Dalbavancin: Quantification in human plasma and urine by a new improved high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method

Dalbavancin is a novel second-generation lipoglycopeptide antibiotic with activity against broad range of Gram-positive pathogens. In order to determine the pharmacokinetics (PK) of dalbavancin in pediatric patients, a new High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) bioanalytical method has been developed for quantification of dalbavancin in plasma and in urine. The plasma method was validated for dalbavancin in the linear range from 0.5 μg/mL to 500 μg/mL using 50 μL of K2 EDTA plasma. For dalbavancin spiked in urine, non-specific binding (NSB) of the drug to polypropylene (PP) urine collection containers was observed. The loss amounted to about 10% per transfer. After successfully establishing the collection/sampling procedure for urine by addition of Triton X-100 to the collection vessels (with a purpose of preventing NSB), the method was validated for dalbavancin in the range from 0.05 μg/mL to 50 μg/mL, using 100 μL of urine. These methods were used to quantify dalbavancin in plasma and urine of hospitalized children in a pediatric dalbavancin PK study. Eighteen percent of the total number of plasma study samples was reassayed for incurred samples reproducibility (ISR) and all the reassayed dalbavancin concentrations were within the ±20% limits. For urine, all the collected samples were reassayed for ISR and the original dalbavancin concentration was confirmed within the ±20% limits for 17 (94%) samples; the one remaining urine sample had its reassayed concentration confirmed within ±25% of the original result.