Ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of gambogenic acid in dog plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A highly sensitive and rapid ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of gambogenic acid in dog plasma. Gambogic acid was used as an internal standard (IS). After a simple liquid–liquid extraction by ethyl acetate, the analyte and internal standard were separated on an Acquity BEH C₁₈ (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm; Waters ) column at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min, using 0.1% formic acid–methanol (10:90, v/v) as mobile phase. Electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in the positive ion mode. Multiple reaction monitoring mode with the transitions m/z 631.3 → 507.3 and m/z 629.1 → 573.2 was used to quantify gambogenic acid and the internal standard, respectively. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 5–1000 ng/mL, with a coefficient of determination (r) of 0.999 and good calculated accuracy and precision. The low limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL. The intra‐and inter‐day precisions (relative standard deviations) were <15%. The methodology recoveries were more than 66.63%. This validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after intravenous injection administration of gambogenic acid in dogs at a dose of 1 mg/kg. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of tectoridin in rat plasma by high‐performance liquid chromatography and its application to pharmacokinetic studies

A simple, specific and sensitive HPLC method with UV detection was developed and validated for the determination of tectoridin in rat plasma for the first time. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Welchrom^TM C₁₈ column (150 × 4.6 mm, i.d., 5 µm) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1, using a mixture of methanol–2% HAc aqueous solution (31:69, v/v) as the mobile phase with UV detection at 266 nm. The calibration curves for tectoridin were linear over the concentration range of 1.10–274.40 µg mL^?1 in rat plasma. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracies (RE) were within ?3.23% and 4.11%. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (RSD) were not more than 2.74 and 4.72%, respectively. The present method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies of tectoridin in rats after intravenous administration of three different doses. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐performance liquid chromatography method for determination of carnosic acid in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive and reproducible high‐performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet detection (UV) was developed for the determination of carnosic acid (CA) in rat plasma. After simple acidification and liquid–liquid extraction of plasma samples using gemfibrozil as an internal standard, the supernatant was evaporated to dryness under a gentle stream of nitrogen. The residue was reconstituted in 200 µL before being injected into the chromatographic system. The analysis was performed on a C₁₈ column protected by an ODS guard column using acetonitrile–0.1% phosphoric acid (55:45, v/v) as mobile phase, and the wavelength of the UV detector was set at 210 nm. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.265–265.0 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The recovery for plasma samples of 0.530, 13.25, 132.5 and 265.0 µg/mL was 72.2, 87.9, 90.4 and 94.7%, respectively. The intra‐day and inter‐day relative standard deviations for the measurements of quality control samples were less than 3.1%. The stability of the plasma samples was also validated. This method was successfully used to study the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of CA in rats. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid and sensitive determination of levofloxacin in microsamples of human plasma by high‐performance liquid chromatography and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, sensitive and simple high‐performance liquid chromatographic assay with ultraviolet detection was developed for the quantification of levofloxacin in microsamples (100 μL) of human plasma. The extraction procedure included a protein precipitation technique and a short chromatographic running time (4.5 min). Analyses were carried out on a Symmetry C₁₈ column using a mixture of acetonitrile and 0.01 m potassium dihydrogen aqueous solution (pH 3.4; 14:86 v/v) as mobile phase. The method provided specificity and was linear (r ≥ 0.9992) over the concentration range 0.1–12 µg/mL. The average absolute recovery was 93.59%. The intra‐ and inter‐day coefficients of variation were <6%. Additionally, levofloxacin was stable in all evaluations. The usefulness of this method was demonstrated in a pharmacokinetic study of levofloxacin in healthy adult volunteers. The present method offers two main advantages: (a) the use of microsamples reduces the total volume of blood to be collected from patients; and (b) it provides a good cost–effectiveness ratio. It is concluded that the method is rapid, simple, sensitive, economical and suitable for the determination of levofloxacin in human plasma using a small volume of sample. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A highly sensitive method for the quantification of fludrocortisone in human plasma using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and its pharmacokinetic application

A simple and high sensitive ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of fludrocortisone in human plasma was developed and validated as per guidelines. The analyte and internal standard (IS), fludrocortisone‐d₅, were extracted from human plasma via liquid–liquid extraction using tert‐butyl methyl ether. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Chromolith RP_18e column using a mixture of acetonitrile and 2 mm ammonium formate (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min. Quantitation was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer employing electrospray ionization technique, operating in multiple reaction monitoring and positive ion mode. The precursors to product ion transitions monitored for fludrocortisone and IS were m/z 381.2 → 343.2 and 386.2 → 348.4, respectively. The assay was validated with linear range of 40–3000 pg/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (relative standard deviation) were within 0.49–7.13 and 0.83–5.87%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies in humans. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a rapid and sensitive UPLC‐MS/MS assay for the determination of TM‐2 in beagle dog plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple and sensitive method based on ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of TM‐2, which was a novel semi‐synthetic taxane derivative in beagle dog plasma. Cabazitaxel was chosen as internal standard. Following extraction by methyl tert‐butyl ether, the chromatographic separation was achieved on a Thermo Syncronis C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) by gradient elution within a runtime of 3.5 min. The mobile phase consisted of (A) acetonitrile and (B) 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate in water. The detection was accomplished using positive ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The MS/MS ion transitions were monitored at m/z 812.39 → 551.35 for TM‐2 and 836.36 → 555.26 for IS, respectively. The method was linear for TM‐2 (r = 0.9924) ranging from 2.5 to 1000 ng/mL. The intra‐day and inter‐day precisions (relative standard deviation) were within 8.0 and 17.6%, respectively, and the accuracy (relative error) was less than 2.3%. The extraction recovery ranged from 83.1 to 97.1%. The reliable method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of TM‐2 in beagle dogs after intravenous drip with different doses of 0.6, 1.2, and 2.4 mg/kg, respectively. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of an LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of mesalazine in beagle dog plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple, specific and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of mesalazine in beagle dog plasma. The plasma samples were prepared by protein precipitation, then the separation of the analyte was achieved on a Waters Spherisorb C₆ column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with a mobile phase consisting of 0.2% formic acid in water–methanol (20:80, v/v). The flow rate was set at 1.0 mL/min with a split ratio of 3:2. Mass spectrometric detection was achieved by a triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source interface in positive ionization mode. Quantitation was performed using selected reaction monitoring of precursor–product ion transitions at m/z 154 → m/z 108 for mesalazine and m/z 285 → m/z 193 for diazepam (internal standard). The linear calibration curve of mesalazine was obtained over the concentration range 50–30,000 ng/mL. The matrix effect of mesalazine was within ±9.8%. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were <7.9% and the accuracy (relative error) was within ±3.5%. The validated method was successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetics of mesalazine in healthy beagle dogs after rectal administration of mesalazine suppository. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of a highly sensitive LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for the determination of hyperoside in beagle dog plasma: application to a pharmacokinetic study

A highly sensitive, rapid assay method has been developed and validated for the analysis of hyperoside in beagle dog plasma with liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization in the positive‐ion mode. The assay procedure involves extraction of hyperoside and ginsenoside Re (IS) from beagle dog plasma. Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Agilent Zorbax XDB‐C₁₈ (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm) column by isocratic elution with acetonitrile and water (50:50, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min with a total run time of 2.0 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were 464.4 → 463.4 for hyperoside and 947.12 → 969.60 for IS. Linear responses were obtained for hyperoside ranging from 10 to 5000 ng/mL. The intra‐and inter‐day precisions (RSDs) were <5.38 and 3.39% and the extraction recovery ranged from 94.39 to 100.78% with an RSD <3.82%. Stability studies showed that hyperoside was stable in preparation and analytical process. The results indicated that the validated method was successfully used to determine the concentration–time profiles of hyperoside. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

A new rapid ultra‐performance liquid chromatography method for the pharmacokinetic and bioavailability study of diclofenac sodium aqueous injection and lipid microsphere injection in rats

A novel, rapid and selective ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometric method had been developed for the pharmacokinetic study of diclofenac sodium (DS) after single intravenous injection of DS aqueous injection and DS lipid microsphere (LM) injection in rats. Ketoprofen (KP) was used as internal standard. Samples were treated by a one‐step liquid liquid extraction. Separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC? BEH C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm i.d., 1.7 μm). The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile–0.1% ammonium hydroxide aqueous solution (20 : 80, v/v) initially in the gradient mode. The detection was carried out by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode with multiple‐reaction monitoring mode. Standard curves showed good linearity (r > 0.99) from the plasma concentration of 0.1–50 μg/mL. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 μg/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions and the accuracy all satisfied the acceptance criteria. The developed method was validated and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics study of DS aqueous injection and LM injection. The results showed that the two preparations were bioequivalent in rats. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative determination of rupestonic acid in rat plasma by high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive and specific high‐performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determination of rupestonic acid in rat plasma. Protein precipitation method was used to extract rupestonic acid and the internal standard (IS) warfarin sodium from rats plasma. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Agela Venusil XBP Phenyl column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol–0.1% formic acid in water (40:60, v/v), pumped at 0.4 mL/min. Rupestonic acid and the internal standard (IS) warfarin sodium were detected at m/z 247.2 → 203.1 and 307.1 → 161.3 in positive ion and multiple reaction monitoring mode respectively. The standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 2.5–5000 ng/mL (r² > 0.99). The within‐day and between‐day precision values for rupestonic acid at four concentrations were 4.7–5.7 and 4.4–8.7%, respectively. The method described herein was fully validated and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study after an intravenous administration of rupestonic acid in rats. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple high‐performance liquid chromatography for the determination of linezolid in human plasma and saliva

Linezolid is an antimicrobial agent for the treatment of multiresistant Gram‐positive infections. A practical high‐performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the determination of linezolid in human plasma and saliva. Linezolid and an internal standard (o‐ethoxybenzamide) were extracted from plasma and saliva with ethyl acetate and analyzed on a Capcell Pak C₁₈ MG column with UV detection at 254 nm. The calibration curve was linear through the range 0.5–50 µg/mL using a 200 μL sample volume. The intra‐ and interday precisions were all <6.44% for plasma and 5.60% for saliva. The accuracies ranged from 98.8 to 110% for both matrices. The mean recoveries of linezolid were 80.8% for plasma and 79.0% for saliva. This method was used to determine the plasma and saliva concentrations of linezolid in healthy volunteers who were orally administered a 600 mg dose of linezolid. Our liquid–liquid extraction procedure is easy and requires a small volume of plasma or saliva (200 μL). This small volume can be advantageous in clinical pharmacokinetic studies, especially if children participate. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of lansoprazole enantiomers in dog plasma by column‐switching liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study

Lansoprazole, a selective proton pump inhibitor, has a chiral benzimidazole sulfoxide structure and is used for the treatment of gastric acid hypersecretory related diseases. To investigate its stereoselective pharmacokinetics, a column‐switching liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of lansoprazole enantiomers in dog plasma using (+)‐pantoprazole as an internal standard. After a simple protein precipitation procedure with acetonitrile, matrix components left behind after sample preparation were further eliminated from the sample by reversed‐phase chromatography on a C₁₈ column. The fluent was fed to a chiral column for the separation of lansoprazole enantiomers. Baseline separation of lansoprazole enantiomers was achieved on a Chiralcel OZ‐RH column using acetonitrile/0.1% formic acid in water (35:65, v/v) as the mobile phase at 40°C. The linearity of the calibration curves ranged from 3 to 800 ng/mL for each enantiomer. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions ranged from 2.1 to 7.3% with an accuracy of ±1.7% for (+)‐lansoprazole, and from 1.6 to 6.9% with an accuracy of ±3.5% for (–)‐lansoprazole, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied for the stereoselective pharmacokinetic study of lansoprazole in beagle dog after intravenous infusion.     

A rapid and simple high-performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of human plasma levofloxacin concentration and its application to bioequivalence studies

A high-performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) for the determination of levofloxacin in human plasma is described. Neutralized with phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), the sample (0.1 mL) was extracted with dichlormethane (1 mL). After voltex-mixing and centrifuged at 3000g for 6 min at 4 degrees C, the upper aqueous layer was aspirated using a micro vacuum pump and the organic layer was directly transferred to a clean test tube without pipetting. The organic solvent was evaporated and the residues were reconstituted with the mobile phase. Levofloxacin and terazosin (internal standard, IS) were chromatographically separated on a C(18) column with a mobile phase containing phosphate buffer (pH 3.0, 10 mm), acetonitrile and triethylamine (76:24:0.076, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The analytes were detected using fluorescence detection at an excitation and emission wavelength of 295 and 440 nm, respectively. The linear range of the calibration curves was 0.0521-5.213 microg/mL for levofloxacin with a lower limit of quantitation (0.0521 microg/mL). The retention times of levofloxacin and terazosin were 2.5 and 3.1 min, respectively. Within- and between-run precision was less than 12 and 11%, respectively. Accuracy ranged from -6.3 to 4.5%. The recovery ranged from 86 to 89% at the concentrations of 0.0521, 0.5213 and 5.213 microg/mL. The present HPLC-FLD method is sensitive, efficient and reliable. The method described herein has been successfully used for the pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence studies of a levofloxacin formulation product after oral administration to healthy Chinese volunteers.     

A high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method coupled with protein precipitation for determination of granisetron in human plasma and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, simple and validated method based on liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of granisetron in human plasma. Plasma samples were pre‐purified by protein precipitation procedure. The chromatographic separation was achieved with Synergi Polar‐RP (75 × 2 mm, 4 µm) column using a mixture of 5 mm pH4.0 ammonium formate and methanol (300:316, v/v) under isocratic conditions at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode using positive electrospray ionization. The analysis time was about 2.5 min. The method was fully validated over the concentration range 0.1–10 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mL. Inter‐ and intra‐batch precision was <6.1% and the accuracy was within 95.6–100.0%. The mean extraction recovery was 96.3%. Selectivity, matrix effect and stability were also validated. The method was applied to the comparative pharmacokinetic study of granisetron in Chinese healthy subjects. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of ferruginol in rat plasma via high‐performance liquid chromatography and its application in pharmacokinetics study

Ferruginol, a diterpene phenol, has recently received attention for its extensive pharmacological properties, including anti‐tumor, antibacterial, cardio‐protective and gastroprotective effects. In the present study, a high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for determination of ferruginol in rat plasma and applied for the pharmacokinetics study. The HPLC assay was performed with a VP ODS‐C₁₈ column. The mobile phaseconsisted of methanol and 1% acetic acid solution (90:10, v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and the wavelength was set at 270 nm. This method was linear over the studied range of 0.1–10.0 µg/mL for ferruginol. The correlation coefficient was 0.9998. The intra‐day and inter‐day precisions were better than 4 and 5%, respectively. The extraction recovery and accuracy were greater than 97 and 96%, respectively. The detection limit was 30 ng/mL. The mean maximum concentration of ferruginol in rat plasma was 3.14 µg/mL at 40 min after oral administration at a dose of 20 mg/kg. Ferruginol was absorbed quickly p.o. with t_1/2ka = 14.86 min and had a high rate of elimination with t_1/2 = 41.73 min. The pharmacokinetic process of ferruginol in rat was well described with a one‐compartment model. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of agomelatine in human plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive and selective LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of agomelatine in human plasma was developed and validated. After simple liquid–liquid extraction, the analytes were separated on a Zorbax SB‐C₁₈ column (150 × 2.1 mm i.d., 5 µm) with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 5 mm ammonium acetate solution (containing 0.1% formic acid) and methanol (30:70, v/v) at a flow‐rate of 0.3 mL/min. The MS acquisition was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode with a positive electrospray ionization source. The mass transitions monitored were m/z 244.1 → 185.3 and m/z 285.2 → 193.2 for agomelatine and internal standard, respectively. The methods were validated for selectivity, carry‐over, matrix effects, calibration curves, accuracy and precision, extraction recoveries, dilution integrity and stability. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of agomelatine in Chinese volunteers following a single oral dose of 25 mg agomelatine tablet. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of amantadine and rimantadine by HPLC in rat plasma with pre-column derivatization and fluorescence detection for pharmacokinetic studies

We investigated simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) determination of amantadine hydrochloride (AMA) and rimantadine hydrochloride (RIM) levels in rat plasma after fluorescent derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde and 2-mercaptoethanol. Afterwards, the method was applied to determine their pharmacokinetics. The retention times of AMA and RIM derivatives were 12.6 and 22.2 min and the lower limits of detection were 0.025 and 0.016 microg/mL, respectively. The coefficients of variation for intra- and inter-day assay of AMA and RIM were less than 5.1 and 7.6%, respectively. After i.v. administration of AMA or RIM to rats, the total body clearance and distribution volume at the steady-state of RIM were higher than those of AMA. Bioavailability of AMA and RIM was 34.9 and 37.2%, respectively. When AMA and RIM were p.o. co-administered, the area under the plasma concentration--time curve of RIM was significantly lower than that after RIM alone. On the other hand, pharmacokinetic parameters of AMA did not significantly change. These results indicate that our HPLC assay is simple, rapid, sensitive and reproducible for simultaneously determining AMA and RIM concentrations in rat plasma and is applicable to their pharmacokinetic studies. Also, co-administration of AMA and RIM may result in the lack of pharmacological effects of RIM.     

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of scopolin in rat plasma: application to pharmacokinetic studies

An analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection was developed for determination of scopolin in rat plasma using aesculin as internal standard (IS). After protein precipitation of plasma sample with methanol, the supernatant was directly injected and analyzed. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 column using methanol and distilled water (22:78, v/v) containing 0.2% (v/v) glacial acetic acid as mobile phase with a column temperature of 30 degrees C. The UV detector was set at 338 nm. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.105-13.125 microg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The retention times of aesculin and scopolin were 10.4 and 12.8 min, respectively. The recoveries for plasma samples of 0.105, 4.725 and 13.125 microg/mL were 91.08, 95.30 and 96.10%, respectively. The RSD of intra- and inter-day assay variations was less than 7.35%. The lower limit of detection was 0.03 microg/mL .This HPLC assay is a simple, sensitive and accurate and was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of scopolin in rats.     

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of pinaverium bromide in human plasma: application to a pharmacokinetic study in healthy volunteers

A sensitive and specific method using liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) for the determination of pinaverium bromide in human plasma was developed and validated. Pinaverium bromide and an internal standard (paclitaxel) were isolated from plasma samples by precipitating plasma, and determined by LC‐MS/MS in multiple‐reaction monitoring mode. The main metabolite of pinaverium bromide and endogenous substances in plasma did not show any interference. The calibration curve was linear over the plasma concentration range of 10.0–10000.0 pg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9979. The relative standard derivations intra‐ and inter‐day at 30.0, 300.0 and 8000.0 pg/mL in plasma were less than 15%. The absolute recoveries of pinaverium bromide and the internal standard were 99.7–111.7 and 106.2%, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation was 10 pg/mL. The analytical method was successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetics of pinaverium bromide tablets in healthy Chinese volunteers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.