Determination of glibenclamide in human plasma by liquid chromatography and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/MS-MS detection

A simple and fast method intended for large-scale bioequivalence studies for the determination of glibenclamide in plasma samples is presented. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a monolithic octadecyl chemically modified silicagel column and a mobile phase containing 42% aqueous 0.1% HCOOH solution (v/v) and 58% acetonitrile, at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, in isocratic conditions. Preparation of plasma samples was based on protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Gliquidone was used as internal standard. The target analytes were transferred into an ion trap mass analyzer via an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface. The precursor ions with mass 494 a.m.u. for glibenclamide and 528 a.m.u. for gliquidone were isolated, while in the second MS stage product ions 369 a.m.u. and 403 a.m.u., respectively, were monitored. The analytical process was characterized by a low limit of quantitation of 1.5 ng/mL. The mean recovery for glibenclamide was 98.1 ± 2.8% over a concentration interval ranging from 1 to 500 ng/mL. Intra-day and inter-day precision calculated over 2–400 ng/mL concentration interval ranged from 15.4% to 3.4%. Inter-sequence accuracy expressed as % bias from theoretical concentration values over the concentration interval of 10–400 ng/mL fall within −13.9% and +14.6%. The method was applied for evaluation of the bioequivalence between two formulations containing 3.5 mg glibenclamide per dose.