A Liquid Chromatographic-Electrospray-Tandem Mass Spectrometric Method for Quantitation of Quetiapine in Human Plasma and Liver Microsomes: Application to a Study of In Vitro Metabolism

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent for the treatment of schizophrenia. After an oral dose it is absorbed rapidly and extensively metabolized in the liver, resulting in low plasma concentrations of the parent drug. A sensitive analytical method is needed. A liquid chromatographic-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS-MS) method combined with a simple liquid-liquid extraction has been developed for the measurement of quetiapine in human plasma and in human liver microsomes (HLM). Clozapine is used as internal standard. Plasma samples or microsomes quenched with methanol (100 μL) were made basic and extracted with 3 mL n-butyl chloride. The reconstituted extracts were analyzed by LC-ESI-MS-MS. Selective reaction monitoring of MH+ at m/z 384 and 327 resulted in strong fragment ions at m/z 253 and 192 for quetiapine and clozapine, respectively. Recovery of quetiapine and clozapine ranged from 62 to 73%. Intrarun accuracy and precision determined at 1.0 (lower limit of quantitation), 2.5, 200, and 400 ng/mL did not exceed 7% deviation from target and the %CV did not exceed 5.5%. The % target ± %CV for interrun accuracy and precision were at least 95% ± 7.4% at concentrations of 2.5, 200, and 400 ng/mL. Plasma samples (2.5 and 400 ng/mL) stored at room temperature for 24 h or after 3 cycles of freeze/thaw were all stable (maximum % deviation ≤ 11.0%). Processed extracts (2.5 and 400 ng/mL) stored for 7 days at −20°C or 6 days on the autosampler were all stable (maximum % deviation ≤ 11.5%). The method has been used to study quetiapine utilization during incubation with HLM or with cDNA-expressed human cytochrom P450s (CYP). Quetiapine is extensively metabolized by CYP 3A4 and CYP 2D6 and to a lesser extent by CYP 3A7, CYP 3A5, and CYP 2C19.