UPLC-MS/MS assay for quantification of an inhibitor of kinases (Foretinib) in plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study in rats.

Foretinib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, is known to have anti-tumor effects against cancers. The doses and the levels of foretinib vary based on the type of cancer to be treated. An accurate and precise method is required to determine the level of foretinib and its pharmacokinetics. Here, we developed such a method, which was validated based on the guidelines of the FDA and EMA. Foretinib and ibrutinib (the internal standard (IS)) were extracted using tert-butyl methyl ether. Foretinib and IS were eluted in approximately 1.2 min. Thus, a linear, fast, accurate, and precise method was developed. The calibration curve was linear (r2 ˃ 0.997) in the range of 0.5-400.0 ng/mL and the lowest limit of quantitation was 0.5 ng/mL. The average recovery, accuracy, and precision were 87.9%, 88.7%, and ≤7.8%, respectively. The analyte was deemed stable using various stability tests. The validated assay was then fruitfully applied to a pharmacokinetics study in rats, which revealed that foretinib was absorbed and the maximum concentration achieved at 4.0 h after the administration of a single dose of foretinib.

A rapid, simple and highly sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method for quantitation of pimavanserin in plasma and tissues: Application to pharmacokinetics and brain uptake studies in mice.

Pimavanserin is a new drug approved by the FDA for Parkinson's disease psychosis and other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we developed a UPLC-MS/MS method to quantify pimavanserin disposition in the brain and its pharmacokinetics in mice. Vilazodone was used as the internal standard. Pimavanserin and IS were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using tert-butyl methyl ether and separated using an Acquity UPLC BEH™ C18 column. The mobile phase consisted of solvent A (0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile) and B (0.1% formic acid in 20 mM ammonium acetate buffer) (A: B, 70:30 v/v) at a flow rate of 0.25 ml/min. The multiple reaction monitoring transitions were performed at m/z 428.23 â†’ 98.15 for pimavanserin and m/z 441.70 > 155.03 for the IS. The developed method was found to be sensitive, fast, and reproducible. The linearity of the method was ˃0.99 over the range of 0.1-300 ng/mL in plasma and 0.25-300 ng/g in the brain homogenate. Precision and accuracy were within the acceptance range. The method was applied to pharmacokinetics and brain uptake studies, which showed that pimavanserin penetrates the blood-brain barrier and reaches a Cmax of 21.9 ± 6.66 ng/g in 2.0 h. We also found that pimavanserin brain to plasma ratio (Kbrain/plasma) is 0.16 ± 0.05 and it is rapidly eliminated.

Development and validation of a UPLC-MS/MS method for determination of motesanib in plasma: Application to metabolic stability and pharmacokinetic studies in rats.

Motesanib is a potent angiokinase inhibitor, has shown potential therapeutic effects against various cancers. An accurate, reproducible, rapid, specific, sensitive, and valid ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was established to quantify motesanib in rat plasma. Motesanib and linifanib (used as an internal standard; IS) were extracted from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction using tert-butyl methyl ether as extracting agent. Chromatographic separation was performed on Acquity™ UPLC BEH™ C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm i.d., 1.7 µm; Waters Corp., USA) using a mobile phase comprising of 0.1% formic acid acetonitrile: ammonium acetate (90:10 v/v) eluted at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The electrospray ionization in the positive-mode was used for sample ionization. In the multiple reaction monitoring mode, motesanib and the IS were quantified using precursor-to-product ion transitions of m/z 374.03 → 212.02 and m/z 376.05 → 251.05, respectively. The ranges of the calibration curves were 5.0-1000.0 ng/mL with coefficient of determination of ≥0.998. The method was validated by following recently implemented USFDA guideline for bioanalytical method validation. The lower limit of quantification was 5.0 ng/mL, whereas the intra-day and inter-day accuracies of quality controls (QCs) samples were ranged between 88.91% to 95.65% and 90.20% to 102.17%, respectively. In addition, the linearity, recovery, precision, and stability parameters were found to be within the acceptable range. The method was applied successfully to in vitro microsomal metabolic stability and preliminary oral pharmacokinetic studies in rats. The applied UPLC/MS/MS method was found to be adequately sensitive and therefore suitable for application in routine motesanib pharmacokinetic studies.

UPLC/MS-MS assay development for estimation of mozavaptan in plasma and its pharmacokinetic study in rats.

AIM: Mozavaptan is a nonpeptide vasopressin receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of ectopic antidiuretic hormone secretion syndrome. METHODS & RESULTS: A simple, rapid and fully validated UPLC/MS-MS method was developed for the quantitation of mozavaptan in rat plasma. The chromatographic separation was conducted on an Acquity UPLC BEH™ C18 column with an optimum mobile phase of 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (30:70 v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min. The multiple reaction monitoring transitions were performed at m/z 428.16→119.03 for mozavaptan and m/z 237.06→179.10 for carbamazepine (internal standard). CONCLUSION: The method was effectively applied for the determination of mozavaptan pharmacokinetic parameters after the oral administration of 3 mg/kg mozavaptan in rats.

Method development for quantification of quizartinib in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for pharmacokinetic application.

Quizartinib is a highly potent inhibitor of the fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor, which is one of the most commonly mutated genes in acute myeloid leukemia. Quizartinib has shown a significant antileukemic clinical influence among relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia patients. This study aimed at developing and validating an analytical method for the measurement of quizartinib in rat plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method was validated according to US Food and Drug Administration guidelines, and the results obtained in this work met the set criteria. Liquid-liquid extraction was used and chromatographic separation was achieved on a BEHTM C18 column. Detection of quizartinib was achieved in multiple reaction monitoring mode using positive-ion mode electrospray ionization. The MS/MS ion transitions at mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) of 561.129/114.09 and 441.16/84.03 were monitored for quizartinib and ibrutinib, respectively. The linear detection range was 2-1000 ng/mL (r > 0.998), with intra- and inter-day assay precisions ≤13.07 and 13.17%, respectively. This rapid, simple and sensitive method was validated and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of quizartinib in rat samples.