A novel HPLC–MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of astemizole and its major metabolite in dog or monkey plasma and application to pharmacokinetics

• Developed simultaneous determination of astemizole and its major metabolite.
• Novel determination method of astemizole and its metabolite in plasma by LC–MS/MS.
• Applicable to pharmacokinetics study.

Astemizole (AST), a second-generation antihistamine, is metabolized to desmethyl astemizole (DEA), and although it has been removed from the market for inducing QT interval prolongation, it has reemerged as a potential anticancer and antimalarial agent. This report describes a novel high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) method for simultaneously determining the concentrations of AST and DEA in beagle dog and cynomolgus monkey plasma with simple preparation method and short retention time. Prior to HPLC analyses, the plasma samples were extracted with simple liquid–liquid extraction method. The isocratic mobile phase was 0.025% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA dissolved in acetonitrile) and 20 mM ammonium acetate (94:6) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min and diphenhydramine used as internal standard. In MS/MS analyses, precursor ions of the analytes were optimized as protonated molecular ions: [M+H]+. The lower limit of quantification of astemizole was 2.5 ng/mL in both species and desmethyl astemizole were 7.5 ng/mL and 10 ng/mL in dog and monkey plasma, respectively. The accuracy, precision, and stability of the method were in accordance with FDA guidelines for the validation of bioanalytical methods. Finally this validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in dogs and monkeys after oral administration of 10 mg/kg AST.

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