Determination of mitoxantrone in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method: Application to a pharmacokinetic study.

A rapid, sensitive and specific high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS/MS) method has been developed for quantification of mitoxantrone in rat plasma. The analyte and palmatine (internal standard) were extracted from plasma samples with diethyl ether-dichloromethane (3:2, v/v) and separated on a C(18) column. The chromatographic separation was achieved within 2.5min using methanol-10mM ammonium acetate containing 0.1% acetic acid as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2mL/min. The method was linear over the range of 0.5-500ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.5ng/mL. Finally, the method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of mitoxantrone in rats following intravenous administration.