Rapid determination of the anti-cancer drug chlorambucil (Leukeran) and its phenyl acetic acid mustard metabolite in human serum and plasma by automated solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A bioanalytical method for the determination of the anticancer drug chlorambucil (Leukeran) and its phenyl acetic acid mustard metabolite in human serum and plasma is described. Automated solid-phase extraction of the analytes is carried out with C18 sorbent packed in a 96 well format microtitre plate using a robotic sample processor. The extracts are analysed by isocratic reversed-phase liquid chromatography using pneumatically and thermally assisted electrospray ionisation (TurboIonspray) with selected reaction monitoring. The method is specific and sensitive, with a range of 4-800 ng/ml in human serum and plasma for both parent drug and metabolite (sample volume 200 microl). The method is accurate and precise with intra-assay and inter-assay precision (C.V.) of <15% and bias <15% for both analytes. The automated extraction procedure is significantly faster than manual sample pre-treatment methods, a batch of 96 samples is extracted in 50 min allowing for faster sample turnaround. The method has been used to provide pharmacokinetic support to biocomparability studies of Leukeran following single doses of oral tablet formulations.