Validation of high-performance liquid chromatography methods for determination of zidovudine, stavudine, lamivudine and indinavir in human plasma.

OBJECTIVE: Simple methods for the determination of zidovudine (AZT), stavudine (d4T), lamivudine (3TC) and indinavir (INV) in human plasma by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection were described and validated. METHOD: Solid-liquid extraction procedures were applied to the samples prior to analysis. Chromatography was performed on a C-18 analytical columns and the retention time ranged from 6.8 to 8.0 min for stavudine, 7.5 to 9.0 min for lamivudine, 11.2 to 11.9 min for zidovudine and indinavir. Four methods were validated for specificity, inter-and intra-assay precision and accuracy, absolute recovery and stability. RESULTS: Analytical curve ranged from 10-1600 ng/ml for stavudine, 50-3200 ng/ml for lamivudine, 0.05-5.0 microg/ml for zidovudine and 0.1-10.0 microg/ml for indinavir. Analytes stability during sampling processing and storage were established. Extraction recoveries are higher than 89% for all formulations. CONCLUSIONS: These methods proved to be simple, accurate and precise, and are currently in use in our laboratory for the quantitative analysis of antiretrovirals products in plasma, and for further pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence studies.

Effect of ribavirin on intracellular and plasma pharmacokinetics of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-hepatitis C virus coinfection: results of a randomized clinical study.

The intracellular triphosphorylation and plasma pharmacokinetics of lamivudine (3TC), stavudine (d4T), and zidovudine (ZDV) were assessed in a pharmacokinetic substudy, in 56 human immunodeficiency virus-hepatitis C virus (HIV-HCV) coinfected patients receiving peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD) 180 microg/week plus either placebo or ribavirin (RBV) 800 mg/day in the AIDS PEGASYS Ribavirin International Coinfection Trial. There were no significant differences between patients treated with RBV and placebo in plasma pharmacokinetics parameters for the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) at steady state (weeks 8 to 12): ratios of least squares mean of area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC(0-12 h)) were 1.17 (95% confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.51) for 3TC, 1.44 (95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 3.60) for d4T and 0.85 (95% confidence interval, 0.50 to 1.45) for ZDV, and ratios of least squares mean plasma C(max) were 1.33 (95% confidence interval, 0.99 to 1.78), 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 0.68 to 1.65), and 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.46 to 1.53), respectively. Concentrations of NRTI triphosphate (TP) metabolites in relation to those of the triphosphates of endogenous deoxythymidine-triphosphate (dTTP) and deoxcytidine-triphosphate (dCTP) were similar in the RBV and placebo groups. Differences (RBV to placebo) in least squares mean ratios of AUC(0-12 h) at steady state were 0.274 (95% confidence interval, -0.37 to 0.91) for 3TC-TP:dCTP, 0.009 (95% confidence interval, -0.06 to 0.08) for d4T-TP:dTTP, and -0.081 (95% confidence interval, -0.40 to 0.24) for ZDV-TP:dTTP. RBV did not adversely affect HIV-1 replication. In summary, RBV 800 mg/day administered in combination with peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD) does not significantly affect the intracellular phosphorylation or plasma pharmacokinetics of 3TC, d4T, and ZDV in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients.

Determination of lamivudine in human plasma by HPLC and its use in bioequivalence studies.

A simple, accurate, precise and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection was developed to quantificate lamivudine (3-TC) in human plasma samples from bioequivalence studies. 3-TC and stavudine (internal standard, I.S.) were extracted from 0.5 ml of human plasma by acetonitrile protein precipitation. The method was validated over a concentration range of 0.05-3.00 microg/ml and used in a bioequivalence trial between two lamivudine formulations, to assess its usefulness in this kind of study. FURP-lamivudine (Fundação para o Remédio Popular, Brazil, as test formulation) and Epivir (GlaxoSmithKline, Brazil, as reference formulation) were evaluated following a single 150 mg oral dose to 24 healthy volunteers of both genders. The dose was administered after an overnight fast according to a two-way crossover design. Bioequivalence between the products was determined by calculating 90% confidence intervals (90% CI) for the ratio of Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-inf values for the test and reference products, using logarithmic transformed data. The 90% confidence intervals for the ratio of Cmax (0.86-1.06), AUC0-t (0.96-1.04) and AUC0-inf (0.97-1.05) values for the test and reference products are within the 0.80-1.25 interval proposed by FDA and EMEA. It was concluded that the two 3-TC formulations are bioequivalent in their rate and extent of absorption, and thus, may be used interchangeably.

Development and validation of a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for analysis of D4T (Stavudine) in rat plasma.

An improved and simplified high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method at UV detection 265 nm is presented for the determination of d4T in rat plasma. The mobile phase consists of methanol-distilled water-acetic acid in the 23:77:0.2 (v/v) ratio. Quantification is achieved by the peak-area ratio method with reference to the internal standard. This paper presents linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantification and limit of detection, specificity-selectivity and sample stability data. Based on the intra and inter-day validation, all coefficients of variation (CV) were found less than 15%. The assay is sufficiently rapid and sensitive and was applied in a pharmacokinetic study in rats.

Determination of stavudine in human serum by on-line solid-phase extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: application to a bioequivalence study.

A method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with positive ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) detection was developed for the determination of stavudine in human serum, using didanosine as internal standard. The acquisition was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The method was linear over the studied range (10-2000 ng/mL), with r(2) > 0.99, and the run time was 4 min. The intra- and inter-assay precisions (%) were in the ranges 0.1-13.6 and 2.6-9.9, respectively, and the intra- and inter-assay accuracies were >92%. The absolute recoveries were approximately 100% (10 ng/mL), 98% (30 ng/mL), 105% (750 ng/mL) and 105% (1500 ng/mL). The limits of detection and quantitation were 4 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. The analytical method was applied to a bioequivalence study, in which 24 healthy adult volunteers (12 men) received single oral doses (40 mg) of reference and two test stavudine formulations, in an open, three-period, randomized, crossover protocol. The 90% confidence interval of the individual ratios (test formulation/reference formulation) for C(max) (peak serum concentration), AUC(0-10) and AUC(0-inf) (areas under the serum concentration vs. time curve from time zero to 10 h and to infinity, respectively), were in the range 80-125%, which supports the conclusion that the two test formulations are bioequivalent to the reference formulation with respect to the rate and extent of stavudine absorption.