Simultaneous determination of phentermine and topiramate in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive/negative ion-switching electrospray ionization and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

A new method for simultaneous determination of phentermine and topiramate by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) operated in positive and negative ionization switching modes was developed and validated. Protein precipitation with acetonitrile was selected for sample preparation. Analyses were performed on a liquid chromatography system employing a Kromasil 60-5CN column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 5 μm) and an isocratic elution with mixed solution of acetonitrile-20mM ammonium formate containing 0.3% formic acid (40:60, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.35 mL/min. Doxazosin mesylate and pioglitazone were used as the internal standard (IS) respectively for quantification. The determination was carried out on an API 4000 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using the following transitions monitored simultaneously: positive m/z 150.0/91.0 for phentermine, m/z 452.1/344.3 for doxazosin, and negative m/z 338.3/77.9 for topiramate, m/z 355.0/41.9 for pioglitazone. The method was validated to be linear over the concentration range of 1-800 ng mL(-1) for phentermine, 1-1000 ng mL(-1) for topiramate. Within- and between-day accuracy and precision of the validated method at three different concentration levels were within the acceptable limits of <15% at all concentrations. Blood samples were collected into heparinized tubes before and after administration. The simple and robust LC/MS/MS method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of phentermine and topiramate in a pharmacokinetic study in healthy male Chinese volunteers.