A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of docetaxel in human plasma

A novel, rapid and sensitive isocratic liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for quantification of docetaxel in human plasma with paclitaxel as internal standard. The high sensitivity and specificity of MS/MS detection enabled the use of a small volume of plasma (0.05 mL) and a simple liquid‐liquid extraction procedure. Furthermore, a very short run‐time (3 min) fulfilled the need for monitoring plasma levels of docetaxel from large‐scale clinical studies. The calibration curve for docetaxel was linear over the range 5–1000 ng/mL with coefficients of correlation >0.999 using only 0.05 mL plasma. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (CV) of analysis were <7%, and accuracy ranged from 96 to 110%. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in a pharmacokinetic study of a 1‐h infusion of docetaxel with dosages of 75 mg/m 2 . Possible conjugated metabolites of docetaxel were not detected in patients' samples. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.