Quantitative determination of tilmicosin in canine serum by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A highly sensitive and quantitative LC/MS/MS assay for the determination of tilmicosin in serum has been developed and validated. For sample preparation, 0.2 mL of canine serum was extracted with 3 mL of methyl tert-butyl ether. The organic layer was transferred to a new vessel and dried under nitrogen. The sample was then reconstituted for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. A Phenomenex Luna C8(2) analytical column was used for the chromatographic separation. The eluent was subsequently introduced to the mass spectrometer by electrospray ionization. A single range was validated for 50–5000 ng/mL for support of toxicokinetic studies. The inter-day relative error (inaccuracy) for the LLOQ samples ranged from −5.5% to 0.3%. The inter-day relative standard deviations (imprecision) at the respective LLOQ levels were ≤10.1%.