Simultaneous determination of erythromycin ethylsuccinate and its metabolite erythromycin in human plasma using liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for clinical study

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS) method was developed for simultaneous identification and quantification of erythromycin ethylsuccinate and erythromycin in human plasma, which can be well applied to clinical study. The method was based on liquid–liquid extraction, followed by a LC procedure with an ODS C18 column, and mixture of acetonitrile and 1.67 mmol/l acetic acid as mobile phase. MS detection was performed using a single quadrupole mass spectrometer in positive selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method was validated to be linear, precise and accurate. The lower limit of quantification of erythromycin ethylsuccinate and erythromycin were both 0.5 ng/ml. The proposed method enables the unambiguous identification and quantification of erythromycin ethylsuccinate and erythromycin for clinical drug monitoring.