Validation of a novel, fully automated high throughput high-performance liquid chromatographic/tandem mass Spectrometric method for quantification of pantoprazole in human plasma

An automated high-throughput HPLC/MS/MS method was developed for the quantitative determination of pantoprazole in human plasma. Only 100 microL plasma was placed in 2.2 mL 96 deep-well plates, and both pantoprazole and omeprazole (IS) were extracted from human plasma by liquid-liquid extraction, using diethyl ether-dichloromethane (70:30, v/v) as the organic solvent. Robotic liquid-handling workstations were used for all liquid transfer and solution preparation steps and resulted in a short sample preparation time. After vortexing, centrifugation, and freezing, the supernatant organic solvent was evaporated and reconstituted in a small volume of reconstitution solution. Sample analysis was performed by utilizing the combination of RP-HPLC/MS/MS, with positive-ion electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring detection. The chromatographic run time was set at 1.8 min with a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min on a Nucleosil octylsilyl (C8) analytical column. The method was proven to be sensitive, specific, accurate, and precise for the determination of pantoprazole in human plasma. The method was applied to a bioequivalence study after per os administration of a 40 mg pantoprazole gastric retentive tablet.