Quantitation of Tacrolimus in Human Whole Blood Samples Using the MITRA Microsampling Device.

BACKGROUND The calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus is a narrow therapeutic index medication, which requires therapeutic drug monitoring to optimize dose on the basis of systemic exposure. MITRA microsampling offers a minimally invasive approach for the collection of capillary blood samples from a fingerprick as an alternative to conventional venous blood sampling for quantitation of tacrolimus concentrations. METHODS A bioanalytical method for the quantitation of tacrolimus in human whole blood samples collected on MITRA tips was developed, using liquid-liquid extraction followed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Validation experiments were performed according to current Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency guidelines on validation of bioanalytical methods. Validation criteria included assay specificity and sensitivity, interference, carryover, accuracy, precision, dilution integrity, matrix effect, extraction recovery, effect of hematocrit and hyperlipidemia, and stability. RESULTS All assay validation results were within the required acceptance criteria, indicating a precise and accurate tacrolimus quantitation method. The validated assay range was 1.00 to 50.0 ng/mL. No interference, carry-over or matrix effect was observed. Extraction recovery was acceptable across the assay range. Samples were stable for up to 96 days at -20°C and 20°C, and 28 days at 40°C. Hematocrit, hyperlipidemia and lot-to-lot differences in the nominal absorption volume of the 10 μL MITRA tips were shown not to influence tacrolimus quantitation by this assay method. CONCLUSIONS The bioanalytical method validated in this study is appropriate and practical for the quantitation of tacrolimus in human whole blood samples collected using the MITRA microsampling device.