Honggang Lou

Simultaneous determination of paracetamol, pseudoephedrine, dextrophan and chlorpheniramine in human plasma by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

For the first time, a highly sensitive and simple LC-MS/MS method after one-step precipitation was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol (PA), pseudoephedrine (PE), dextrophan (DT) and chlorpheniramine (CP) in human plasma using diphenhydramine as internal standard (IS). The analytes and IS were separated on a YMC-ODS-AQ C(18) Column (100 mm x 2.0 mm, 3 microm) by a gradient program with mobile phase consisting of 0.3% (v/v) acetic acid and methanol at a flow rate of 0.30 mL/min. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer via electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode. The method was validated and linear over the concentration range of 10-5000 ng/mL for PA, 2-1000 ng/mL for PE, 0.05-25 ng/mL for DT and 0.1-50 ng/mL for CP. The accuracies as determined from quality control samples were in range of -8.37% to 3.13% for all analytes. Intra-day and inter-day precision for all analytes were less than 11.54% and 14.35%, respectively. This validated method was successfully applied to a randomized, two-period cross-over bioequivalence study in 20 healthy Chinese volunteers receiving multicomponent formulations containing 325 mg of paracetamol, 30 mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, 15 mg of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 2 mg of chlorphenamine maleate.

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 C(18) column (100 x 2.0 mm, i.d., 3.0 microm) 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.

Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability of hyzetimibe (HS‐25) in healthy Chinese subjects

Hyzetimibe (HS‐25) is a new cholesterol absorption inhibitor. We performed the first‐in‐human study to assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (including the effect of food) and pharmacodynamics (effect on blood lipid level) following single (1, 3, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg) and multiple (5, 10, and 20 mg) ascending‐dose of hyzetimibe in healthy subjects. An increase of exposure (area under the plasma concentration–time curve and maximum plasma concentration) to hyzetimibe and hyzetimibe‐glucuronide (HS‐25M1) was observed in an approximately dose‐proportional manner. A terminal half‐life of approximately 21 hours was observed with doses ranging between 5 and 30 mg. Steady state was achieved by day 8 of once‐daily dosing with 1.6‐ and 1.2‐fold accumulation for hyzetimibe and hyzetimibe‐glucuronide, respectively. Food did not have any effect on hyzetimibe and hyzetimibe‐glucuronide exposure. Administration of hyzetimibe once daily for 10 days reduced the levels of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in healthy subjects and these recovered after discontinuation of this drug. All of the adverse events were mild or moderate in severity, and the majority of them were unrelated to hyzetimibe, with no dose‐dependent trends. These findings suggest that hyzetimibe could be a potential treatment for hypercholesterolemia.

Bioequivalence studies of 2 oral cefaclor capsule formulations in chinese healthy subjects.

An open-label, single-dose, randomized, crossover study was carried out in 20 Chinese healthy male subjects to compare the pharmacokinetics of 2 cefaclor (CAS 53994-73-3) formulations after administration of a single 250 mg dose of each drug with a 1-week wash-out period. Blood samples were collected before and with 6 h after drug administration. Plasma concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector. 2 formulations were evaluated using the following pharmacokinetic parameters: AUC0-t, Cmax and tmax was analyzed nonparametrically. The 90% confidence interval (CI) of the ratios (teat/reference) of log-transformed AUC0-t and Cmax fell within the bioequivalence acceptance range of 80-125%. The results showed that the 90% CI of the ratios of AUC0-t and Cmax were 105.1% (101.0-109.4%) and 92.4% (82.5-103.4%), respectively, which therefore could conclude 2 oral cefaclor capsule formulations of cefaclor are bioequivalent. Both treatments showed similar tolerability and safety.

Bioequivalence evaluation of cefdinir in healthy fasting subjects.

A simple and sensitive HPLC method was developed to determine cefdinir (CAS 91832-40-5) in human plasma. The method was validated by investigating the accuracy and precision for intra- and inter-day runs in a linear concentration from 0.05-2.0 µg/ml. The object of this study was to compare the bioavailability of cefdinir capsule (reference) and cefdinir granule (test) containing 100 mg of cefdinir. A randomized, open-label, single-dose, 2-way crossover bioequivalence study in 20 healthy, Chinese, male subjects was conducted. A 1-week wash-out period was applied. Blood samples were collected before and with 10 h after drug administration. The formulations were compared using the following pharmacokinetic parameters: AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and C max. The 90% confidence interval (CI) of the ratios of log-transformed AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were used to assess bioequivalence between the 2 formulations using the equivalence interval of 80 and 125%. The results showed that the 90% CI of the ratios of AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and C max were 102.5% (94.7-111.0%), 103.4% (94.8-112.7%) and 106.4% (97.0-116.7%), respectively, which indicated 2 formulations of cefidinir are bioequivalent. Both treatments showed similar tolerability and safety.

Quantitative determination of pidotimod in human plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry: application to a bioequivalence study.

A highly sensitive and simple LC-MS/MS method after one-step protein precipitation was developed and validated for determination of pidotimod (CAS 121808-62-6) in human plasma using dextrophan (CAS 125-73-5) as internal standard (IS). Pidotimod and IS were separated on a YMC-ODS-AQ C18 column using 0.5% formic acid and methanol as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Detection was performed on positive ion mode of the transitions at 245.0→134.0 for pidotimod and 258.1→157.0 for IS by selected reaction monitoring (SRM). The assay exhibited a linear range of 0.05-10.0 µg/mL. The lower limit of quantification were 0.05 µg/mL. Validation results indicated that the accuracy as determined from quality control samples was in the range of  - 4.00-6.48%. Intra-day and inter-day precision was ≤  8.35% and ≤  8.00%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to a bioequivalence study in 20 healthy Chinese volunteers following a single oral dose of 800 mg pidotimod. The simple, inexpensive protein precipitation and high-throughput method makes it a suitable and valuable tool in the investigation of the clinical pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence.

Development and validation of a rapid LC‐MS/MS method to quantify letrozole in human plasma and its application to therapeutic drug monitoring

A selective, rapid, and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of letrozole (LTZ) in human plasma, using anastrozole as internal standard (IS). Sample preparation was performed by one-step protein precipitation with methanol. The analyte and IS were chromatographed on a reversed-phase YMC-ODS-C18 column (2.0 × 100 mm i.d., 3 µm) with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The mobile phase consisted of water containing 0.1% formic acid (v/v) and methanol containing 0.1% formic acid (v/v). The mass spectrometer was operated in selected reaction monitoring mode through electrospray ionization ion mode using the transitions of m/z 286.2 → 217.1 for LTZ and m/z 294.1 → 225.1 for IS, respectively. The method was validated for selectivity, linearity, lower limit of quantitation, precision, accuracy, matrix effects and stability in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Linear calibration curves were 1.0-60.0 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-batch precision (CV) for LTZ were <9.34%, and the accuracy ranged from 97.43 to 105.17%. This method was successfully used for the analysis of samples from patients treated with LTZ in the dose of 2.5 mg/day. It might be suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring of these patients and contribute to predict the risk of adverse reactions.

Simultaneous quantification of olanzapine and its metabolite N-desmethylolanzapine in human plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for therapeutic drug monitoring.

A simple, sensitive, and selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of olanzapine (OLZ) and its metabolite N-desmethylolanzapine (DMO) in human plasma for therapeutic drug monitoring. Sample preparation was performed by one-step protein precipitation with methanol. The analytes were chromatographed on a reversed-phase YMC-ODS-AQ C18 Column (2.0 × 100 mm,3 µm) by a gradient program at a flow rate of 0.30 mL/min. Quantification was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer via electrospray ionization in positive ion mode. The method was validated for selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, matrix effect, recovery and stability. The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range 0.2-120 ng/mL for OLZ and 0.5-50 ng/mL for DMO. Intra- and interday precisions for OLZ and DMO were <11.29%, and the accuracy ranged from 95.23 to 113.16%. The developed method was subsequently applied to therapeutic drug monitoring for psychiatric patients receiving therapy of OLZ tablets. The method seems to be suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring of patients undergoing therapy with OLZ and might contribute to prediction of the risk of adverse reactions.

Pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence study of three oral formulations of ambroxol 30 mg: a randomized, three-period crossover comparison in healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVE To compare the pharmacokinetic properties of two newly developed generic ambroxol formulations with a branded innovator product in healthy Chinese male volunteers. METHODS This was a single-dose, randomized, open-label, three-period crossover study in healthy volunteers aged 18 - 45 years under fasting conditions. Subjects were assigned to receive 1 of 2 test formulations or a reference tablet of ambroxol 30 mg. Each study period was separated by a 1-week washout phase. Blood samples were collected at pre-specified times. A non-compartmental method was employed to determine pharmacokinetic properties (C(max), t(max), AUC(0-tlast), AUC(0-∞)) to test for bioequivalence. The predetermined regulatory range of 90% CI for bioequivalence was 80 - 125%. RESULTS 24 subjects were enrolled in and completed the study. The geometric mean C(max) values for the test tablet, test capsule, and reference product were 82.73, 85.36, 84.56 ng/mL, and their geometric mean AUC(0-tlast) (AUC(0-∞)) were 660.87 (753.49), 678.98 (756.79), and 639.41 (712.14) ng x h/mL, respectively. For test tablet vs. reference, the 90% CIs of the least squares mean test/reference ratios of C(max), AUC(0-tlast), and AUC(0-∞) were 91.2% to 104.9%, 96.5% to 110.7%, and 98.8% to 113.4%, respectively. For test capsule, the corresponding values were 94.1% to 108.3%, 99.2% to 113.7%, and 99.2% to 113.9%, respectively. No adverse events occurred during the study. CONCLUSIONS The ambroxol 30 mg tablets and capsules were considered bioequivalent to the reference formulation in accordance with predetermined regulatory criteria.

QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF MEMANTINE IN HUMAN PLASMA BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY–TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY: APPLICATION TO A BIOEQUIVALENCE STUDY

A simple, sensitive, and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of memantine in human plasma was established. A one-step protein precipitation with methanol was used to extract the analyte from plasma samples. Memantine and amantadine (internal standard, IS) were separated on a YMC-ODS-C18 column using 0.1% formic acid and methanol as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Detection was performed on positive ion mode of the transitions at 180.3→107.3 for memantine and 152.2→135.3 for IS by selected reaction monitoring (SRM). The assay was validated over the concentration range of 0.5–50 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 0.5 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-batch precision (RSD) were no more than 5.96% and 6.37%, respectively. The accuracy was from −3.02% to 7.74%. The validated method was successfully applied to a randomized, 2-period cross-over bioequivalence study in 22 healthy Chinese volunteers following a single oral dose of 10 mg memantine hydrochloride tablet. The simple, inexpensive protein precipitation and high-throughput method makes it a suitable and valuable tool in the investigation of the clinical pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence.