A rapid and sensitive determination of paclitaxel in rat plasma by UPLC-MS/MS method: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

A rapid and sensitive method for quantitative determination of paclitaxel in rat plasma was developed and validated by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Docetaxel was used as an internal standard and diethyl ether was the liquid–liquid extraction agent. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode via positive electrospray ionization (ESI) was applied to detect paclitaxel and IS at the transitions m/z 854 → 286 and m/z 808.48 → 527.3, respectively. This method covered a linearity range from 5 to 5000 ng/ml, with the total run time of 3.0 min. In summary, a high-throughout UPLC-MS/MS method was successfully developed to measure paclitaxel in rat plasma and was applied to pharmacokinetic study after intravenous administration of paclitaxel.