LC–MS/MS assay for quantitation of enalapril and enalaprilat in plasma for bioequivalence study in Indian subjects

Background: Enalapril (EPL) is an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor for the treatment of hypertension and chronic heart failure. Enalaprilat (EPLT) is an active metabolite that contributes to the overall activity of EPL. Aim: To quantitate EPL along with its metabolite EPLT using LC–MS/MS, a bioanalytical method was developed and validated with tolbutamide in human plasma using a protein precipitation technique. Results: The sensitive and selective method has an LLOQ of 1 ng/ml with a linearity range of 1–500 ng/ml for both EPL and EPLT using 300 µl of plasma without any matrix effect. Conclusion: Linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision and stability, as well as its application to the analysis of plasma samples after oral administration of 20 mg of EPL maleate in healthy volunteers demonstrate applicability to bioavailability/bioequivalence studies.