Quantification of ketotifen and its metabolites in human plasma by gas chromatography mass spectrometry.

Gas chromatography mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring has been used to develop a method for the quantification of ketotifen and its demethylated, 10-hydroxy and 10-hydroxy demethylated metabolites in human plasma. The minimum detectable concentrations for ketotifen and its demethylated metabolites were 50 pg ml−1 and 300 pg ml−1 for the 10-hydroxy metabolite. The methodology has been applied in studies of the kinetics of the drug in man, and plasma levels of the unchanged drugs and its metabolites in free and conjugated form are reported.