Rapid quantitative analysis of etoricoxib in human plasma by UPLC‐MS/MS and application to a pharmacokinetic study in Chinese healthy volunteers

Abstract A selective and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for simultaneous determination of etoricoxib in human plasma. Chromatography was performed on an Acquity UPLC HSS T3 column (1.8 μm, 50 × 2.1 mm), with a flow rate of 0.600 mL/min, using a gradient elution with acetonitrile and water which contained 2 m m ammonium acetate as the mobile phase. Detection was carried out on Triple QuadTM 5500 mass spectrometer under positive‐ion multiple reaction monitoring mode. The respective mass transitions used for quantification of etoricoxib and etoricoxib‐d3 were m / z 359.0 → 280.1 and m / z 362.0 → 280.2. Calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 5–5000 ng/mL. The validated method was applied in the pharmacokinetic study of etoricoxib in Chinese healthy volunteers under fed and fasted conditions. After a single oral dose of 120 mg, the main pharmacokinetic parameters of etoricoxib in fasted and fed groups were respectively as follows: peak concentration, 2364.78 ± 538.01 and 1874.55 ± 367.90 ng/mL; area under the concentration–time curve from 0 to 120 h, 44,605.53 ± 15,266.66 and 43,516.33 ± 12,425.91 ng h/mL; time to peak concentration, 2.00 and 2.50 h; and half‐life, 24.08 ± 10.06 and 23.64± 6.72 h. High‐fat food significantly reduced the peak concentration of etoricoxib ( p = 0.001) but had no effect on the area under the concentration–time curve.