Determination of atazanavir in human plasma using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

Atazanavir is a new HIV-1 protease inhibitor. A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method using UV detection was developed and validated for the analysis of atazanavir in human plasma. The sample clean up was carried out using solid-phase extraction with OASIS MCX cartridge. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Kromasil C18 (150 mm x 3 mm, 5 microm) column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water (38:62 v/v) delivered isocratically. The effluent of the column was monitored at a wavelength of 210 nm. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 0.156 to 10 microg/ml and the limit of quantification was 0.156 microg/ml. The method was also validated with respect to recovery, precision, accuracy and specificity. This method is suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring of atazanavir and can be easily reproduced with standard equipment.