Microextraction by packed sorbent and high performance liquid chromatography for simultaneous determination of lumefantrine and desbutyl-lumefantrine in plasma samples

Abstract A bioanalytical method for the determination of lumefantrine and its metabolite desbutyl-lumefantrine in plasma samples using microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) and high-performance liquid chromatography was developed and validated. A complete factorial planning and surface response approach were employed to optimize the extraction parameters sample volume, dilution, aspirated sample volume and extraction cycles. The method employed C18 MEPS sorbent and diazepam as internal standard (IS). Separation was performed on a Luna C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) at 35 °C, with mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid (68:32, v/v), detection at 305 nm and injection volume of 25 µL. The developed method showed to be selective, precise, accurate and linear in the range of 50 to 5000 ng/mL for lumefantrine and desbutyl-lumefantrine. Using the optimized MEPS procedure, high recovery rates were obtained for both analytes and IS (92.2% - 99.0%). The method was successfully applied for the determination of lumefantrine and its metabolite in human plasma samples after oral administration of lumefantrine tablets in healthy volunteers.