A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method for quantitation of aripiprazole in human plasma.

A rugged liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS-MS) method was developed and validated for accurate monitoring of steady-state plasma aripiprazole. Haloperidol-d(4) was chosen as the internal standard. ESI of aripiprazole and haloperidol-d(4) yielded abundant MH(+) ions, m/z 448 and 379, respectively. These ions were collision-dissociated to respective product ions of m/z 285 and 168. Ion-suppression experiments with blank plasma extracts showed substantial depressions of the product ions at retention times between 0.5 to 2 min, prohibiting development of a high-throughput LC-MS-MS method. A steep-gradient elution LC permitted a robust LC-ESI-MS-MS method with a 12-min analysis time. Aripiprazole was quantified from 0.2-mL aliquots of human plasma with acceptable precision and accuracy down to a lower limit of quantitation of 2 ng/mL. Aripiprazole was stable in plasma samples stored at room temperature for 24 h or exposed to three freeze-thaw cycles and in processed extracts stored at -20 degrees C for six days or on the autosampler at 10 degrees C for four days. The method has been successfully used for determinations of steady-state concentrations of aripiprazole in human subjects given daily oral doses of 15 mg. All measured concentrations were well within the quantitative range of 2 to 400 ng/mL.

Repeated dosing with oral cocaine in humans: assessment of direct effects, withdrawal, and pharmacokinetics.

Cocaine withdrawal symptoms are thought to play a role in relapse; studies characterizing the symptomatology have yielded mixed findings. This study sought to examine the pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic profile of repeated high dose exposure to oral cocaine and characterize acute and protracted withdrawal in cocaine abusers. This study employed a repeated-dosing, single-blind design in which subjects (n = 9), resided for 40 days on a closed ward. They were maintained for two 4-day cocaine exposure periods (Days 1-4 & Days 9-12, cocaine 175 mg, p.o.; 5 hourly doses; 875 mg/day) separated by a 4-day matched placebo exposure period (Days 5-8). After these 12 days, an additional period of 28 days of placebo maintenance followed (Days 13-40). Test sessions were conducted during each phase; measures of mood, drug effects, sleep, pharmacokinetics, and prolactin were collected throughout the study. The dosing regimen produced cocaine plasma concentrations (Cmax of 680 ng/mL) two to threefold higher than typically seen in acute dose studies. Prototypic psychostimulant effects, including subjective ratings of euphoric effects (liking, high, good effects) and significant cardiopressor effects, were sustained during the active dosing periods, corresponding to the rise and fall of plasma cocaine. Withdrawal-like symptoms (i.e., disruptions of sleep, increased ratings of anxiety, irritability, crashing) were observed within 24-hr after cessation of dosing. Cocaine reduced prolactin acutely, but no sustained alterations were observed for this measure or for other signs or symptoms during the 28-day abstinence period. These findings indicate that exposure to controlled high doses of cocaine produces modest symptoms consistent with cocaine withdrawal within hours of cessation of dosing but provide no evidence of symptoms persisting beyond 24 hours.

A liquid chromatographic-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometric method for quantitation of quetiapine in human plasma and liver microsomes: application to study in vitro metabolism.

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent for the treatment of schizophrenia. After an oral dose it is absorbed rapidly and extensively metabolized in the liver, resulting in low plasma concentrations of the parent drug. A sensitive analytical method is needed. A liquid chromatographic-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS-MS) method combined with a simple liquid-liquid extraction has been developed for the measurement of quetiapine in human plasma and in human liver microsomes (HLM). Clozapine is used as internal standard. Plasma samples or microsomes quenched with methanol (100 microL) were made basic and extracted with 3 mL n-butyl chloride. The reconstituted extracts were analyzed by LC-ESI-MS-MS. Selective reaction monitoring of MH(+) at m/z 384 and 327 resulted in strong fragment ions at m/z 253 and 192 for quetiapine and clozapine, respectively. Recovery of quetiapine and clozapine ranged from 62 to 73%. Intrarun accuracy and precision determined at 1.0 (lower limit of quantitation), 2.5, 200, and 400 ng/mL did not exceed 7% deviation from target and the %CV did not exceed 5.5%. The % target +/- %CV for interrun accuracy and precision were at least 95% +/- 7.4% at concentrations of 2.5, 200, and 400 ng/mL. Plasma samples (2.5 and 400 ng/mL) stored at room temperature for 24 h or after 3 cycles of freeze/thaw were all stable (maximum % deviation < or = 11.0%). Processed extracts (2.5 and 400 ng/mL) stored for 7 days at -20 degrees C or 6 days on the autosampler were all stable (maximum % deviation < or = 11.5%). The method has been used to study quetiapine utilization during incubation with HLM or with cDNA-expressed human cytochrom P450s (CYP). Quetiapine is extensively metabolized by CYP 3A4 and CYP 2D6 and to a lesser extent by CYP 3A7, CYP 3A5, and CYP 2C19.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometric method for determination of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone in human plasma.

Risperidone, a benzisoxazole derivative, is an antipsychotic agent used for the treatment of schizophrenia. We developed a liquid chromatographic-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-APCI-MS-MS) method with improved sensitivity, selectivity, and dynamic range for determination of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone in human plasma. A structural analogue of risperidone, RO68808 (5 ng/mL), is added as the internal standard to 1 mL of human plasma. Plasma is made basic, extracted with pentane/methylene chloride (3:1), the organic phase evaporated to dryness, and the residue is reconstituted in water with 0.1% formic acid/acetonitrile (20:1). For LC-MS-MS analysis, a Metachem Inertsel HPLC column (2.1 x 150 mm, 5-microm particle size) is connected to a Finnigan TSQ7000 tandem MS via the Finnigan API interface. Both electrospray (ESI) and APCI produced predominantly MH(+) ions for the two analytes and the internal standard. Ions detected by selected reaction monitoring correspond to the following transitions: m/z 411 to 191 for risperidone, m/z 427 to 207 for 9-hydroxyrisperidone, and m/z 421 to 201 for the internal standard. APCI provided a larger dynamic range (0.1 to 25 ng/mL) and better precision and accuracy than ESI. Intrarun accuracy and precision determined at 0.1, 0.25, 2.5, and 15 ng/mL were within 12% of target with %CVs not exceeding 10.9%. Interrun accuracy and precision determined at the same concentrations were within 9.6% of target with %CVs not exceeding 6.7%. Analytes were stable in plasma after 24 h at room temperature, 2 freeze-thaw cycles, and 490 days at -20 degrees C.