Development and Validation of LC-MS/MS Method for Quantitative Determination of (-)-securinine in Mouse Plasma

(-)-Securinine (SE) is a major alkaloid found in plant Securinega suffruticosa, which has a wide range of pharmacological activities including anticancer, anti-parasitic and central nervous system stimulating effects, etc. To aid the pharmacological study of SE, we developed an LC-MS/MS method for quantitative determination of SE in mouse plasma. In this method, plasma samples were first prepared with salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction using cold acetonitrile (-20°C) and 2.00 M ammonium acetate. Separation of SE and the internal standard (IS) from sample matrix was achieved on a Gemini Nx C18 column using 40% acetonitrile and 60% 10.0mM ammonium acetate at a flow rate of 0.200 mL min(-1). Quantification of SE was accomplished with positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry using mass transitions m/z 218.1→84.1 for SE, and m/z 204.1→70.2 for the IS. This method has a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 0.600 ng mL(-1) and a linear calibration range up to 600 ng mL(-1) in mouse plasma. The intra- and inter-run accuracy (%RE) and precision (%CV) were ≤ ± 6% and 6%, respectively. The IS normalized matrix factors from six lots of plasma matrices ranged 0.92-1.07, and the recoveries of plasma SE were 99-109%. The validated method has been applied to the measurement of SE in plasma samples of a mouse study.