Determination of faropenem in human plasma and urine by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) quantitative detection method, using cefalexin as internal standard, was developed for the analysis of faropenem in human plasma and urine. After precipitation of the plasma proteins with acetonitrile, the analytes were separated on a C18 reversed-phase column with 0.1% formic acid-methanol (45:55, v/v) and detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in positive multiple reaction monitoring mode. Calibration curves with good linearities (r=0.9991 for plasma sample and r=0.9993 for urine sample) were obtained in the range 5-4000 ng/mL for faropenem. The limit of detection was 5 ng/mL. Recoveries were around 90% for the extraction from human plasma, and good precision and accuracy were achieved. This method is feasible for the evaluation of pharmacokinetic profiles of faropenem in humans, and to our knowledge, it is the first time the pharmacokinetic of faropenem has been elucidated in vivo using LC-MS/MS.