A liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) assay for the determination of irinotecan (CPT-11) and its two major metabolites in human liver microsomal incubations and human plasma samples

A sensitive, rapid LC–MS/MS assay has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of CPT-11 and its two principal metabolites, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38), and 7-ethyl-10-[4-N-(5-aminopentanoic acid)-1-piperidino]carbonyloxy-camptothecin (APC) in human liver microsomal fractions and plasma. The method was linear over the ranges of 1.56–100 ng/mL, 3.13–150 ng/mL, and 0.78–100 ng/mL for CPT-11, SN-38, and APC, respectively. The total run time was 7.0 min. This assay offers advantages in terms of expediency, recovery of analytes, and suitability for the analysis of CPT-11 and its metabolites in various biological fluids.