Application of a Sensitive, Rapid and Validated LC–MS–MS Method for the Determination of Carvedilol in Human Plasma

Carvedilol was quantified in human plasma after a single 25 mg oral dose of the drug was given to 26 healthy volunteers. An applied Biosystems Sciex API 3200 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode, using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode was used. Simple solid phase extraction was followed by C18 reverse phase chromatography and tandem mass spectrometric detection using propranalol as the internal standard. The mean recovery for carvedilol was 91.2% with a lower limit of quantification of 0.5 ng mL−1. This validated assay method makes use of the increased sensitivity and selectivity of tandem mass spectrometry detection to allow for a more rapid and selective method for the determination of carvedilol in human plasma.