Determination of lovastatin in human plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A fast and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of lovastatin in human plasma. With simvastatin as internal standard, sample pretreatment involved one-step extraction with n-hexane-methylene dichloride-isopropanol (20:10:1, v/v/v) of 0.5 mL plasma. Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Acquity UPLC BEH C(18) column with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water (containing 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate; 85:15, v/v) at a flow-rate of 0.35 mL/min. The detection was performed on a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) via electrospray ionization source with positive mode. The analysis time was shorter than 1.7 min per sample. The standard curve was linear (r2>or=0.99) over the concentration range 0.025-50.0 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification of 0.025 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision values were below 11% and the accuracy (relative error) was within 6.0% at three quality control levels. This is the first method of MS with MRM coupled to UPLC for the determination of lovastatin, which showed great advantages of high sensitivity, selectivity and high sample throughput. It was fully validated and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of lovastatin tablets in healthy Chinese male volunteers after oral administration.     

Determination of flomoxef in human plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A specific, sensitive, rapid and reproducible method for the determination of flomoxef in human plasma using high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. Flomoxef was detected using an electrospay ionization method operated in negative‐ion mode. Chromatographic separation was performed in gradient elution mode on a Luna® C₁₈(2) column (3 μm , 20 × 4.0 mm) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and runtime 3.5 min. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid as additive. Extraction of flomoxef from plasma and precipitation of plasma proteins was performed with acetonitrile with an absolute recovery of 86.4 ± 1.6%. The calibration curve was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 over the concentration range 10–5000 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantification was 10 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were <11.8%, while the accuracy ranged from 99.6 to 109.0%. A stability study of flomoxef revealed that it could be successfully analyzed at 4ºС over 24 h, but it was unstable in solutions at room temperature during short‐term storage (4 h) and several freeze–thaw cycles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of B-group vitamins in Turkish honey using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method with electrospray ionization (UPLC–ESI–MS/MS) for analysis of B-group vitamins in honey has been presented. Aim of this study is the characterization of different types of Turkish honeys according to B-group vitamins. Vitamins were determined in 17 different types of Turkish honey samples by UPLC–ESI–MS/MS. Heather honey samples were distinguished among the studied honeys with the richest vitamin content with 286.10?mg/kg, and it is followed by sunflower honey and thyme honey with the total vitamin contents of 206.01 and 163.27?mg/kg, respectively. The presence of vitamin B₁ (thiamine), vitamin B₂ (riboflavin), vitamin B₃ (nicotinamide, B₃N and nicotinic acid, B₃H), vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine), and vitamin B₉ (folic acid) was detected in all the honey samples analyzed. Moreover, vitamin B₅ (pantothenic acid) was observed in most of them. Vitamin B₁₂ (cyanocobalamin) and vitamin B₇ (biotine) were not detected in the studied honey samples. Turkish honey samples showed efficacious vitamin content for the consumers.     

Determination of bencycloquidium bromide in dog plasma by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid, selective and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determining bencycloquidium bromide (BCQB) in beagle dog plasma. The plasma sample was deproteinized with methanol which contained l‐ethyl‐bencycloquidium bromide as internal standard, and supernantant was assayed by LC‐MS/MS. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Phenomenex C₁₈ column (100 × 2.0 mm, i.d., 3.0 μm) with a gradient programme mobile phase consisting of methanol and ammonium acetate (5 mm) containing 0.15% acetic acid and at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Electrospray ionization in positive ion mode and selective reaction monitoring was used for the quantification of BCQB with a monitored transitions m/z 330.2 → 142.1 for BCQB and m/z 344.2 → 126.2 for IS. Validation results indicated that the lower limit of quantification was 0.05 ng/mL and the assay exhibited a linear range of 0.05–10.0 ng/mL and gave a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The intra‐ and inter‐run precisions of the assay were 1.7–4.6 and 3.2–15.6%, respectively, and the intra‐ and inter‐day accuracies were ?8.8 to 1.1 and ?5.0 to 4.6%, respectively. The developed method was applied for the pharmacokinetic study of BCQB in beagle dogs following a single intranasal dose. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of quinapril and quinaprilat in human plasma by ultraperformance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A novel, specific and sensitive ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of quinapril and its active metabolite quinaprilat in human plasma. The method involves a simple, one‐step extraction procedure coupled with an Acquity UPLC? BEH C₁₈ column (100 × 2.1 mm, i.d., 1.7 µm) with isocratic elution at a flow‐rate of 0.2 mL/min and lisinopril as the internal standard. Detection was performed on a triple‐quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode via electrospray ionization. Using 250 µL plasma, the methods were validated over the concentration range 5.010–500.374 ng/mL for quinapril and 10.012–1000 ng/mL for quinaprilat, with a lower limit of quantification of 5.010 ng/mL for quinapril and 10.012 ng/mL for quinaprilat. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were within 10.0%. The recovery was 85.8, 62.6 and 61.3% for quinapril, quinaprilat and lisinopril, respectively. Total run time was 3.0 min only. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pharmacokinetic study of dendrobine in rat plasma by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Dendrobine, considered as the major active alkaloid compound, has been used for the quality control and discrimination of Dendrobium which is documented in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In this work, a sensitive and simple ultra‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) method for determination of dendrobine in rat plasma is developed. After addition of caulophyline as an internal standard (IS), protein precipitation by acetonitrile–methanol (9:1, v/v) was used to prepare samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UPLC BEH C₁₈ (2.1 ×100 mm, 1.7 µm) column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase with gradient elution. An electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in positive ion mode; multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for quantification using target fragment ions m/z 264.2 → 70.0 for dendrobine and m/z 205.1 → 58.0 for IS. Calibration plots were linear throughout the range 2–1000 ng/mL for dendrobine in rat plasma. The RSDs of intra‐day and inter‐day precision were both <13%. The accuracy of the method was between 95.4 and 103.9%. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of dendrobine after intravenous administration. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous analysis of oral anticancer drugs for renal cell carcinoma in human plasma using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical method using high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry has been developed and validated for simultaneous measurement of four tyrosine kinase inhibitors used for renal cell carcinoma and their metabolites in human plasma. Despite their similar structures, it is difficult to measure plasma levels of these compounds simultaneously using optimal MS parameters for each compound because a quantitative range exceeding 50,000‐fold is required. To overcome this problem, we used a linear range shift technique using in‐source collision‐induced dissociation. Linearity ranges of sorafenib, sorafenib N‐oxide, sunitinib, N‐desethyl sunitinib, axitinib and pazopanib were 100–10,000, 10–1,000, 1–100, 1–100, 1–100 and 500–50,000 ng/mL, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were high, and coefficients of variation and relative error were <10.3% and within ±11.8%, respectively. The matrix effects of all analytes ranged from 87.7 to 114.8%. Extraction recoveries and overall recoveries showed small extraction loss (<15.0%) for all analytes. Moreover, all cancer patient samples used in this study were successfully quantified and fell within the linear range of measurement. Therefore, this novel analytical system using in‐source collision‐induced dissociation has sufficient performance to measure plasma concentrations of these four tyrosine kinase inhibitors and their metabolites for therapeutic drug monitoring.     

Determination of alkylphenol and bisphenol A in beverages using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A comprehensive analytical method based on liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–MS/MS) with negative ionization mode has been developed for measuring of alkylphenols and bisphenol A in beverage samples. Concentration and clean up of samples were performed on 200 mg OASIS HLB solid extraction cartridges. The effects of mobile phases and additives on ionization were assessed. The recoveries for each compound ranged from 76.7 to 96.9% and reproducibilities were represented as having relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) below 10%. The limits of quantification (LOQ) of the method under multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) acquisition mode were 0.04, 0.03 and 0.2 ng L⁻¹ for 2 L of mineral drinking water and 2.0, 1.8 and 8.0 ng L⁻¹ for 50 mL of soda beverages.     

Resolution of oligosaccharides in glycopeptides using immobilized Endo-M and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The resolution of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides in glycopeptides was carried out by combination of the transglycosylation reaction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-TOF-MS). The resolution of the oligosaccharides is based on the enzymic transglycosylation reaction with Endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (Endo-M) isolated from Mucor hiemalis. The oligosaccharides were transferred to a fluorescent acceptor (NDA-Asn-GlcNAc) with Endo-M to produce the fluorescent oligosaccharides. In the present research, the enzyme was also immobilized in the well of a microassay plate by the sol-gel technique. The transglycosylation reaction was easily managed due to the immobilization. Furthermore, multiple use was possible by the encapsulated Endo-M. The resulting fluorescent oligosaccharides were separated by UPLC and efficiently detected by ESI-TOF-MS. Several oligosaccharides in ovalbumin were successfully identified by the proposed procedure.     

Determination of corilagin in rat plasma using a liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method

A sensitive and simple liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC‐MS/MS) method for the determination of corilagin in rat plasma has been developed. Samples were prepared with protein precipitation method and analyzed with a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer. We employed negative electrospray ionization as the ionization source and the analytes were detected in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Separation was achieved on a C₈ column eluted with mobile phase consisting of methanol–0.1% formic acid in a gradient mode at the flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The total run time was 7.0 min.This method was proved to have good linearity in the concentration range of 2.5–1000.0 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification of corilagin was 2.5 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day relative standard deviationa across three validation runs for four concentration levels were both <9.8%. The relative error was within ±6.0%. This assay offers advantages in terms of expediency and suitability for the analysis of corilagin in rat plasma. The practical utility of this new HPLC‐MS/MS method was confirmed in pilot plasma concentration studies in rats following oral administration. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fast profiling of chemical constituents in Yiqing Capsule by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS(n)) has been developed for structural characterization and identification of multi-constituents in Yiqing Capsule, a well-known combined herbal remedy prepared from the extract mixtures of Rhizoma Coptidis, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei and Radix Scutellariae. The UPLC analysis was performed on an Agilent ZorBax SB-C(18) column (4.6 mm×50 mm, 1.8 μm) and gradient elution of 0.1% formic acid solution and acetonitrile in 16 min. Based on their retention times and mass spectra in comparison with the data from standards or references, a total of 29 compounds including 3 phenolic acids and 4 anthraquinones from Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, 8 alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptidis and 14 flavonoids from Radix Scutellariae were unambiguously identified or tentatively characterized in the complex system. The MS data and fragmentation information of two isomers of feruloylquinic acid were first reported in Radix et Rhizoma Rhei and in Yiqing Capsules. This study is expected to be accepted as an effective and reliable pattern for comprehensive and systematic characterization of this commonly used Chinese herbal preparation.     

Detection of 22 antiepileptic drugs by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry applicable to routine therapeutic drug monitoring

The purpose of this study was to develop an ultra‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) method of 22 antiepileptics for routine therapeutic monitoring. The antiepileptics used in the analyses were carbamazepine, carbamazepine‐10,11‐epoxide, clobazam, N‐desmethylclobazam, clonazepam, diazepam, N‐desmethyldiazepam, ethosuximide, felbamate, gabapentin, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, N‐desmethylmesuximide, nitrazepam, phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone, tiagabine, topiramate, valproic acid, vigabatrin and zonisamide. After protein precipitation of 50 μL plasma with methanol, the supernatant was diluted with water or was evaporated to dryness and reconstituted with mobile phase in the case of benzodiazepines. Separation was achieved on an Acquity UPLC BEH C₁₈ column with a gradient mobile phase of 10 mm ammonium acetate containing 0.1% formic acid and methanol at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. An Acquity TQD instrument in multiple reaction monitoring mode with ion mode switching was used for detection. All antiepileptics were detected and quantified within 10 min, with no endogenous interference. All the calibration curves showed good linearity in the therapeutic range (r² < 0.99). The precision and accuracy values for intra‐ and inter‐assays were within ±15% except for phenobarbital and tiagabine. A good correlation was observed between the concentration of clinical samples measured by the new method described here and the conventional methods. The values of carbamazepine and phenytoin by UPLC‐MS/MS were lower than those detected by the immunoassays, which might be caused by the cross‐reaction of antibodies with their metabolites. In conclusion, we developed a simple and selective UPLC‐MS/MS method suitable for routine therapeutic monitoring of antiepileptics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative analysis of acetaminophen and its six metabolites in rat plasma using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Acetaminophen (APAP) is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug. It is mainly metabolized by phase 1 and 2 reactions in the liver, and thus it could be involved in many drug–drug interactions. Therefore, the study of APAP metabolism is important in toxicological and pharmacokinetic studies. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid and sensitive method for the determination of APAP and its six metabolites in rat plasma for the pharmacokinetic studies. APAP and its metabolites were separated through a Capcell Pak MGII C₁₈ column and quantitated with a 16 min run in a triple‐quadruple mass spectrometer. The mobile phases were composed of 0.1% formic acid in either 95% water or 95% acetonitrile and analysis was performed twice in positive and negative modes. Validations such as accuracy, precision, recovery, matrix effect and stability were found to be within acceptance criteria of validation guidelines, indicating that the assay was applicable to the determination of the plasma concentrations of drug and its six metabolites. In conclusion, we developed an LC‐MS/MS method for the quantitative analysis of APAP and its six metabolites in rat plasma, and this method appears to be useful for pharmacokinetic/toxicokinetic studies of APAP and its metabolites in rats. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of ethyl glucuronide in hair samples by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair samples, using liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS), was developed and validated. The treatment of hair samples was as follows: to 100 mg of washed (dichloromethane followed by methanol, 1 ml each) and cut (1-2 mm) material, 700 microl of water, 20 microl of internal standard solution (pentadeuterated EtG, D(5)-EtG, 500 microg/l) and 20 microl of methanol were added. Samples were incubated at 25 degrees C overnight and then ultrasonicated for 2 h. Finally, 8 microl of the centrifuged solution (13,000 rpm) were analyzed by LC/ESI-MS/MS in negative ion mode. The surviving ions of EtG and D(5)-EtG were monitored together with the following MRM transitions: m/z 221 --> 75, m/z 221 --> 85 (EtG) and m/z 226 --> 75, m/z 226 --> 85 (D(5)-EtG). The method exhibited a mean correlation coefficient better than 0.9998 over the dynamic range (3-2000 pg/mg). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) and the limit of detection (LOD) were 3 and 2 pg/mg respectively. The intra- and interday precision and accuracy were studied at four different concentration levels (3, 5, 56 and 160 pg/mg) and were always better than 7% (n = 5). Matrix effects did not exceed 20%. The method was applied to several hair samples taken from autopsies of known alcoholics, from patients in withdrawal treatment, from social drinkers, from adult teetotalers and from children not exposed to ethanol, with EtG concentrations globally ranging from < or =2 to 4180 pg/mg.     

Determination of azasetron hydrochloride in rabbit plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and its application

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of azasetron hydrochloride in rabbit plasma was developed. After addition of doxapram hydrochloride as internal standard (IS), protein precipitation by 10% trichloroacetic acid was used as sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Zorbax SB-C(18) (2.1 × 50 mm, 3.5 μm) column with acetonitrile-water as mobile phase with gradient elution. An electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in positive ion mode; multiple reaction monitoring mode was used to quantification using target fragment ions m/z 349.9 → 223.5 for azasetron hydrochloride and m/z 378.9 → 291.8 for the IS. Calibration plots were linear over the range of 6-1000 ng/mL for azasetron hydrochloride in plasma. The lower limit of quantitation for azasetron hydrochloride was 6 ng/mL. The mean recovery of azasetron hydrochloride from plasma was in the range 85.6-92.7%. The RSDs of intra-day and inter-day precision were both less than 12%. This method is simple and sensitive enough to be used in pharmacokinetic research for determination of azasetron hydrochloride in rabbit plasma.     

Determination of BAPTA-AM, the acetoxymethyl tetraester of BAPTA, in rat plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

BAPTA-AM is the acetoxymethylester of the calcium chelator BAPTA and has demonstrated efficacy in several animal models of cerebral ischemia. This paper describes the development of a method for the determination of BAPTA-AM in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Owing to multiple ester groups in the structure of BAPTA-AM, [M + Na](+) was chosen as the analytical ion for quantification of BAPTA-AM. During the analytical method development, a high percentage of organic solvent and the addition of an amount of sodium acetate and formic acid in the mobile phase were found to favor the sensitivity and reproducibility of [M + Na](+). Poor fragmentation was usually observed in the MS/MS spectra of sodium adduct ions. However, abundant and reproducible fragment ions were observed for the BAPTA-AM sodium adduct ion, and therefore the traditional selective reaction-monitoring mode was used to further improve the sensitivity of MS detection. Because of the lability of the ester bond, a combination of fluoride and hydrochloric acid was applied to minimize the enzymatic hydrolysis, and acetonitrile was chosen to avoid the chemical hydrolysis or solvolysis during the sample collection and preparation procedure. On the basis of these studies, a rapid, sensitive and reproducible method for the determination of BAPTA-AM in rat plasma, using LC/ESI-MS/MS and a simple protein precipitation procedure, was developed and validated. Also, the present method was successfully applied to the determination of BAPTA-AM plasma concentrations for pharmacokinetic studies in rats.     

Solid‐phase extraction and analysis of paroxetine in human plasma by ultra performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A rapid, sensitive and rugged solid‐phase extraction ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) method was developed for determination of paroxetine in human plasma. The procedure for sample preparation includes simple SPE extraction procedure coupled with Hypersil Gold C₁₈ column (100 mm ? 2.1 mm, i.d., 1.9 μm) with isocratic elution at a flow‐rate of 0.350 mL/min and fluoxetine was used as the internal standard. The analysis was performed on a triple‐quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reactions monitoring mode via electrospray ionization. Using 500 μL plasma, the methods were validated over the concentration range 0.050–16.710 ng/mL for paroxetine, with a lower limit of quantification of 0.050 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy of the quality control samples were within 10.0%. The recovery was 69.2 and 74.4% for paroxetine and fluoxetine respectively. Total run time was only 1.9 min. The method was highly reproducible and gave peaks with excellent chromatography properties. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the quantification of styraxlignolide A in rat plasma

Styraxlignolide A is a pharmacologically active ingredient isolated from Styrax japonica Sieb. et Zucc. A rapid, selective, and sensitive liquid chromatographic method with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for use in the quantification of styraxlignolide A in rat plasma. Styraxlignolide A was extracted from rat plasma using ethyl acetate at neutral pH. The analytes were separated on an Atlantis dC₁₈ column using a mixture of methanol and ammonium formate (10 mM, pH 3.0) (70:30, v/v) and detected by tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The standard curve was linear (r²=0.9978) over the concentration range of 100?10000 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification was 100 ng/mL using 50 μL of plasma sample. The coefficient of variation and relative error for intra‐ and inter‐assays at four QC levels were 1.6–8.3% and from ?12.0 to ?1.7%, respectively. The present method was applied successfully to the pharmacokinetic study of styraxlignolide A after intravenous administration of styraxlignolide A at a dose of 10 mg/kg in male Sprague–Dawley rats.     

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of aristolochic acid‐I in rat plasma

A sensitive, rapid and specific liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of aristolochic acid‐I (AA‐I) in rat plasma. Finasteride was used as the internal standard (IS). The analyte was separated on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB‐C₁₈ column by isocratic elution with methanol‐10 mM ammonium acetate (75:25, v/v, pH = 7.3) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min, and analyzed by mass spectrometry in positive multiple reaction monitoring mode. The precursor‐to‐product ion transitions of m/z 359.0 → 298.2 and m/z 373.1 → 305.2 were used to detect AA‐I and IS, respectively. Good linearity was achieved over a range of 0.4–600 ng/mL. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions measured as relative standard deviation were less than 13.5%, and accuracy ranged from 94.2 to 97.5%. The developed method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetic study of AA‐I in rats. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of acyclovir in horse plasma and body fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with fluorescence detection and heated electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Two methods are presented for the determination of 'respectively' the plasma protein unbound and total concentration of acyclovir in horse plasma and body fluids: first, a liquid-liquid extraction was performed on plasma, combined with HPLC-fluorescence detection for the total plasma concentration; second a more sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with heated electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HESI-MS/MS) was described for plasma and for body fluids analysis. To obtain the unbound concentration of acyclovir in plasma, a simple deproteinization step using a Microcon filter was performed. Ganciclovir was used as an internal standard. Analysis was carried out on an Inertsil 5 ODS-3 column for the HPLC-fluorescence method. For the LC-HESI-MS/MS method a PLRP-S column was used. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for the total concentration was set at 50 and 2 ng mL(-1) for the HPLC-fluorescence method and the LC-HESI-MS/MS method, respectively. The limit of quantification for the unbound concentration was set at 5 ng mL(-1) and at 2 ng mL(-1) for body fluids. The methods were successfully used to perform pharmacokinetic and clinical studies in horses after intravenous and oral dosage of acyclovir and its prodrug valacyclovir.