Simultaneous determination of celecoxib, hydroxycelecoxib, and carboxycelecoxib in human plasma using gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography with ultraviolet absorbance detection

A new HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of celecoxib, carboxycelecoxib and hydroxycelecoxib in human plasma samples has been developed. Following a solid-phase extraction procedure, the samples were separated by gradient reversed-phase HLPC (C18) and quantified using UV detection at 254 nm. The method was linear over the concentration range 10–500 ng/ml. The intra-assay variability for the three analytes ranged from 4.0 to 12.6% and the inter-assay variability from 4.9 to 14.2%. The achieved limits of quantitation (LOQ) of 10 ng/ml for each analyte allowed the determination of the pharmacokinetic parameters of the analytes after administration of 100 mg celecoxib.