1. Long-Term Stability of Hydromorphone in Human Plasma Frozen at −20°C for Three Years Quantified by LC-MS/MS.
- Author
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Wehrfritz, Andreas, Schmidt, Stefanie, Ihmsen, Harald, Schüttler, Jürgen, and Jeleazcov, Christian
- Subjects
ELECTROSPRAY ionization mass spectrometry ,TANDEM mass spectrometry ,PLASMA products ,LIQUID chromatography-mass spectrometry ,GRADIENT elution (Chromatography) ,SOLID phase extraction - Abstract
The long-term stability of drugs under normal laboratory storage conditions (−20°C) for years is important for research purposes, clinical re-evaluation, and also for forensic toxicology. To evaluate the stability of the analgesic opioid hydromorphone, 44 human frozen plasma samples of a former clinical trial were reanalyzed after at least three years. Blood samples were disposed using solid-phase extraction with an additional substitution of stable isotope labelled hydromorphone as an internal standard. Hydromorphone concentrations were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with gradient elution, followed by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. Calibration curves demonstrated linearity of the assay in the concentration range of 0.3–20 ng/mL hydromorphone. The limit of detection of the hydromorphone plasma concentration was 0.001 ng/mL, and the lower limit of quantification was 0.3 ng/mL. Intra- and interassay errors did not exceed 16%. The percentage deviation of the measured hydromorphone plasma concentrations between the reanalysis and the first analysis was −1.07% ± 14.8% (mean ± SD). These results demonstrate that hydromorphone concentration in human plasma was stable when the samples were frozen at −20°C over three years. This finding is of value for re-evaluations or delayed analyses for research purposes and in pharmacokinetic studies, such as in forensic medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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