Simple and Rapid Quantification of the Multi-Enzyme Targeting Antifolate Pemetrexed in Human Plasma

Background: Pemetrexed is an antifolate cytostatic drug that targets multiple enzymes involved in folate biosynthesis and is indicated for treatment of non–small-cell lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma. As evidence for an exposure–response/toxicity relationship is accumulating, dose individualization using therapeutic drug monitoring may be a feasible strategy to optimize treatment. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple, sensitive, high-performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection for quantification of pemetrexed levels in human plasma. Method: The method involves a simple protein precipitation, followed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection at a wavelength of 254 nm. Pemetrexed was separated using a mobile phase with a linear gradient and a run time of only 7 minutes. Results: The assay has been validated over the concentration range 0.25–500 mg/L of pemetrexed. Accuracy for this assay ranged from −4.50% to 1.78%, and the within- and between-run coefficients of variation were
Source: Therapeutic Drug Monitoring - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Short Communication Source Type: research