PESI-MS/MS System for Screening and Quantitating Drugs in Plasma Samples

Recently, we developeda novel microprobe electrospray ionization(& mu;PESI) source and its coupled MS (& mu;PESI-MS/MS) system.Here, we aimed to widely validate the & mu;PESI-MS/MS method forquantitative analysis of drugs in plasma samples. Furthermore, therelationship between the quantitative performance of the & mu;PESI-MS/MSmethod and the physicochemical properties of target drugs was analyzed.The & mu;PESI-MS/MS methods for quantitative analysis of 5 representativedrugs with a relatively wide range of molecular weight, pK (a), and log P values were developedand validated. The results showed that the linearity, accuracy, andprecision of these methods met the requirements of the European MedicinesAgency (EMA) guidance. Then a total of 75 drugs from plasma sampleswere primarily detected using the & mu;PESI-MS/MS methods, amongwhich 48 drugs could be quantitatively measured. Logistics regressionsuggested that drugs with significantly greater log P and physiological charge had better quantitative performanceusing the & mu;PESI-MS/MS method. Collectively, these results clearlydemonstrate the practical application of the & mu;PESI-MS/MS systemas a rapid approach to the quantitative analysis of drugs in plasmasamples.