of the region of origin on the quality consistency of Shaoyao‐Gancao Decoction (SGD), the SGD fingerprint was developed for the first time. Chemometric methods including similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis were employed to study the quality consistency of SGD. Meanwhile, high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was applied for comprehensive analysis of SGD and 93 compounds were tentatively characterized. Furthermore, a high‐performance liquid chromatography method with multi‐wavelength switching for simultaneous determination of 16 characteristic ingredients comprising gallic acid, oxypaeniflorin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, liquiritin apioside, liquiritin, isoliquiritin apioside, galloylpaeoniflorin, 1,2,3,4,6‐penta‐O‐galloyl‐d ‐galactopyranose (PGG), ononin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, benzoylpaeoniflorin, glycyrrhizic acid, isoliquiritigenin and formononetin, was established. All 16 analytes show excellent linearity (R² ≥ 0.9990) with recoveries ranging from 96.58 to 104.61% and limits of detection and quantification of 0.022–0.291 and 0.037–0.635 μg/mL, respectively. Finally, it was successfully applied to determine 15 batches of SGD. The results of our research indicate that different regions of origin have a significant effect on the quality consistency of SGD, and its fingerprint combined with chemometrics and multi‐ingredient determination comprise an efficient and reliable approach for quality consistency evaluation.     

Development and validation of a high-sensitivity liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method with chemical derivatization for the determination of ethinyl estradiol in human plasma

An ultra-sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for the analysis of oral contraceptive ethinyl estradiol (EE) was developed and validated over the curve range of 2.5-500 pg/mL using 1 mL of human plasma sample. Ethinyl estradiol and the internal standard, ethinyl estradiol tetra-deuterated (EE-d4), were extracted from the plasma matrix with methyl t-butyl ether, derivatized with dansyl chloride and then back-extracted into hexane. The hexane phase was evaporated to dryness, reconstituted and injected onto the LC/MS/MS system. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Luna C(18) column (50 x 2 mm, 5 micro m) with an isocratic mobile phase of 20:80 (v/v) water:acetonitrile with 1% formic acid. The offline derivatization procedure introduced the easily ionizable tertiary amine function group to EE. This greatly improved analyte sensitivity in electrospray ionization and enabled us to achieve the desired lower limit of quantitation at 2.5 pg/mL. This high sensitivity method can be used for therapeutic drug monitoring or supporting bio-equivalence and drug-drug interaction studies in human subjects.     

Determination of free captopril in human plasma by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection

A new simple, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for quantification of captopril after precolumn derivatization with p-bromo-phenacyl-bromide in human plasma was validated. Plasma samples were analysed on a monolithic column (Cromolith Performance-RP 18e, 100 mm × 4.6 mm I.D., 3 μm) under isocratic conditions using a mobile phase of a 40:60 (v/v) mixture of acetonitrile and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water. The flow rate was 1 mL/min at the column temperature of 30 °C. In these chromatographic conditions, the retention time was 4.4 min for captopril derivative. The detection of the analyte was in MRM mode using an ion trap mass spectrometer with electrospray positive ionisation. The monitored ions were 216, 253, 255, 268, 270 m/z derived from 415 m/z for derivatized captopril. The sample preparation was very simple and consisted in plasma protein precipitation from 0.2 mL plasma using 0.3 mL methanol after the derivatization reaction was completed. Calibration curves were generated over the range of 10-3000 ng/mL with values for coefficient of correlation greater than 0.993 and by using a weighted (1/y²) quadratic regression. The values for precision (CV %) and accuracy (relative error %) at quantification limit were less than 9.9% and 3.9%, for within- and between-run, respectively. The mean recovery of the analyte was 99%. Derivatized samples demonstrated good short-term, long-term, post-preparative and freeze-thaw stability. This is the first reported LC-MS/MS method for analysis of captopril in human plasma that uses protein precipitation as sample processing procedure. The method is very simple and allows obtaining a very good recovery of the analyte. The validated LC-MS/MS method has been applied to a pharmacokinetic study of 50 mg captopril tablets on healthy volunteers.     

Development of a sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of apomorphine in canine plasma

A sensitive, rapid and specific quantitative liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of apomorphine (APO) in canine plasma. The analytes were prepared using one-step liquid-liquid extraction, and analyzed on a Waters Symmetry C(18) column interfaced with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer. A mixture of methanol/0.1% formic acid in water (70: 30, v/v) was employed as the isocratic mobile phase. Positive electrospray ionization was utilized as the ionization source. The analyte and clenbuterol (internal standard) were both detected using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained was 0.03 ng/mL. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 0.1-100 ng/mL, and provided good precision (RSD) and good accuracy (RE). The analyte was stable by using antioxidants throughout the whole study. The experimental results show that LC/MS/MS is a rapid and sensitive method to analyze APO in plasma. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of APO after intranasal administration of 0.5 mg apomorphine to 10 healthy beagle dogs.     

An LC‐MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic studies of bergenin,chlorogenic acid and four flavonoids in rat plasma after oral administration of a QingGanSanJie decotion extract

A rapid, simple and sensitive, liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of bergenin, chlorogenic acid and four flavonoids in a QingGanSanJie preparation in rat plasma. Puerarin was selected as the internal standard (IS). Plasma samples were precipitated with methanol and separated with a reverse phase Agilent Poroshell 120 EC‐C₁₈ column using a gradient mobile phase of methanol–water containing 0.1% formic acid (v/v). A triple quadruple mass spectrometer was used for quantification (limit of detection 0.36–5.55 ng/mL). Intra‐day and inter‐day precisions were within 15% and the average extraction recoveries ranged from 85 to 115% for each analyte. The method allowed simultaneous quantification for the first time of the pharmacokinetics of bergenin, chlorogenic acid and four flavonoids after intragastric administration of a QingGanSanJie extract in Sprague–Dawley rats. It was found that bergenin and chlorogenic acid had typical extravascular administration concentration–time curves; flavonoids had a bimodal distribution improving bioavailability and extending the pharmacodynamics period. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully automated method for the liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric determination of cyproterone acetate in human plasma using restricted access material for on-line sample clean-up

A new automated method for the quantitative analysis of cyproterone acetate (CPA) in human plasma has been developed using on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) prior to the LC-MS/MS determination. The method was based on the use of a pre-column packed with internal-surface reversed-phase material (LiChrospher RP-4 ADS, 25 mm x 2 mm) for sample clean-up coupled to LC separation on an octadecyl silica stationary phase by means of a column switching system. A 30 microl plasma sample volume was injected directly onto the pre-column using a mixture of water, acetonitrile and formic acid (90:10:0.1 (v/v/v)) adjusted to pH 4.0 with diluted ammonia as washing liquid. The analyte was then eluted in the back-flush mode with the LC mobile phase consisting of water, methanol and formic acid (10:90:0.1 (v/v/v)). The dispensing flow rates of the washing liquid and the LC mobile phase were 300 microl min(-1). Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) was used as internal standard. The MS ionization of the analytes was achieved using electrospray (ESI) in the positive ion mode. The pseudomolecular ionic species of CPA and MPA (417.4 and 387.5) were selected to generate daughter ions at 357.4 and 327.5, respectively. Finally, the developed method was validated according to a new approach using accuracy profiles as a decision tool. Very good results with respect to accuracy, detectability, repeatability, intermediate precision and selectivity were obtained. The LOQ of cyproterone acetate was 300 pg ml(-1).     

Liquid chromatographic-electrospray tandem mass spectrometric determination of bisoprolol in human plasma

An analytical method for the determination of bisoprolol in human plasma has been developed based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The analyte and internal standard (IS) diphenhydramine were cleaned up by protein precipitation with acetonitrile, reconstituted in mobile phase and separated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using methanol:10 mm ammonium acetate:formic acid (70:30:0.1 v/v/v) as mobile phase. Detection was carried out by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) on an LC-MS/MS system and was completed within 2.5 min. The assay was linear over the range 0.5-100 ng/mL with a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.5 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision levels were within 5.54 and 9.95%, respectively, while the accuracy was in the range 89.4-113%. This method has been utilized in a pharmacokinetic study, where healthy volunteers were treated with an oral dose of 5 mg bisoprolol.     

Supported liquid extraction in combination with LC‐MS/MS for high‐throughput quantitative analysis of hydrocortisone in mouse serum

A high‐throughput LC–MS/MS bioanalytical method was developed and validated for the determination of hydrocortisone in mouse serum via supported liquid extraction (SLE) in a 96‐well plate format. Although sample extracts from SLE result in similar matrix effects compared with conventional liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), greater analyte extraction recovery and much higher analysis throughput for the quantitative analysis of hydrocortisone in mouse serum were obtained. The current LC‐MS/MS method was validated for a concentration range of 2.00–2000 ng/mL for hydrocortisone using a 0.100 mL volume of mouse serum. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy of the quality control samples at low, medium and high concentration levels showed ≤12.9% CV and ?3.4–6.2% bias for the analyte in mouse serum. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LC-MS/MS signal suppression effects in the analysis of pesticides in complex environmental matrices

The application of LC separation and mobile phase additives in addressing LC-MS/MS matrix signal suppression effects for the analysis of pesticides in a complex environmental matrix was investigated. It was shown that signal suppression is most significant for analytes eluting early in the LC-MS analysis. Introduction of different buffers (e.g. ammonium formate, ammonium hydroxide, formic acid) into the LC mobile phase was effective in improving signal correlation between the matrix and standard samples. The signal improvement is dependent on buffer concentration as well as LC separation of the matrix components. The application of LC separation alone was not effective in addressing suppression effects when characterizing complex matrix samples. Overloading of the LC column by matrix components was found to significantly contribute to analyte-matrix co-elution and suppression of signal. This signal suppression effect can be efficiently compensated by 2D LC (LC-LC) separation techniques. The effectiveness of buffers and LC separation in improving signal correlation between standard and matrix samples is discussed.     

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. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LC-MS/MS signal suppression effects in the analysis of pesticides in complex environmental matrices

The application of LC separation and mobile phase additives in addressing LC-MS/MS matrix signal suppression effects for the analysis of pesticides in a complex environmental matrix was investigated. It was shown that signal suppression is most significant for analytes eluting early in the LC-MS analysis. Introduction of different buffers (e.g. ammonium formate, ammonium hydroxide, formic acid) into the LC mobile phase was effective in improving signal correlation between the matrix and standard samples. The signal improvement is dependent on buffer concentration as well as LC separation of the matrix components. The application of LC separation alone was not effective in addressing suppression effects when characterizing complex matrix samples. Overloading of the LC column by matrix components was found to significantly contribute to analyte-matrix co-elution and suppression of signal. This signal suppression effect can be efficiently compensated by 2D LC (LC-LC) separation techniques. The effectiveness of buffers and LC separation in improving signal correlation between standard and matrix samples is discussed.     

Simultaneous determination of five flavonoids in licorice using pressurized liquid extraction and capillary electrochromatography coupled with peak suppression diode array detection

Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of five flavonoids, namely liquiritin, isoliquiritin, ononin, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin, in licorice using baicalein as internal standard (IS). Peak suppression technique was used for the quantification of ononin because of its poor resolution with isoliquiritin. The analysis was performed on a Hypersil C₁₈ capillary (3 μm, 100 μm/25 cm) with a mixture of 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.0)/ACN (65:35, v/v) as mobile phase running at 25 kV and 30 °C. The detection wavelengths were set at 275 nm (without reference wavelength for liquiritin and liquiritigenin), 360 nm (without reference wavelength for isoliquiritin and isoliquiritigenin) and 254 nm (with reference wavelength of 405 nm for ononin). All calibration curves showed good linearity (R² > 0.9993) within the test ranges. The LOD and LOQ were lower than 2.1 and 8.3 μg/mL, respectively. The RSDs of intra- and interday for relative peak areas of five analytes to IS were less than 3.8 and 4.7%, respectively, and the recoveries were 98.2–103.8%. The validated method was successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of five flavonoids in licorice, which is helpful to its quality control.     

Simultaneous quantification of catechin,epicatechin, liquiritin,isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin,isoliquiritigenin, piperine and glycyrrhetinic acid in rat plasma by HPLC‐MS/MS: application to a pharmacokinetic study of Longhu Rendan pills

A sensitive, specific, accurate HPLC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of catechin, epicatechin, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, piperine and glycyrrhetinic acid from Longhu Rendan pills in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation was performed with a Hypersil Gold C₁₈ column using a gradient of methanol and 0.01% acetic acid containing 0.2 mm ammonium acetate as mobile phase. The analytes were quantified on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, operating in selected reaction monitoring mode and switching the electrospray ion source polarity between positive and negative modes in a single run. The calibration curves of catechin, epicatechin, liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritigenin, piperine and glycyrrhetinic acid were linear over the concentration ranges of 5–2000, 5–2000, 0.5–200, 0.5–200, 0.25–100, 0.25–100, 0.025–10 and 0.50–200 ng mL^?1, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐assay precisions and accuracies were <11.6 and 91.9–108.2%, respectively, for all analytes. Matrix effects for all analytes were between 88.2 and 114.2%. Stability testing showed that all analytes were stable in plasma at 24 °C for 3 h, at 4 °C for 24 h, after three freeze–thaw cycles, and at ?80 °C for 15 days. The method was successfully applied to an in vivo study evaluating the pharmacokinetics of multiple nonvolatile compounds following intragastric administration of Longhu Rendan pills to rats. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous quantification of multiple components in rat plasma by UPLC‐MS/MS and pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Huangqi decoction

A rapid, sensitive and accurate UPLC‐MS/MS method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of components of Huangqi decoction (HQD), such as calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside, calycosin‐glucuronide, liquiritin, formononetin‐glucuronide, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, ononin, calycosin, isoliquiritigenin, formononetin, glycyrrhizic acid, astragaloside IV, cycloastragenol, and glycyrrhetinic acid, in rat plasma. After plasma samples were extracted by protein precipitation, chromatographic separation was performed with a C₁₈ column, using a gradient of methanol and 0.05% acetic acid containing 4mm ammonium acetate as the mobile phase. Multiple reaction monitoring scanning was performed to quantify the analytes, and the electrospray ion source polarity was switched between positive and negative modes in a single run of 10 min. Method validation showed that specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, extraction recovery, matrix effect and stability for 14 components met the requirements for their quantitation in biological samples. The established method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of multiple components in rats after intragastric administration of HQD. The results clarified the pharmacokinetic characteristics of multiple components found in HQD. This research provides useful information for understanding the relation between the chemical components of HQD and their therapeutic effects.     

Effect of mobile phase pH, aqueous-organic ratio, and buffer concentration on electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns: implications in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric bioanalysis

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) based on selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is the standard methodology in quantitative analysis of administered xenobiotics in biological samples. Utilizing two SRM channels during positive electrospray ionization (ESI) LC/MS/MS method development for a drug compound containing two basic functional groups, we found that the response ratio (SRM1/SRM2) obtained using an acidic mobile phase was dramatically different from that obtained using a basic mobile phase. This observation is different from the well-established phenomenon of mobile phase affecting the [M+H](+) response, which is directly related to the amount of the [M+H](+) ions produced during the ionization. Results from follow-up work reported herein revealed that the MS/MS fragmentation patterns of four drug or drug-like compounds are affected not only by the pH, but also by the aqueous-organic ratio of the mobile phase and the buffer concentration at a given apparent pH. The observed phenomenon can be explained by invoking that a mixture of [M+H](+) ions of the same m/z value for the analyte is produced that is composed of two or more species which differ only in the site of the proton attachment, which in turn affects their MS/MS fragmentation pattern. The ratio of the different protonated species changes depending on the pH, aqueous-organic ratio, or ionic strength of the mobile phase used. The awareness of the mobile phase dependency of the MS/MS fragmentation pattern of precursor ions of identical m/z value will influence LC/MS/MS-based bioanalytical method development strategies. Specifically, we are recommending that multiple SRM transitions be monitored during mobile phase screening, with the MS/MS parameters used for each SRM optimized for the composition of the mobile phase (pH, organic percentage, and ionic strength) in which the analyte elutes.     

A strategy for extending the applicability of a validated plasma calibration curve to quantitative measurements in multiple tissue homogenate samples: a case study from a rat tissue distribution study of JI-101, a triple kinase inhibitor

A general practice in bioanalysis is that, whatever the biological matrix the analyte is being quantified in, the validation is performed in the same matrix as per regulatory guidelines. In this paper, we are presenting the applicability of a validated LC‐MS/MS method in rat plasma for JI‐101, to estimate the concentrations of JI‐101 in various tissues that were harvested in a rat tissue distribution study. A simple protein precipitation technique was used to extract JI‐101 and internal standard from the tissue homogenates. The recovery of JI‐101 in all the matrices was found to be >70%. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a binary gradient using mobile phase A (acetonitrile) and B (0.2% formic acid in water) at a flow rate of 0.30 mL/min on a Prodigy ODS column with a total run time of 4.0 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were 466.1 → 265 for JI‐101 and 180.1 → 110.1 for internal standard. The linearity range was 5.02–4017 ng/mL. The JI‐101 levels were quantifiable in the various tissue samples harvested in this study. Therefore, the use of a previously validated JI‐101 assay in plasma circumvented the tedious process of method development/validation in various tissue matrices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.