Safaa S. Toubar

Liquid chromatography-tandem MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of paracetamol, chlorzoxazone and aceclofenac in human plasma: An application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study

A facile, fast and specific method based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous quantitation of paracetamol, chlorzoxazone and aceclofenac in human plasma was developed and validated. Sample preparation was achieved by liquid-liquid extraction. The analysis was performed on a reversed-phase C18 HPLC column (5 μm, 4.6 × 50 mm) using acetonitrile-10 mM ammonium formate pH 3.0 (65:35, v/v) as the mobile phase where atrovastatin was used as an internal standard. A very small injection volume (3 μL) was applied and the run time was 2.0 min. The detection was carried out by electrospray positive and negative ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction monitoring mode. The developed method was capable of determining the analytes over the concentration ranges of 0.03-30.0, 0.015-15.00 and 0.15-15.00 μg/mL for paracetamol, chlorzoxazone and aceclofenac, respectively. Intraday and interday precisions (as coefficient of variation) were found to be ≤12.3% with an accuracy (as relative error) of ±5.0%. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of the three analytes after being orally administered to six healthy volunteers.

Novel pure component contribution, mean centering of ratio spectra and factor based algorithms for simultaneous resolution and quantification of overlapped spectral signals: An application to recently co-formulated tablets of chlorzoxazone, aceclofenac and paracetamol

In this work, resolution and quantitation of spectral signals are achieved by several univariate and multivariate techniques. The novel pure component contribution algorithm (PCCA) along with mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR) and the factor based partial least squares (PLS) algorithms were developed for simultaneous determination of chlorzoxazone (CXZ), aceclofenac (ACF) and paracetamol (PAR) in their pure form and recently co-formulated tablets. The PCCA method allows the determination of each drug at its λmax. While, the mean centered values at 230, 302 and 253nm, were used for quantification of CXZ, ACF and PAR, respectively, by MCR method. Partial least-squares (PLS) algorithm was applied as a multivariate calibration method. The three methods were successfully applied for determination of CXZ, ACF and PAR in pure form and tablets. Good linear relationships were obtained in the ranges of 2-50, 2-40 and 2-30μgmL(-1) for CXZ, ACF and PAR, in order, by both PCCA and MCR, while the PLS model was built for the three compounds each in the range of 2-10μgmL(-1). The results obtained from the proposed methods were statistically compared with a reported one. PCCA and MCR methods were validated according to ICH guidelines, while PLS method was validated by both cross validation and an independent data set. They are found suitable for the determination of the studied drugs in bulk powder and tablets.

Novel contribution to the simultaneous monitoring of pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate and levodopa as co-administered drugs in human plasma utilizing UPLC–MS/MS

An efficient, selective, sensitive, and rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for the quantification of pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate and levodopa simultaneously in human plasma with the aid of diphenhydramine as an internal standard. A simple protein precipitation technique with HPLC grade acetonitrile was efficiently utilized for the cleanup of plasma. The analysis was performed using a Hypersil gold 50 mm × 2.1 mm (1.9 µm) column and a mobile phase of 0.2% formic acid and methanol (90: 10 v/v). The triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source operated in the positive mode was set up in the selective reaction monitoring mode (SRM) to detect the ion transitions m/z 212.15 →153.01, m/z 198.10→ 135.16, and m/z 255.75 → 166.16 for pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate, levodopa, and diphenhydramine, respectively. The method was thoroughly validated according to FDA guidelines and proved to be linear, accurate, and precise over the range 100–4000 pg/mL for pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate and 60–4000 ng/mL for levodopa. The proposed method was effectively applied for monitoring both drugs in plasma samples of healthy volunteers.