Determination of Captopril in Human Plasma by Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

In this study, a fast and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of captopril in human plasma was developed and validated. The analyte and enalaprilat, used as the internal standard, were extracted from plasma using methanol directly precipitate protein. Analysis was performed on a Lichrospher CN column with water (containing 0.1% formic acid) and methanol (60∶40, v/v) as the mobile phase. Linearity was assessed from 6.25 to 800 ng/ml in plasma. The analytical method proved to be applicable in a pharmacokinetic study of captopril after oral administration of 20 mg captopril tablet to 20 healthy volunteers.     

A rapid and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of osthole in rat plasma: application to pharmacokinetic study

Osthole, a major component isolated from the fruit of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. We developed and validated a rapid and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for the quantification of osthole in rat plasma. Sample preparation involved simple liquid–liquid extraction by ethyl acetate after addition of imperatorin as internal standard (IS). The analyte was separated using a C₁₈ column with the mobile phase of methanol–0.1% formic acid (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The elutes were detected under positive electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method was sensitive with 0.5 ng/mL as the lower limit of detection. Good linearity was obtained over the range of 1.0–500.0 ng/mL. The intra and inter‐batch accuracy for osthole in rat plasma samples ranged from 99.5 to 108.1% and the variation was <8.9%. The stability, extraction efficiency and matrix effect were also acceptable. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of osthole in rat after intravenous and oral administration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous Determination of Hydrochlorothiazide and Valsartan in Human Plasma by Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A rapid and specific liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method was described for the simultaneous determination of hydrochlorothiazide and valsartan in human plasma. After extracted from plasma using methanol, hydrochlorothiazide, valsartan and hydroflumethiazide, irbesartan, used as the internal standard, respectively, were chromatographically analyzed on a Phenomenex Kromasil C₈ column with water and methanol (27:73, v/v) as the mobile phase. Selected reaction monitoring was specific for mass detection employing negative electrospray ionization. The calibration standards were linear over the concentration range (3.13–800 ng/ml for hydrochlorothiazide and 11.72–3000 ng/ml for valsartan). The method was found to be suitable for application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of dispersible tablet containing 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide and 80 mg valsartan to 20 healthy volunteers.     

Development and validation of a rapid ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of darunavir,ritonavir, and tenofovir in human plasma: Application to human pharmacokinetics

A sensitive ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous determination of darunavir, ritonavir and tenofovir in human plasma. Sample preparation involved a simple liquid–liquid extraction using 200 μL of human plasma extracted with methyl tert‐butyl ether for three analytes and internal standard. The separation was accomplished on an Acquity UPLC BEH C₁₈ (50 mm x 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) analytical column using gradient elution of acetonitrile/methanol (80:20, v/v) and 5.0 mM ammonium acetate containing 0.01% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The linearity of the method ranged between 20.0 and 12 000 ng/mL for darunavir, 2.0 and 2280 ng/mL for ritonavir, and 14.0 and 1600 ng/mL for tenofovir using 200 μL of plasma. The method was completely validated for its selectivity, sensitivity, linearity, precision and accuracy, recovery, matrix effect, stability, and dilution integrity. The extraction recoveries were consistent and ranged between 79.91 and 90.04% for all three analytes and internal standard. The method exhibited good intra‐day and inter‐day precision between 1.78 and 6.27%. Finally the method was successfully applied for human pharmacokinetic study in eight healthy male volunteers after the oral administration of 600 mg darunavir along with 100 mg ritonavir and 100 mg tenofovir as boosters.     

Determination of chikusetsusaponin V and chikusetsusaponin IV in rat plasma by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and its application to a preliminary pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for determination of two major bioactive saponins in rat plasma after oral administration of saponins extracted from Rhizoma Panacis Japonici, including chikusetsusaponin V and chikusetsusaponin IV for the first time. Akebia saponin D was used as the internal standard (IS). Plasma samples were prepared by protein precipitation with methanol. A Phenomenex C₁₈ column (150 × 4.6 mm, 4 µm) was used as the analytical column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0.05% aqueous formic acid. Mass spectrometric detection was achieved by single quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization interface operating in negative ionization mode. Calibration curves showed good linearity over the concentration range of 5–500 ng/mL for the two analytes in rat plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐batch precisions were within 10.3% and accuracy ranged from ?3.9 to 5.4%. The method was validated and successfully applied to the preliminary pharmacokinetic study of chikusetsusaponin V and chikusetsusaponin IV in rat plasma after oral administration of saponins extracted from Rhizoma Panacis Japonici. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Measurement of fexofenadine concentration in micro‐sample human plasma by a rapid and sensitive LC‐MS/MS employing protein precipitation: application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study

A simple, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/positive ion electro‐spray tandem mass spectrometry method (LC‐MS/MS) was developed and validated for the quantification of fexofenadine with 100 μL human plasma employing glipizide as internal standard (IS). Protein precipitation was used in the sample preparation procedure. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed‐phase C₁₈ column (5 μm, 100 × 2.1 mm) with methanol : buffer (containing 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 0.1% formic acid; 70 : 30, v/v) as mobile phase. The total chromatographic runtime was approximately 3.0 min with retention time for fexofenadine and IS at approximately 1.9 and 2.1 min, respectively. Detection of fexofenadine and IS was achieved by LC‐MS/MS in positive ion mode using 502.1 → 466.2 and 446.0 → 321.1 transitions, respectively. The method was proved to be accurate and precise at linearity range of 1–600 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient (r) of ≥0.9976. The validated method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in human volunteers following oral administration of 60 or 120 mg fexofenadine formulations, successfully. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of ospemifene in human plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to a human pharmacokinetic study

A highly sensitive, specific and rapid liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) analytical method has been developed and validated for the determination of ospemifene in human plasma using ospemifene‐d₄ as an internal standard. Solid‐phase extraction technique with Phenomenex Strata X‐33 μm polymeric sorbent cartridges (30 mg/1 mL) was used to extract the analytes from the plasma. The chromatographic separation was achieved on Agilent Eclipse XDB‐Phenyl, 4.6 × 75 mm, 3.5 μm column using the mobile phase composition of methanol and 20 mm ammonium formate buffer (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min. A detailed method validation was performed as per the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines and the calibration curve obtained was linear (r² = 99) over the concentration range 5.02–3025 ng/mL. The API‐4500 MS/MS was operated under multiple reaction monitoring mode during the analysis. The proposed method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in healthy human volunteers after oral administration of an ospemifene 60 mg tablet under fed conditions.     

LC–MS/MS determination of buparlisib,a phosphoinositide 3 kinase inhibitor in rat plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

Buparlisib is a selective phosphoinositide 3 kinase inhibitor currently evaluated in clinical trials. We developed and validated an LC–MS/MS coupled with a one-step protein precipitation extraction method for the quantitation of buparlisib in rat plasma. After protein precipitation with acetonitrile, the plasma sample was analyzed using a Cortecs UPLC C₁₈ column, with acetonitrile–0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase system. Mass spectrometric detection was conducted in positive ionization mode, with target quantitative ion pair of m/z 411.2 → 367.2 for buparlisib. The calibration curve showed good linearity (1.0–3000 ng/ml), with acceptable accuracy (RE ranging from −6.2 to 5.9%) and precision (RSD within 8.2%) values at quality control concentrations. Extraction recovery from plasma was 80.9–88.7% and the matrix effect was negligible (92.6–95.2%). The validated method presented a simple quantification method of buparlisib in detail and utilized it for a pharmacokinetic study at three dose concentrations after oral administration in Wistar rats.     

Rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of ambroxol in human plasma

A sensitive, specific and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was described and validated for the quantification of ambroxol in human plasma using enalaprilat as the internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was performed on a Lichrospher CN column with a mobile phase of methanol and water (containing 0.1% formic acid) (70:30, v/v). The total run time was 5.0 min for each sample. The analytes was detected by mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization source in positive selected reaction monitoring mode. The precursor-fragment ion reaction for ambroxol was m/z 378.9 --> 263.8, and for IS was m/z 349.0 --> 205.9. The linearity was established over the concentration range of 1.56-400.00 ng/mL. The inter-day and the intra-day precisions were all within 10%. A simple protein precipitation with methanol was adopted for sample preparation. The extraction recoveries of ambroxol and IS were higher than 90.80%. The validated method was successfully applied in pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of 90 mg ambroxol to 24 healthy volunteers.     

A validated sensitive HPLC‐MS/MS method for quantification of a potential hypnotic drug MT502 and its application to a pharmacokinetic study in rat

A rapid, sensitive HPLC‐MS/MS method was established and validated to assay the concentration and pharmacokinetic profile of MT502, a promising hypnotic drug. The plasma sample was treated by a liquid–liquid extraction and separated on a kromasil C₁₈ column at an isocratic flow rate of 0.3 mL/min using methanol and 0.1% formic acid in water (75:25, v/v) as mobile phase. The mass spectrometric detection was carried out using a triple‐quadrupole system via positive electrospray ionization. Multiple reaction monitoring was used for quantitation of m/z transitions from 261 to 188 for MT502 and from 247 to 188 for MT501 (internal standard). Good linearity was achieved over the concentration range of 1–1000 ng/mL and 10–5000 ng/mL with lower limit of quantification of 0.30 and 0.80 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions, accuracy, recovery and stability were satisfactory for the concentration test. The above method can be used for a pharmacokinetic study at doses of 1, 5 and 20 mg/kg. Results indicated that MT502 had rapid absorption, rapid elimination and linear pharmacokinetic properties within the range of the tested intragastric dose. This developed HPLC‐MS/MS method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of MT502 for the first time and was demonstrated to be simple and sensitive. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A rapid UHPLC–MS/MS method for the quantification of ARQ531 in rat plasma: Validation and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of ARQ531, a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor in rat plasma. After protein precipitation with acetonitrile, the samples were separated on a UPLC BEH C₁₈ column with 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min. The mass detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reaction monitoring with precursor-to-product ion transitions of m/z 479.1 > 365.1 and m/z 441.2 > 138.1 for ARQ531 and internal standard, respectively. Good linearity (correlation coefficient > 0.9988) was achieved over the concentration range of 0.5–1,000 ng/ml and the lower limit of quantitation was 0.5 ng/ml. The accuracy ranged from −13.50 to 11.35% and the precision was <8.87%. The extraction recovery was >85.56%. ARQ531 was demonstrated to be stable under the tested conditions. The validated method was further applied to a pharmacokinetic study of ARQ531 in rats after intravenous (1 mg/kg) and oral (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg) administration. The results demonstrated that ARQ531 displayed linear pharmacokinetic profiles over the oral dose range of 1–10 mg/kg and good oral bioavailability (>50%).     

Quantification of lipid modified estrogenic derivative (ESC8) in rat plasma by LC‐MS: application to a pharmacokinetic study

A lipid‐conjugated, estrogenic derivative molecule, ESC8, compared with other estrogenic molecules, encourages cell death in both ER‐positive and ER‐negative breast cancer cells. A rapid and highly sensitive assay method has been developed and validated for the estimation of a ESC8 in rat plasma using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry under positive‐ion mode with electrospray ionization. The sample process includes using methanol for precipitation of ESC8 and dextromethorphan (internal standard, IS) from plasma. Chromatographic separation was achieved with methanol–water–formic acid (70:30:0.1% v/v/v) pumped at a flow rate of 0.3mL/min and a C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm i.d., 1.7 μm particle size) with a total run time of 5 min. The m/z ions monitored were 568.5 and 272.1 for ESC8 and IS, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation achieved was 1.08 ng/mL and linearity was observed from 5 to 500 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were <4%. The proposed method was successfully applied to a preliminary pharmacokinetic study of ESC8 liposomal formulation following an intraperitoneal administration of 3.67 mg/kg in rats. The concentrations of ESC8 in plasma were quantifiable up to 36 h. The peak concentration of ESC8 was found to be 110.72 ng/mL, the area under the concentration–time curve was 1625.23ng/mL h and the half‐life was 11.72 h.     

LC-APCI-MS/MS assay for quantitation of ethyl esters of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in human plasma and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

A simple and specific LC–MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPAEE) and ethyl ester of docosahexaenoic acid (DHAEE). After deproteinized with acetonitrile, the plasma samples were separated on a C18 column using a gradient elution system consisted of methanol and 1.0 mM ammonium acetate in water. The detection used an atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization ion source in positive mode with multiple reaction monitoring for the quantitation of EPAEE and DHAEE. The acceptable linearity was achieved over the concentration ranges of 1.00~1000 ng/mL for EPAEE and 2.50~2500 ng/mL for DHAEE. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of EPAEE and DHAEE in healthy Chinese volunteers after the oral administration of 4 g omega-3-acid ethyl esters 90 soft capsule. The pharmacokinetic profiles of EPAEE and DHAEE were observed for the first time in Chinese volunteers, which reached a maximum concentration of 499 ± 243 ng/mL and 1596 ± 476 ng/mL for EPAEE and DHAEE, respectively. The areas under the plasma concentration–time curve were 1290 ± 765 ng/mL·h for EPAEE and 4369 ± 1680 ng/mL·h for DHAEE, respectively.     

Analysis of ibuprofen enantiomers in rat plasma by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective method for the analysis of ibuprofen enantiomers by LC–MS/MS was developed and validated for the purpose of application in pharmacokinetic studies in small experimental animals. Aliquots of 200 μL plasma were submitted to liquid–liquid extraction with hexane/diisopropylether (50:50 v/v) in acid pH. Separation was accomplished in a Chirex® 3005 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column at 25°C with a mobile phase that consisted of 0.01 M ammonium acetate in methanol at a flow rate of 1.1 mL/min. The mass spectrometer consisted of an ESI interface operating at negative ionization mode and multiple reaction monitoring. The transitions 205 > 161 and 240 > 197 were monitored for ibuprofen enantiomers and fenoprofen (internal standard), respectively. Method validation included the evaluation of the matrix effect, stability, linearity, lower LOQ, within‐run and between‐run precision, and accuracy. The lower LOQ was 25 ng/mL for each ibuprofen enantiomer, and the calibration curves showed good linearity in the range 0.025–50 μg/mL. The method was successfully applied in the investigation of pharmacokinetic disposition of ibuprofen enantiomers in rats treated orally with 25 mg/kg of the racemate. Enantioselective kinetic disposition was observed with accumulation of (+)‐(S)‐ibuprofen in rats following single oral administration.     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for quantitation of indomethacin in rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study in rats

A highly sensitive and rapid bioanalytical method has been developed and validated for the estimation of indomethacin in rat plasma with liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization in the positive‐ion mode. The assay procedure involves a simple liquid–liquid extraction of indomethacin and phenacetin (internal standard, IS) from rat plasma with acetonitrile. Chromatographic separation was achieved with 0.2% formic acid–acetonitrile (25:75, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.60 mL/min on an Atlantis dC₁₈ column with a total run time 3.0 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were 357.7 → 139.1 for indomethacin and 180.20 → 110.10 for IS. Method validation and pharmacokinetic study plasma analysis were performed as per FDA guidelines and the results met the acceptance criteria. The lower limit of quantitation achieved was 0.51 ng/mL and the linearity was observed from 0.51 to 25.5 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were in the range of 1.00–10.2 and 5.88–9.80%, respectively. This novel method has been applied to an oral pharmacokinetic study in rats. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of a quantification method for oleanolic acid and hederagenin in rat plasma: application to the pharmacokinetic study

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of oleanolic acid and hederagenin in rat plasma. After the two analytes were extracted with liquid–liquid extraction, chromatographic separation was performed on a C₁₈ column with acetonitrile and water (85:15, v /v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Calibration curves exhibited good linearity (r > 0.995) over the ranges of 0.41–82.0 ng/mL for oleanolic acid and 0.32–64.0 ng/mL for hederagenin, respectively. The lower limit of quantifications (LLOQs) in plasma were 0.41 ng/mL for oleanolic acid and 0.32 ng/mL for hederagenin. The established LLOQs were within the concentration needed for the assay in plasma, which met the requirements to evaluate their pharmacokinetics of oleanolic acid and hederagenin. This developed assay was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetic study of oleanolic acid and hederagenin in rats after oral administration of Rhizoma Clematidis extract.     

An LC–MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of 1,5‐dicaffeoylquinic acid and 1‐O‐acetylbritannilactone in rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A selective and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous quantitative determination of 1,5‐dicaffeoylquinic acid (1,5‐DCQA) and 1‐O‐ acetylbritannilactone (1‐O‐ ABL) in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB‐C₁₈ column using isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol–water–formic acid (70:30:0.1, v /v/v) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The detection was achieved using a triple‐quadrupole tandem MS in selected reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves of all analytes in plasma showed good linearity over the concentration ranges of 0.850–213 ng/mL for 1,5‐DCQA, and 0.520–130 ng/mL for 1‐O‐ ABL, respectively. The extraction recoveries were ≥78.5%, and the matrix effect ranged from 91.4 to 102.7% in all the plasma samples. The method was successfully applied for the pharmacokinetic study of the two active components in the collected plasma following oral administration of Inula britannica extract in rats.     

Development and validation of an LC-MS-MS method for determination of methyl kulonate in rat plasma

A sensitive, rapid and specific LC‐MS‐MS method was established and validated for determination of methyl kulonate, a major bioactive constituent isolated from Meliae Cortex, in rat plasma. Plasma samples were treated by precipitating protein with methanol and were chromatographed using a Capcell Pak C₁₈ column (100 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with the mobile phase comprising a mixture of methanol, 10 m m ammonium formate and formic acid (95:5:0.1, v/v/v). Detection and quantification were performed by mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode with positive atmospheric ionization at m/z 467 → 311 for methyl kulonate, and m/z 469 → 451 for dubione B (internal standard), respectively. A good linear response was observed over the concentration range 1.00–500 ng/mL with the lower limit of quantification 1.00 ng/mL in rat plasma. The method also afforded satisfactory results base on sensitivity, specificity, precision, accuracy, recovery, freeze–thaw and long‐time stability. The validated method was successfully applied to determine the pharmacokinetic properties of methyl kulonate in rats after oral administration at dose of 100 mg/kg. This pharmacokinetic study of methyl kulonate is reported here for the first time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry pharmacokinetic study of DL-praeruptorin A in rat plasma

dl ‐Praeruptorin A is a novel drug with valuable apoptosis and inflammation inhibitory effects in cardiac muscle. Previous pharmacokinetic studies of dl ‐praeruptorin A have had limited success due to its very low plasma concentrations. In this study, we developed and validated a new rapid, sensitive and specific high‐performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI–MS/MS) method for quantitative analysis of dl ‐praeruptorin A in rat plasma. dl ‐Praeruptorin A and diazepam (internal standard) extracted from rat plasma samples with chloroform and analyzed on an XTerra? RP₁₈ column (150 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) were chromatographically separated within 5.5 min using methanol–water (75:25, v/v; flow rate 1 mL/min) as the mobile phase. dl ‐Praeruptorin A was detected in positive ion mode using multiple reaction monitoring. The method was validated and the specificity, linearity, lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ, 2.5 ng/mL), precision (intra‐ and inter‐day <11.0%), accuracy (90.2–96.3%), recovery (>79.2%) and stability were determined. The correlation coefficient (r²) for the linear range of 2.5–2500.0 ng/mL was >0.999. No matrix effects were observed. The validated method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of dl ‐praeruptorin A after intravenous administration to rats. The LLOQ obtained with this method was lower than in previous studies and could be valuable for determination of dl ‐praeruptorin A in therapeutic drug monitoring and preclinical studies to establish appropriate dose and frequency. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.