Determination of meropenem in capillary plasma microsamples using LC-MS/MS

Area of Science:

• Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
• Analytical Chemistry
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Meropenem plasma concentration measurement is crucial for individualizing dosing regimens.
• Accurate quantification of meropenem is essential for optimizing patient treatment outcomes.
• Existing methods may require larger sample volumes, posing challenges for certain patient populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay.
• To quantify meropenem concentrations in small capillary plasma microsamples.
• To assess the feasibility of using capillary blood for meropenem therapeutic drug monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Sample preparation involved protein precipitation using acetonitrile and dichloromethane clean-up.
• Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was utilized for quantification.
• Assay validation included linearity, accuracy, precision, and matrix effect assessment.

Main Results:

• The developed LC-MS/MS assay demonstrated linearity over the range of 0.5-50 μg/ml.
• Minimal matrix effects were observed, indicating assay robustness.
• High correlation was found between meropenem concentrations in paired capillary and venous plasma samples.

Conclusions:

• A fully validated LC-MS/MS assay for meropenem in capillary plasma microsamples has been established.
• The assay exhibits excellent accuracy and precision, suitable for clinical use.
• This method offers a promising alternative for meropenem therapeutic drug monitoring using minimal sample volumes.