Determination of midazolam and 1-hydroxymidazolam from plasma by gas chromatography coupled to methane negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry after sublingual administration of midazolam

A sensitive and selective gas chromatographic mass spectrometric method for the determination of midazolam and its biologically active metabolite, 1-hydroxymidazolam, in rabbit plasma has been developed and validated. Sample preparation includes mixed-mode solid-phase extraction and derivatization with silylating reagents. Midazolam-d4 was used as an internal standard for the determination of parent drug and its active metabolite. The instrumentation consisted of a capillary column gas chromatography and a single quadrupole mass spectrometer with a negative chemical ionization. The method was found to be valid in terms of selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and recovery over the concentration range of 2–200 ng/ml and 1–100 ng/ml for midazolam and 1-hydroxymidazolam, respectively. For both analytes, the lower limit of quantification was 2 ng/ml. Midazolam was stable in stock solutions stored three months at −20 °C and in human plasma stored for three months at −80 °C. In addition, no degradation of midazolam was found after three freeze–thaw cycles, in short-term stability at room temperature for 24 h, or in post-preparative stability in the autosampler. The validity of the method was further tested by performing a pharmacokinetic study of sublingual administration of midazolam in rabbits. The method will be used in studies related to a formulation development of novel midazolam formulations for use in paediatric anaesthesia.