Determination of metoserpate,buquinolate, and diclofenac in pork,eggs, and milk using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

In this work, a method was developed for the simultaneous determination of residual metoserpate, buquinolate and diclofenac in pork, milk, and eggs. Samples were extracted with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile, defatted with n‐hexane, and filtered prior to analysis using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The analytes were separated on a C₁₈ column using 0.1% acetic acid and methanol as the mobile phase. The matrix‐matched calibration curves showed good linearity over a concentration range of 5–50 ng/g with coefficients of determination (R²) ≥0.991. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracies (expressed as recovery percentage values) calculated using three spiking levels (5, 10, and 20 μg/kg) were 80–108.65 and 74.06–107.15%, respectively, and the precisions (expressed as relative standard deviation) were 2.86–13.67 and 0.05–11.74%, respectively, for the tested drugs determined in various matrices. The limits of quantification (1 and 2 μg/kg) were below the uniform residual level (0.01 mg/kg) set for compounds that have no specific maximum residue limit (MRL). The developed method was tested using market samples and none of the target analytes was detected in any of the samples. The validated method proved to be practicable for detection of the tested analytes in pork, milk, and eggs.     

Characterization of N,N‐dimethyl amino acids by electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry

Methylation is an essential metabolic process for a number of critical reactions in the body. Methyl groups are involved in the healthy function of the body life processes, by conducting methylation process involving specific enzymes. In these processes, various amino acids are methylated, and the occurrence of methylated amino acids in nature is diverse. Nowadays, mass‐spectrometric‐based identification of small molecules as biomarkers for diseases is a growing research. Although all dimethyl amino acids are metabolically important molecules, mass spectral data are available only for a few of them in the literature. In this study, we report synthesis and characterization of all dimethyl amino acids, by electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments on protonated molecules. The MS/MS spectra of all the studied dimethyl amino acids showed preliminary loss of H₂O + CO to form corresponding immonium ions. The other product ions in the spectra are highly characteristic of the methyl groups on the nitrogen and side chain of the amino acids. The amino acids, which are isomeric and isobaric with the studied dimethyl amino acids, gave distinctive MS/MS spectra. The study also included MS/MS analysis of immonium ions of dimethyl amino acids that provide information on side chain structure, and it is further tested to determine the N‐terminal amino acid of the peptides. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural characterization of glycoporphyrins by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Porphyrin derivatives having a galactose or a bis(isopropylidene)galactose structural unit, linked by ester or ether bonds, were characterized by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ES-MS/MS). The electrospray mass spectra of these glycoporphyrins show the corresponding [M + H](+) ions. For the glycoporphyrins with pyridyl substituents and those having a tetrafluorophenyl spacer, the doubly charged ions [M + 2H](2+) were also observed in ES-MS with high relative abundance. The fragmentation of both [M + H](+) and [M + 2H](2+) ions exhibited common fragmentation pathways for porphyrins with the same sugar residue, independently of the porphyrin structural unit and type of linkage. ES-MS/MS of the [M + H](+) ions of the galactose-substituted porphyrins gave the fragment ions [M + H - C(2)H(4)O(2)](+), [M + H - C(3)H(6)O(3)](+), [M + H - C(4)H(8)O(4)](+) and [M + H - galactose residue](+). The fragmentation of the [M + 2H](2+) ions of the porphyrins with galactose shows the common doubly charged fragment ions [porphyrin + H](2+), [M + 2H - C(2)H(4)O(2)](2+), [M + 2H - C(4)H(8)O(4)](2+), [M + 2H - galactose residue](2+) and the singly charged fragment ions [M + H - C(3)H(6)O(3)](+) and [M + H - galactose residue](+). The fragmentation of the [M + H](+) ions of glycoporphyrins with a protected galactosyl residue leads mainly to the ions [M + H - CO(CH(3))(2)](+), [M + H - 2CO(CH(3))(2)](+), [M + H - 2CO(CH(3))(2) - CO](+), [M + H - C(10)H(16)O(4)](+) and [M + H - protected galactose](+). The doubly charged ions [M + 2H](2+) fragment to give the doubly charged ions [porphyrin + H](2+) and the singly charged ions [M + H - protected galactose residue](+) and [M + H - CO(CH(3))(2)](+). For the porphyrins where the sugar structural unit is linked by an ester bond, [M + 2H](2+), ES-MS/MS showed a major and typical fragmentation corresponding to combined loss of a sugar structural unit and further loss of water, leading to the ion [M + 2H - sugar residue - H(2)O](2+), independently of the structure of the sugar structural unit. These results show that ES-MS/MS can be a powerful tool for the characterization of the sugar structural unit of glycoporphyrins, without the need for chemical hydrolysis.     

Simultaneous determination of multiveterinary drug residues in pork meat by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry combined with solid phase extraction

An LC‐MS/MS method developed for simultaneous analysis of 54 veterinary drug residues of six families in pork meat samples, including sulfanilamide, nitroimidazoles, quinolones, macrolide antibiotics, lincosamides, and praziquantel. The pork meat sample was prepared by extraction with ACN, and clean‐up on a C₁₈ SPE cartridge. The sample was separated on a C₈ column and eluted with ACN, methanol, and formic acid. The MS/MS detector is operated in the multiple reaction monitoring mode, acquiring two specific precursor‐product ion transitions per target compound. The method showed excellent linearity (R² ≥ 0.99) and high precision (relative SD, RSD ≤ 19.8%) for all compounds. The method quantification limits of 54 veterinary drug residues were in the range of 0.3–3.0 μg/kg. Recoveries for most analytes based on matrix‐matched calibration in matrices were 20.9–121.0%. This method has been successfully applied for analysis of more than 100 pork meat samples from the local market; five of the 54 drugs were detected.     

Quantification of homoegonol in rat plasma using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and its pharmacokinetics application

Homoegonol is a biologically active neolignan isolated from Styrax species with cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory and anti‐asthma activities. For the quantification of homoegonol in rat plasma, a selective and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the first time using protein precipitation with methanol as a sample clean‐up procedure. The analytes were separated in an Atlantis dC₁₈ column using a gradient elution of methanol and 0.1% formic acid, and mass‐to‐charge ratios were determined in selective reaction monitoring mode using tandem mass spectrometry with m/z 343.12 > 296.97 for homoegonol and m/z 517.30 > 282.90 for udenafil (internal standard). The standard curve was linear over the concentration ranges of 1 ? 500 ng/mL using a 30 μL rat plasma sample. The coefficient of variation and relative error for intra‐ and inter‐assay at four quality control levels were 3.9–10.0 and ‐3.3–2.7%, respectively. The overall recovery of homoegonol from rat plasma using protein precipitation was 99.7 ± 7.7%. The pharmacokinetics parameters of homoegonol were dose‐independent after both intravenous (1, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg doses) and oral (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg doses) administration in male Sprague–Dawley rats. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Charge permutation reactions in tandem mass spectrometry

Central to the tandem mass spectrometry experiment is the process that gives rise to product ions, i.e. the reaction intermediate to stages of mass analysis. Changes in mass or charge of the parent ion (or both) are generally readily detected by all forms of tandem mass spectrometry. Charge changing, or charge permutation, reactions have a long history in mass spectrometry. However, with the advent of new ionization methods, such as electrospray ionization, and the expansion of tandem mass spectrometry instrumentation to include ion trapping instruments, the past decade has seen a major increase in the types of charge permutation reactions that can be studied. Most charge permutation reactions involve electrons or protons as the charge mediating agents. This report, therefore, provides an overview of charge permutation reactions involving protons or electrons. Particular emphasis is placed on processes that involve interactions of precursor ions with gaseous neutral species, electrons or oppositely charged ions. Charge permutation reactions involving electron gain/loss are described first according to a rough order of the energy required for the reaction beginning with the most endoergic reactions and ending with the most exoergic reactions. An analogous approach is then taken with charge permutation reactions involving proton gain/loss. Important charge permutation reactions discussed herein, among others, include those referred to as charge inversion, charge stripping, electron capture dissociation, collision-induced ionization and charge separation. These reaction types, and others described herein, are the subjects of active research and are also finding use in many current areas of application. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative analysis of five tobacco‐specific N‐nitrosamines in urine by liquid chromatography–atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of five total tobacco‐specific N‐nitrosamines (TSNA), including free and conjugated forms in urine. The limits of detection for 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanol, N′‐nitrosonornicotine, 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone, N′‐nitrosoanatabine and N′‐nitrosoanabasine were 0.6, 0.6, 10.0, 0.4 and 0.4 pg/mL, respectively, with a linear calibration range of up to 20,000 pg/mL. Intra‐ and inter‐day precision for TSNA measurements ranged from 0.82 to 3.67% and from 2.04 to 7.73% respectively. For total TSNAs, the β‐glucuronidase amount was optimized for hydrolysis time and yield. Different liquid chromatography columns and mobile phases with different pH conditions were evaluated. The validated method was then applied to 50 smoker and 30 nonsmoker urine samples. Our results suggest that this sensitive and relatively simple analytical method is suitable for application to epidemiological investigations of health risks associated with the exposure to tobacco smoke or secondhand smoke in both smokers and nonsmokers. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Speciation of organotin compounds by tandem mass spectrometry

The collison-induced dissociation of a range of organotin compounds has been examined by tandem (MS–MS) mass spectrometry in order to investigate the potential of the technique for speciation without prior chromatographic separation. Tables of parent–daughte ion relationships are prepared for a group of six closely related compounds. The results obtained are sufficiently characteristic to distinguish between the isolated compounds and to identify the individual components of a simple mixture. This procedure has potential applications for less volatile compounds and for quantitative analysis.     

Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry of the star‐shaped propoxylated diethylenetriamine polyols

The collision‐induced dissociation of the protonated five‐arm star propoxylated diethylenetriamine polyols was studied under electrospray conditions. Two product ion series were detected because of the cleavage of the C? N bonds in the initiator moiety. No backbone fragmentation of the polyether chains was observed, which allowed to explore the initiation and side‐chain propagation process of the oligomers. On the basis of MS/MS spectra, it is probable that the rate of the initiation is larger than that of the chain propagation. The propylene oxide repeat units attach to the five arms with approximately the same probability. Furthermore, it was found that the collision energy necessary to obtain 50% fragmentation (CE₅₀) was linearly dependent on the molecular weight of the polyols. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联四极杆质谱法同时测定配合饲料中29种兽药

建立了同时测定配合饲料中喹诺酮类、磺胺类、大环内酯类和硝基呋喃类共计29种兽药的超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联四极杆质谱(UPLC-ESI-MS/MS)检测方法。饲料样品用甲醇-乙腈(1:1, v/v)混合溶液提取,提取液经Oasis HLB固相萃取柱净化,采用UPLC-ESI-MS/MS检测。以甲醇和含0.1%(v/v)甲酸的水溶液作为流动相,进行梯度洗脱,用C18色谱柱分离,正离子模式扫描,多反应监测模式检测。29种兽药在0.01～5.0 mg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r)均大于0.99;在复合预混饲料、全价配合饲料、浓缩饲料中4个添加水平下29种兽药的平均回收率在61.2%～94.3%范围内,相对标准偏差(RSD)为2.2%～15.0%;方法的检出限(以信噪比大于10计)为0.01 mg/kg或0.05 mg/kg。该方法简便、快速、准确,重现性好,灵敏度高,适用于配合饲料中多种兽药的同时检测。     

Characterization of amino acid‐derived betaines by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Betaines belong to the naturally occurring osmoprotectants or compatible solutes present in a variety of plants, animals and microorganisms. In recent years, metabolomic techniques have been emerging as a fundamental tool for biologists because the constellation of these molecules and their relative proportions provide with information about the actual biochemical condition of a biological system. Therefore, identification and characterization of biologically important betaines are crucial, especially for metabolomic studies. Most of the natural betaines are derived from amino acids and related homologues. Although, theoretically, all the amino acids can be converted to corresponding betaines by simple methylation of the amine group, only a few of the amino acid‐derived betaines were fully characterized in the literature. Here, we report a combined electrospray ionization tandem and high‐resolution mass spectrometry study of all the betaines derived from amino acids, including the isomeric betaines. The decomposition pathway of protonated, sodiated and potassiated molecule ions that enable unambiguous characterization of the betaines including the isomeric betaines and overlapping ionic species of different betaines is distinctive. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of Sirolimus coated drug eluting nano porous carbon stents

Liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method has proved to powerful research tool due to its sensitivity, high selectivity, and high throughput efficiency..Sirolimus was extracted from plasma by two‐step extraction procedure using chloroform as extracting solvent. Signal intensity was high using ESI⁺ source provided for the quantitation of samples. Chromatographic separation was performed on phenomenax C‐18 column (250 × 4.60 mm 5microns).Mobile phase contains acetonitrile, water (80; 20 v/v) + 0.1% acetic acid, flow rate 1 mL/min.The retention time of Sirolimus 8.4 min, the total run time10 min. Linearity correlation coefficients (r²) curve was 0.997183.calibraction range 10–1000 ng/mL. The UV detection of Sirolimus was at 278(277.78) nm. Sirolimus coated drug eluting stents, MRM (Multiple reaction monitoring) transition of Sirolimus m/z 936.83–208.84 was selected to obtain maximum sensitivity. LC/MS/MS results exhibited consistency in drug content on the stent surface. In‐vitro release kinetic indicated the release of Sirolimus in 41 days from the date of implanted. Drug release was found at the first day, burst release was observed at 7^th day of implantation. This study involved pharmacological coating of stents, based on the notion that sustained systemic local delivery of anti‐proliferative agents. LC‐MS/MS method has been successfully used in the pharmacokinetic analysis of Sirolimus coated drug eluting stents. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for pharmacokinetics of bakuchiol in rats

Psoralea Corylifolia L. is a traditional Chinese medicine with many beneficial effects in medical therapies. Bakuchiol was the main active ingredient of Psoralea Corylifolia L., used for the treatment of various diseases and also as a natural food additive. A specific and reliable ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry has been developed and fully validated for the quantification of bakuchiol in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation of bakuchiol and an internal standard, daidzein, was achieved on a Hypersil Gold C₁₈ column with gradient elution that consisted of methanol and water at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The compounds were detected at negative ionization mode using mass transition m/z 255.2 → 172.0 and 252.9 → 132.0 for bakuchiol and daidzein, respectively. Good linearity was obtained over the range of 2–1000 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantification was 2 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracies ranged from 91.1 to 105.7% and precisions (relative standard deviations) were within 9.3%. Bakuchiol was found to be stable under three freeze–thaw cycles, short‐term temperature, post‐preparative and long‐term temperature conditions. The method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study of bakuchiol intravenously administered to rats at a dose of 5 mg/kg. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Versatility of tandem mass spectrometry for focused analysis of oxylipids

Liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) scan mode has been the primary MS method applied for the target identification of specific and minor oxylipids in complex matrices, such as eicosanoids and docosanoids, which are potent lipid mediators derived from polyunsaturated fatty acid oxygenation. However, the high specificity of MRM can limit the detection of species with m/z MRM transitions not covered by the method. In addition to MRM, tandem‐quadrupole mass analyzers enable other experiments to be conducted, by fragmenting ions via collision‐induced dissociation process (CID). This paper presents the potential of tandem mass spectrometry for the focused analysis of oxylipids. We have successfully developed an LC‐MS/MS method for the identification of precursor ions of m/z 115, a diagnostic product ion of 5‐hydroxy‐ and 5‐epoxy‐fatty acids. As a proof of concept, the developed method was used to discover several oxylipids oxidized at C5 derived from arachidonic acid (C20 : 4) oxygenation in a hypothalamus rat extract that were not identified using the target MRM methodology. The proposed focused MS/MS‐based approach in a tandem mass analyzer has proven to be a powerful strategy to accelerate the identification of oxylipids with structural similarities and assist the field of lipidomic research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of binding sites in carboplatin-bound cytochrome c using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry

Interaction of carboplatin with cytochrome c (Cyt. c) has been investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). ESI-MS studies revealed that the ring-opened adducts of carboplatin with Cyt. c were formed in the stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 and 2:1 at pH 5.0 and 37 degrees C and in the stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 only at pH 7.0 and 37 degrees C. It was also found that Cyt. c could be cleaved by carboplatin at pH 2.5 and 50 degrees C. The cleaved fragments of Cyt. c were determined by ESI-MS and MS/MS analysis to be Glu66 approximately Met80, Ac-Gly01 approximately Met65, Glu66 approximately Glu104, Ac-Gly01 approximately Met80 and Ile81 approximately Glu104. The carboplatin prefers to anchor to Met65 first, then to Met80. To further confirm the binding site of Met, AcMet-Gly was used as the model molecule to investigate its interaction with carboplatin and its hydrolysis reaction. On the basis of species detected during the reaction monitored by ESI-MS, a possible pathway of the cleavage reaction was proposed.     

Identification of leucine-enkephalin radical oxidation products by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

The oxidation of the peptide leucine-enkephalin (YGGFL) induced by the hydroxyl radical (HO*), formed under Fenton-like conditions [Cu (II)/H(2)O(2)], was studied and monitored by LC-MS. The oxidation products identified included products resultant from (a) the insertion of oxygen atoms (1-5), (b) peptide backbone cleavage (short-chain products formed by diamide pathway) and (c) radical-radical crosslinking reactions. In order to identify the modified residues, LC-MS/MS spectra were obtained. The insertion of oxygen atoms into the peptide originated hydroxide, di-hydroxide and/or hydroperoxide derivatives. In addition it was found that the aromatic amino acids are most susceptible to being hydroxylated, while the aliphatic amino acids are more prone to forming hydroperoxides. Oxidation products with double bonds were also identified. The short chain products resulted from the alpha-carbon radical of terminal amino acids (Tyr and Leu). Products resulting from cross-linking reactions between intact carbon-centered peptide radical (with and without one HO group) and a side chain radical (*C(7)H(7)O) were identified. It was found that, although all amino acids residues of the peptide undergo modifications, the N-terminal seems to be prone to oxidative modifications under these conditions.     

Analysis of emerging organic contaminants in poultry manure by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A multiresidue method was developed for the determination of 19 emerging organic contaminants (pharmaceutical drugs, personal care products, and bisphenol A) in poultry manure. Lyophilized samples of manure were extracted by ultrasound‐assisted matrix solid‐phase dispersion and the extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry after derivatization. Analysis of spiked poultry manure samples, at levels ranging from 25 to 150 ng/g, gave satisfactory recovery results for all the compounds, with values from 67 to 106%. The developed procedure provided detection limits that ranged from 0.9 to 2.2 ng/g. Finally, the validated method was applied to poultry manure samples collected from 23 poultry farms in Spain. Salicylic acid was found in most of the samples analyzed at levels up to 2501 ng/g, whereas, methyl paraben, orthophenylphenol, ibuprofen, paracetamol, and carbamazepine were detected at levels up to 250 ng/g. Composting of manure showed an important decrease in the levels of the detected contaminants.     

Dereplication of known pregnane glycosides and structural characterization of novel pregnanes in Marsdenia tenacissima by high‐performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry

In the search for novel natural products in plants, particularly those with potential bioactivity, it is important to efficiently distinguish novel compounds from previously isolated, known compounds, a process known as dereplication. In this study, electrospray ionization‐multiple stage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MSⁿ) was used to study the behaviour of 12 pregnane glycosides and genins previously isolated from Marsdenia tenacissima, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, as a basis for dereplication of compounds in a plant extract. In addition to [M + Na]⁺ and [M + NH₄]⁺ ions, a characteristic [M‐glycosyl + H]⁺ ion was observed in full‐scan mode with in‐source fragmentation. Sequential in‐trap collision‐induced dissociation of [M + Na]⁺ ions from 11,12‐diesters revealed consistent preferred losses of substituents first from C‐12, then from C‐11, followed by losses of monosaccharide fragments from the C‐3 tri‐ and tetrasaccharide substituents. A crude methanol extract of M. tenacissima stems was analysed using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to ESI‐MS. Several previously isolated pregnane glycosides were dereplicated, and the presence of an additional nine novel pregnane glycosides is predicted on the basis of the primary and fragment ions observed, including two with a previously unreported C₄H₇O C‐11/C‐12 substituent of pregnane glycosides. This study is the first report of prediction of the structures of novel pregnane glycosides in a crude plant extract by a combination of in‐source fragmentation and in‐trap collision‐induced dissociation and supports the usefulness of LC‐ESI‐MSⁿ not only for dereplication of active compounds in extracts of medicinal plants but also for detecting the presence of novel related compounds. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid method for the confirmatory analysis of chrysoidine in aquaculture products by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and fast method for the quantification of the illegal dye chrysoidine in aquaculture products with ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) is presented. Muscle tissues were made alkaline with sodium hydroxide and extracted with ethyl acetate. After evaporation and subsequent defatting with n‐hexane, extracts were directly injected onto the UPLC‐column. Chromatography was performed on a C₁₈ column using 0.1% formic acid in water and an acetonitrile gradient within 6 min. Mass spectrometric analysis was performed in the positive electrospray MS/MS mode. The limit of quantification was 0.25 ng/g, which was 30 times lower than the only previously published method with gas chromatographic detection. A complete validation according to the scientific literature and as defined by the European Union was performed. The applicability of the method was shown in the analysis of more than 50 unknown samples in the framework of a monitoring program. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous quantification of atenolol and chlorthalidone in human plasma by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, sensitive and reproducible ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of atenolol, a β‐adrenergic receptor‐blocker and chlorthalidone, a monosulfonamyl diuretic in human plasma, using atenolol‐d7 and chlorthalidone‐d4 as the internal standards (ISs). Following solid‐phase extraction on Phenomenex Strata‐X cartridges using 100 μL human plasma sample, the analytes and ISs were separated on an Acquity UPLC BEH C₁₈ (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) column using a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid–acetonitrile (25:75, v/v). A tandem mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray ionization was used as a detector in the positive ionization mode for both analytes. The linear concentration range was established as 0.50–500 ng/mL for atenolol and 0.25–150 ng/mL for chlorthalidone. Extraction recoveries were within 95–103% and ion suppression/enhancement, expressed as IS‐normalized matrix factors, ranged from 0.95 to 1.06 for both the analytes. Intra‐batch and inter‐batch precision (CV) and accuracy values were 2.37–5.91 and 96.1–103.2%, respectively. Stability of analytes in plasma was evaluated under different conditions, such as bench‐top, freeze–thaw, dry and wet extract and long‐term. The developed method was superior to the existing methods for the simultaneous determination of atenolol and chlorthalidone in human plasma with respect to the sensitivity, chromatographic analysis time and plasma volume for processing. Further, it was successfully applied to support a bioequivalence study of 50 mg atenolol + 12.5 mg chlorthalidone in 28 healthy Indian subjects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.