Development of an UHPLC-MS/MS method for remifentanil quantification in a small plasma volume

Abstract

Remifentanil is a short acting opioid currently used in anesthesia and as an analgesic. This paper describes a simple, fast HPLC-MS/MS methodology that allows detection of remifentanil in low volume plasma samples. Acetonitrile protein precipitation is used for sample extraction and clean up. The assay has a lower limit of detection of 0.25 ng/mL and a 3 min run time.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• HPLC-MS/MS
• LC-MS/MS
• microassay
• neonate
• pharmacokinetics
• remifentanil

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Table 1. Inter-day variability of QC's.

Table 2. Inter-day variability of standards.