ABSTRACT
Objective: To develop a UPLC-MS/MS method for determination of eight antirheumatic cconstituents illegally added in Chinese patent medicine preparation. Methods: The analysis was performed by a UPLC-MS/MS system of Waters Acquity UPLC/ Quattro Premier, with BEH-C18 (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) column. Multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) was performed to identify and quantify hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, prednisone 21-acetate, 4-acetamidophenol, phenylbutazone, naproxen, piroxicam, and trimethoprim, which were extracted with methanol by ultrasonic method. Results: Eight linear calibration curves were obtained with r2 ≥ 0.998 9. The precision of the method was shown by RSD (n = 6) ranged from 1.2% to 3.5%. The recoveries were determinated at three concentration and ranged from 95.4% to 104.9%. The ranges of LLOQ were from 0.4 to 4.9 μg/mL and the RSDs (n = 9) of intra-day precision and inter-day precision were from 0.6% to 2.7% and from 0.9% to 2.9%. Conclusion: The method is specific, simple, and fast to detect eight antirheumatic constituents illegally added in Chinese patent medicine preparation.