Development and Validation of an LC-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Short Peptide-Based Drugs in Human Blood Plasma

Abstract

A novel HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for simultaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs and somatostatin analog quantitation was developed and validated. The developed method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies. The sample preparation process included solid-phase extraction (SPE). Effective chromatographic separation of the analytes and internal standard (dalargin) was achieved with a C18 column, using a gradient elution with two mobile phases: 0.1% v/v formic acid (aqueous solution) and 0.1% v/v formic acid (acetonitrile solution). The linearity of the method was demonstrated within a concentration range of 0.5–20 ng/mL, with correlation coefficients between 0.998–0.999 for goserelin, buserelin, triptorelin, and octreotide, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD, %) values for method accuracy and precision did not exceed 20% at the lower level of quantitation (LLOQ) or 15% at other concentration levels.