title: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of methylprednisolone in rat plasma and liver after intravenous administration of its liver-targeted dextran prodrug.
abstract: A specific and sensitive liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometric method for quantitative determination of methylprednisolone (MP) in rat plasma and liver was developed and validated using triamcinolone acetonide as an internal standard. Liquid-liquid extraction using tert-butyl methyl ether was used to extract the drug and the internal standard from plasma and liver. The separation of MP was performed on a C(18) column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile:0.5% formic acid aqueous solution (85:15, v/v) over 4min. The assay was based on the selected reaction monitoring transitions at m/z 375-->161 for MP in plasma, 375-->357 for MP in liver, and 435-->415 for internal standard in both plasma and liver. The lower limit of quantification was 20ng/mL based on 100microL of plasma or liver homogenate. Intra- and inter-day assay variations were <or=15%, and the accuracy values were between 85.8% and 118%. The extraction recoveries ranged from 76.8% to 79.2% for plasma and 76.8-80.8% for liver across the calibration curve range. The method was successfully applied to the measurement of low concentrations of regenerated MP in plasma and liver after intravenous administration of a single dose (5mg/kg) of a liver-targeted dextran prodrug of MP to rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1300 Coulter, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA.
authors.forename: Shuang-Qing
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Helen R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Thorsheim
authors.forename: Suman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Penugonda
authors.forename: Venkateswaran C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.forename: Quentin R
authors.initials: QR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehvar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D003911:Dextrans / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D011355:Prodrugs; D008775:Methylprednisolone