Simultaneous quantification of carbamate insecticides in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Carbofuran (CFN), carbosulfan (CSN) and fenobucarb (FBC) are carbamate pesticides that are widely used in gardening and agriculture for the control of insects. Human poisoning due to occupational or self-poisoning exposures is also reported, so assays are required to quantify the plasma concentration of these insecticides. An LC–MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of these three carbamate insecticides in the plasma of patients with acute intentional self-poisoning. Plasma samples were pretreated by acetonitrile for protein precipitation. Chromatography was carried out on a Luna C18(2) analytical column with gradient elution using a mobile phase containing acetonitrile and water with 10 mM ammonium acetate. Mass spectrometric analysis was performed by an Applied Biosystems MDS Sciex API 2000 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in the positive ion mode. The total run time was 7 min. The assay was validated over a concentration range from 10 to 1000 ng/ml for CSN and FBC and 20–2000 ng/ml for CFN. The precision and accuracy for both intra- and inter-day determination of all analytes were acceptable (<15%). No significant matrix effect was observed. Stability of compounds was established for short term bench and autosampler storage as well as freeze/thaw cycles. The method was effectively applied to 270 clinical samples from patients with a history of acute intentional carbamate self-poisoning.