Quantitative determination of clopidogrel active metabolite in human plasma by LC-MS/MS.

A quantitative method for the determination of clopidogrel active metabolite (AM) in human plasma was developed and validated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Clopidogrel AM contains a thiol group, thus requiring stabilization in biological samples. The alkylating reagent 2-bromo-3'-methoxyacetophenone was used to stabilize clopidogrel AM in blood. An analog of the derivatized clopidogrel AM was used as the internal standard (IS). The derivatized samples were subjected to solid-phase extraction with a C2 disk plate and the overall procedure exhibited good reaction (more than 90%) and recovery efficiencies (from 85% to 105%). The derivative of clopidogrel AM (MP-AM) and IS were separated on an ODS column and quantified by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. No significant endogenous peaks corresponding to MP-AM or IS were detected in blank human plasma samples, and no significant matrix effect was observed for MP-AM and IS in human plasma samples (from 102% to 121%). The calibration curve ranged from 0.5 to 250 ng/mL with good linearity, and extended by validation of a 50-fold dilution. In the intra- and inter-assay reproducibility tests, the accuracy and precision were within 12% relative error and 6% coefficient of variation, respectively. The derivatized MP-AM was stable in human plasma for 4 months at -80 degrees C. The validated method was successfully used to analyze clinical samples and determine the pharmacokinetics of clopidogrel AM.

Pharmacokinetic interaction between pravastatin and olmesartan in relation to SLCO1B1 polymorphism.

The impact of SLCO1B1 polymorphism on the pharmacokinetics of olmesartan and on the pharmacokinetic interaction between pravastatin and olmesartan was investigated. On day 1, ten healthy volunteers took an oral dose (10 mg) of pravastatin. After a 3-day washout period, each subject received olmesartan medoxomil (10 mg) for 3 days. On day 8, they received olmesartan medoxomil (10 mg) and pravastatin (10 mg) concurrently, and pharmacokinetic profiles were compared with those in each single-dose phase with regard to the SLCO1B1 genotypes (*1b/*1b, *1b/*15, and *15/*15). In the single-dose phase, the mean C (max) and AUC(0-24) of olmesartan tended to be higher in *15/*15 subjects than in *1b/*1b subjects, while the mean CL( t )/F (+/-SD) in *15/*15 subjects was significantly lower than that in *1b/*1b subjects. No statistically significant differences were observed in any pharmacokinetic parameters between single-dose and co-administration phases for both pravastatin and RMS-416. These results suggest that OATP1B1 plays a role in the pharmacokinetics of olmesartan, and the co-administration of olmesartan does not affect the pharmacokinetics of pravastatin or its metabolite, RMS-416, although larger scale clinical studies are needed to confirm these observations due to the small sample size in the present study.

Enantioselective determination of azelnidipine in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A sensitive and simple method was developed for determination of the enantiomers of azelnidipine, (R)-(-)-azelnidipine and (S)-(+)-azelnidipine, in human plasma using chiral liquid chromatography with positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma samples spiked with stable isotope-labeled azelnidipine, [(2)H(6)]-azelnidipine, as an internal standard, were processed for analysis using a solid-phase extraction in a 96-well plate format. The azelnidipine enantiomers were separated on a chiral column containing alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein as a chiral selector under isocratic mobile phase conditions. Acquisition of mass spectrometric data was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode, monitoring the transitions from m/z 583-->167 for (R)-(-)-azelnidipine and (S)-(+)-azelnidipine, and from m/z 589-->167 for [(2)H(6)]-azelnidipine. The standard curve was linear over the studied range (0.05-20 ng/mL), with r(2)>0.997 using weighted (1/x(2)) quadratic regression, and the chromatographic run time was 5.0 min/injection. The intra- and inter-assay precision (coefficient of variation), calculated from the assay data of the quality control samples, was 1.2-8.2% and 2.4-5.8% for (R)-(-)-azelnidipine and (S)-(+)-azelnidipine, respectively. The accuracy was 101.2-117.0% for (R)-(-)-azelnidipine and 100.0-107.0% for (S)-(+)-azelnidipine. The overall recoveries for (R)-(-)-azelnidipine and (S)-(+)-azelnidipine were 71.4-79.7% and 71.7-84.2%, respectively. The lower limit of quantification for both enantiomers was 0.05 ng/mL using 1.0 mL of plasma. All the analytes showed acceptable short-term, long-term, auto-sampler and stock solution stability. Furthermore, the method described above was used to separately measure the concentrations of the azelnidipine enantiomers in plasma samples collected from healthy subjects who had received a single oral dose of 16 mg of azelnidipine.

Determination of the active and inactive metabolites of prasugrel in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

Two fast and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)-based bioanalytical assays were developed and validated to quantify the active and three inactive metabolites of prasugrel. Prasugrel is a novel thienopyridine prodrug that is metabolized to the pharmacologically active metabolite in addition to three inactive metabolites, which directly relate to the formation and elimination of the active metabolite. After extraction and separation, the analytes were detected and quantified using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using positive electrospray ionization. The validated concentration range for the inactive metabolites assay was from 1 to 500 ng/mL for each of the three analytes. Additionally, a 5x dilution factor was validated. The interday accuracy ranged from -10.5% to 12.5% and the precision ranged from 2.4% to 6.6% for all three analytes. All results showed accuracy and precision within +/-20% at the lower limit of quantification and +/-15% at other levels. The validated concentration range for the active metabolite assay was from 0.5 to 250 ng/mL. Additionally, a 10x dilution factor was validated. The interbatch accuracy ranged from -7.00% to 5.98%, while the precision ranged from 0.98% to 3.39%. Derivatization of the active metabolite in blood with 2-bromo-3'-methoxyacetophenone immediately after collection was essential to ensure the stability of the metabolite during sample processing and storage. These methods have been applied to determine the concentrations of the active and inactive metabolites of prasugrel in human plasma.

Simultaneous determination of azelnidipine and two metabolites in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A quantitative assay method by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of azelnidipine and its two metabolites, M-1 (aromatized form) and M-2 (hydroxylated form), in human plasma was developed and validated. Plasma samples, each of 1.0mL, were extracted by a single step liquid-liquid extraction using a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (1:1, v/v), and analyzed by the LC/ESI-MS/MS method. Three analytes were separated by isocratic elution on a C(18) column, and ionized using a positive ion electrospray ionization source. The ion transitions were monitored in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The chromatographic run time was 11min per injection, with retention time of 3.6, 10.2 and 6.8min for azelnidipine, M-1 and M-2, respectively. The calibration curves for azelnidipine, M-1 and M-2 well fitted to equations by a weighted (1/X(2)) quadratic regression over the range of 0.5-40.0ng/mL (r(2)>0.9979). The intra- and inter-assay precisions (coefficient of variation: C.V.), calculated from quality control (QC) samples, were less than 8.7 and 8.4%, 3.8 and 4.7%, and 11.9 and 13.9%, respectively, for azelnidipine, M-1 and M-2. The accuracy was within +/-9% for azelnidipine, within +/-7% for M-1 and within +/-16% for M-2. The overall recoveries for azelnidipine, M-1 and M-2 were 68.8-78.6%, 54.3-62.9% and 80.4-89.7%, respectively. All analytes evaluated demonstrated acceptable short-term, long-term, auto-sampler and stock solution stabilities. Furthermore, the method developed was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies on azelnidipine, M-1 and M-2 after an oral dose of 16mg CALBLOCK tablets (2mgx8mg tablets) to healthy volunteers.

Quantitative determination of pravastatin and R-416, its main metabolite in human plasma, by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A quantitative method was developed and validated for rapid and sensitive analysis of pravastatin and R-416, the main metabolite of pravastatin, in human plasma. The analytes were extracted from plasma samples by a solid phase extraction method using a Bond Elut C(8). The method involved the use of liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mass spectrometry. A pravastatin analog, R-122798, was used as the internal standard (I.S.). Separation of pravastatin, R-416 and the I.S. was accomplished using a reverse-phase column (C(18)). The components eluted were ionized by the APCI source (negative ion) and subsequently detected by a highly selective triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in the SRM mode. Linear standard curves were obtained from 0.1 ng/mL (lower limit of quantification, LLOQ) to 100 ng/mL. The intra-assay precisions (coefficient of variation) for the samples at the LLOQ were 1.8% for pravastatin and 1.6% for R-416. The intra-assay accuracy values were 95.8-107.6% for pravastatin, and 92.6-109.0% for R-416, respectively. Precision and accuracy of quality control (QC) samples were determined at concentrations of 0.5, 10 and 80 ng/mL for all analytes. The intra- and inter-assay precision calculated from QC samples were within 10% for pravastatin and within 11% for R-416. The overall recoveries for pravastatin and R-416 were 75.7-82.1% and 68.6-74.3%, respectively. Pravastatin and R-416 were stable in human plasma for 3 weeks at -20 degrees C in a freezer, up to 6h at room temperature, and up to 48 h at 6 degrees C. This assay method was successfully used to evaluate the pravastatin and R-416 levels in healthy volunteers following oral administration of Mevalotin.

Influence of common variants in the pharmacokinetic genes (OATP-C, UGT1A1, and MRP2) on serum bilirubin levels in healthy subjects.

To assess the contribution of OATP-C to the hepatobiliary transport of bilirubin, a pharmacogenomic evaluation with regard to polymorphisms of three candidate genes, OATP-C, MRP2, and UGT1A1, was performed. Serum total and direct (conjugated) bilirubin levels were used as phenotypic indexes. Pharmacokinetic variables of pravastatin, a typical substrate for OATP-C, were obtained from our previous study. Among 23 volunteers, two variants (Val417Ile and Ser789Phe) were observed in the MRP2 gene. While there was no apparent effect of these two variants and the UGT1A1*28 on direct bilirubin levels, the OATP-C variants were associated with differences in unconjugated bilirubin levels. Subjects with the OATP-C*15 allele had higher bilirubin levels; unconjugated bilirubin levels in *1b/*1b (n = 3), *1b/*15 (n= 7), and *15/*15 (n = 1) subjects were 0.40 +/- 0.10, 0.77 +/- 0.35, and 0.70 (mg/dL), respectively. In addition, the correlation between unconjugated bilirubin levels and pharmacokinetic parameters of pravastatin revealed that the subjects with higher bilirubin levels had lower non-renal clearance values, and then higher serum concentrations of pravastatin. Large clinical studies are needed to confirm a role of OATP-C in the carrier-mediated uptake of bilirubin in the human liver.

Polymorphisms of OATP-C (SLC21A6) and OAT3 (SLC22A8) genes: consequences for pravastatin pharmacokinetics.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to quantitate the contribution of the genetic polymorphisms of the genes for 2 human organic anion transporters-organic anion transporting polypeptide C (OATP-C) and organic anion transporter 3 (OAT3)-to the pharmacokinetics of pravastatin. METHODS: Genetic polymorphisms were screened by polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis, after sequencing with deoxyribonucleic acid obtained from 120 healthy volunteers. To examine whether polymorphisms in these 2 genes of interest alter transport activity, we conducted a clinical study (n = 23) with pravastatin as a selective probe drug. RESULTS: Among 120 healthy individuals, 5 nonsynonymous variants and 1 nonsynonymous variant were observed in the OATP-C and OAT3 genes, respectively. The polymorphisms in the OAT3 gene did not appear to be associated with changes in renal and tubular secretory clearance. In contrast, the OATP-C variants were associated with differences in the disposition kinetics of pravastatin. Subjects with the OATP-C*15 allele (Asp130Ala174) had a reduced total and nonrenal clearance, as compared with those with the OATP-C*1b allele (Asp130Val174); nonrenal clearance values in *1b/*1b (n = 4), *1b/*15 (n = 9), and *15/*15 (n = 1) subjects were 2.01 +/- 0.42 L. kg(-1). h(-1), 1.11 +/- 0.34 L. kg(-1). h(-1), and 0.29 L. kg(-1). h(-1), respectively, and the difference between *1b/*1b and *1b/*15 subjects was significant (P <.05). CONCLUSION: Certain commonly occurring single-nucleotide polymorphisms in OATP-C, such as T521C (Val174Ala), are likely to be associated with altered pharmacokinetics of pravastatin. Large clinical studies are needed to confirm these observations.