HPLC MS/MS method for quantification of meprobamate in human plasma: Application to 24/7 clinical toxicology

We described the development and full validation of rapid and accurate liquid chromatography method, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry detection, for quantification of meprobamate in human plasma with [13C-2H3]-meprobamate as internal standard. Plasma pretreatment involved a one-step protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Separation was performed by reversed-phase chromatography on a Luna MercuryMS C18 (20 mm × 4 mm × 3 μm) column using a gradient elution mode. The mobile phase was a mix of distilled water containing 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid. The selected reaction monitoring transitions, in electrospray positive ionization, used for quantification were 219.2 → 158.2 m/z and 223.1 → 161.1 m/z for meprobamate and internal standard, respectively. Qualification transitions were 219.2 → 97.0 and 223.1 → 101.1 m/z for meprobamate and internal standard, respectively. The method was linear over the concentration range of 1–300 mg/L. The intra- and inter-day precision values were below 6.4% and accuracy was within 95.3% and 103.6% for all QC levels (5, 75 and 200 mg/L). The lower limit of quantification was 1 mg/L. Total analysis time was reduced to 6 min including sample preparation. The present method is successfully applied to 24/7 clinical toxicology and demonstrated its usefulness to detect meprobamate poisoning.