Simple and Sensitive High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Method with UV Detection for Mycophenolic Acid Assay in Human Plasma. Application to a Bioequivalence Study

Purpose: A simple and available reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV detection has been developed and validated for mycophenolic acid (MPA) assay in human plasma. Methods: MPA was extracted from plasma with protein precipitation method by acetonitrile: percholeric acid: methanol (75:5:20 v/v/v). The drug separation was achieved using a C8 analytical column and a mobile phase of 0.1M triethylammonium phosphate (pH=5.4)-acetonitril (65:35, v/v), with a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. The detection wavelength was 304 nm. Limit of detection (LOD) of the method was determined as the lowest MPA concentration producing a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of about 3. Limit of quantitation (LOQ) was determined as the lowest MPA concentration capable of being quantitated with enough accuracy and precision. Results: The method showed significant linear response-concentration relationship throughout the MPA concentration range of 0.2-10 µg/ml. A typical linear regression equation of the method was: y = 8.5523 x + 0.094, with x and y representing MPA concentration (in µg/ml) and peak height respectively, and the regression coefficient (r) of 0.9816. The average within-run and between-run variations of 7.81 and 4.78 percent. The average drug recovery from plasma was 95.24 percent throughout the linear concentration range. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) of the method were 0.05 and 0.2 µg/ml, respectively. The practical applicability of the method was proven throughout a bioequivalence study. Conclusion: The results showed the acceptable degree of linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy and recovery for the method. The method was used successfully for quantitation of MPA in plasma samples of healthy volunteers throughout a bioequivalence study.