A sensitive liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry method for the intracellular and plasma quantification of raltegravir after solid-phase extraction.

INTRODUCTION: Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for the quantification of raltegravir in human plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells has been developed. METHODS: Sample preparations were based on a fully automated solid-phase extraction process. Mass spectrometric data were acquired in a single-ion monitoring method. Raltegravir and quinoxaline, the internal standard, were well separated in a gradient mode over 15 min. KEY FINDINGS: Validation study exhibited excellent linearity, with good intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: The assay was successfully applied to the raltegravir quantification in HIV-infected patients.