RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Levetiracetam (LEV) is an antiepileptic drug which has good safety and efficacy in neonatal seizure (NS), a common incident in neonates with weight <1500â¯g. The pharmacokinetics for LEV in neonatal populations is yet to be clearly understood. In this study, we developed and validated a method for determination of LEV in plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the purpose of pharmacokinetic study. METHODS: Plasma LEV was spiked with Lamivudine as internal standard before extraction by C18 solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. Chromatography was performed using isocratic elution with mobile phase A: B (10: 90) for 2.0â¯min with flow rate 0.4â¯mL/min. The mobile phase was composed of 0.1% formic acid in 10.0â¯mM ammonium acetate (A) and 100% methanol (B). The injection volume was 1.0⯵L and the total run time was 2.0â¯min. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) with electro spray in positive mode was used. The mass transition for LEV was 171.2/126.0 and 230.0/112.0 for IS with retention time of 0.73 and 0.72â¯min, respectively. RESULTS: A calibration curve range from 0.50-80.0⯵g/mL was obtained with a correlation coefficient >0.99 in the quadratic model. Precision and accuracy was within the acceptable range and the intra- and inter-day %CV for three concentrations of QCs were <10%. CONCLUSION: This method was reliable, accurate and applicable for LEV pharmacokinetic study in neonates with seizure.