Determination of sitagliptin in human urine and hemodialysate using turbulent flow online extraction and tandem mass spectrometry

Smartphone as a fluorescence detector for high-performance liquid chromatography

BACKGROUND

Fluorescence detection is employed in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) due to its high specificity and sensitivity. However, it is often limited by expensive components and bulkiness. Recently, advances in technology and electronics have led to the development of smartphones that can serve as portable recording, analysis, and monitoring tools. Smartphone-based detection provides advantages of cost effectiveness, rapid signal/data processing, and the display of results on a handhold monitor. The combination of smartphone-based detection with HPLC can offer unique features that are beneficial in overcoming limitations of commercial fluorescence detectors. (90) RESULTS: A miniaturized and low-cost HPLC fluorescence detector based on a smartphone is introduced for the detection of six fluorescent molecules. The smartphone is able to capture emitted fluorescence in video format while MATLAB code is used for data processing to provide chromatograms based on different detection channels. A custom designed double-channel flow cell was utilized to enable simultaneous detection of fluorescent compounds with different excitation wavelengths. The detector consists of a lab-made flow cell, monochromatic LEDs as the light source, 3D printed housing and connector box, fiber optic cables, and a smartphone. The effects of flow cell geometry, channel width and light slit diameter, as well as a comparison of different flow cell manufacturing techniques, are studied and discussed. The validated system was successfully applied to samples from diverse water sources, yielding spiking recoveries within the range of 91.7% and 109.7%. (141) SIGNIFICANCE: This study introduces the first smartphone-based fluorescence detector for HPLC with cost-effective and customizable flow cells, allowing for the simultaneous detection of fluorescent compounds with different excitation wavelengths and offering a potential solution for the analysis of co-eluting compounds. Beyond its user-friendly interface and low-cost, smartphone detection in HPLC provides tremendous opportunities in further miniaturizing chromatographic instrumentation while offering high sensitivity and can be expanded to other mechanisms of detection. (70).

In vitro study and pharmacokinetic evaluation of sitagliptin phosphate enantiomers in rat plasma

Background: A chiral HPLC technique was developed to determine sitagliptin phosphate enantiomers in rat plasma in compliance with US FDA regulations. Methods & results: The technique used a Phenomenex column with a mobile phase consisting of a 60:35:5 (v/v/v) blend of pH4, 10-mM ammonium acetate buffer, methanol and 0.1% formic acid in Millipore water. The precision for both (R) and (S) sitagliptin phosphate varied between 0.246 and 1.246%, while the accuracy was 99.6-100.1%. A glucose uptake assay was used to assess enantiomers in 3T3-L1 cell lines through flow cytometry. Conclusion: Investigation of the pharmacokinetic impacts of sitagliptin phosphate racemic enantiomers in rat plasma revealed notable contrasts in R and S enantiomers in female albino Wistar rats, suggesting enantioselectivity for sitagliptin phosphate.

Simultaneous determination of rivaroxaban and sitagliptin in rat plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction study

A sensitive and accurate LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of rivaroxaban (RIV) and sitagliptin (SIT) in rat plasma using apixaban as internal standard (IS). An Agilent Eclipse plus C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 3.5 µm, Agilent) was used for chromatographic separation with isocratic elution. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using positive-ion ESI mode to monitor ion transitions of m/z 436.8→144.9 for RIV, m/z 407.7→173.8 for SIT, m/z 459.8→442.8 for IS. The procedure of method validation included selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, extraction recovery and stability were conducted according to the guidelines of EMA and FDA. The results indicated that no obvious drug-drug interactions occurred might be owing to their differences in metabolic pathways.

High-throughput bioanalysis of sitagliptin in plasma using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry and its application in the pharmacokinetic study thereof

Sitagliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitor for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In the present study, a sensitive and high-throughput quantitative method based on the direct analysis in real time tandem mass spectrometry has been developed and validated for the bioanalysis of sitagliptin in rat plasma without chromatographic separation. Sitagliptin and its internal standard retagliptin were detected in positive ion mode by multiple reaction monitoring transitions at m/z 408.2→235.0 and 465.2→260.1, respectively. The method includes a simple solid-phase extraction sample preparation procedure, through which appropriate and reproducible analytical results within the linear concentration range of 20-2000 ng/mL have been achieved. The intra- and interday precisions were <10.6% and the accuracies were ranging from -8.17 to 2.60%. This method has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of sitagliptin after single intravenous administration in rats. This approach shows considerable promise of direct analysis in real time tandem mass spectrometry method in the high-throughput bioanalysis.

Determination of sitagliptin in human plasma using a smart electrochemical sensor based on electroactive molecularly imprinted nanoparticles

Sitagliptin is a hypoglycaemic agent used to reduce blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Real time monitoring of sitagliptin levels is crucial to prevent overdose, which might cause liver, kidney and pancreatic diseases. As an alternative solution, a sitagliptin voltammetric sensor was fabricated using artificial receptors called electroactive molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs). The nanoMIP tagged with a redox probe (ferrocene) combines both the recognition and reporting functions. Traditional electrochemical sensors determine the redox activity of an analyte. Thus, they are influenced by interfering molecules and the nature of the sample. These innovative nanoMIPs allow us to easily design and customise sensors, increase their sensitivity and minimise the cross reactivity in biological samples. The present technology replaces the traditional enzyme-mediator pairs used in traditional biosensors. The polymer composition was optimized "in silico" using docking and screening methods. Nanoparticles were synthesized via free radical polymerization and a solid phase method and then characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The specific sitagliptin nanoparticles were covalently immobilized on platinum electrodes via silane and carbodiimide chemistry. The determination of sitagliptin in human plasma by a nanoMIP sensor was assessed by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The sensor current response was directly related to the change in nanoMIP conformation triggered by the analyte. The optimisation of the sensor response was made by adjusting (i) the silane concentration, (ii) nanoMIP concentration, and (iii) immobilization time. The sensor measurements in plasma revealed high selectivity and a sensitivity of 32.5 ± 0.6 nA pM^-1 towards sitagliptin, and the limit of detection of the fabricated sensor was found to be 0.06 pM. The sensor displayed a satisfactory performance for the determination of sitagliptin in spiked human plasma, demonstrating the potential of this technology for drug monitoring and clinical diagnosis.

Cross Referencing 2D-LC Determination of Intact Gliptins in Urine

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, so-called gliptins, constitute a fairly novel class of oral hypoglycemic agents. The development and validation of an automated online SPE-LC-UV method to determine intact sitagliptin, saxagliptin, vildagliptin and metformin simultaneously in human urine samples were performed. For the two-dimensional chromatographic separation, a Gemini C18 (250.0 × 4.6 mm i.d., 110 A0, 5.0 μ) analytical column and a gradient elution with 10.0 mM o-phosphoric acid and methanol and for the online SPE analysis of urine samples, a LiChrospher® ADS SPE-column (20.0 mm × 2.0 mm i.d., 25.0 μm) were used through the study. The fractionation, transfer, elution and separation of the spiked urine samples were achieved in just 9.57 min runtime with 12.0 mL of solvent consumption which was green and economical compared to other sample preparation methods. The calibration curves were determined to be linear in a wide range of 0.10-100.00 μg/mL with satisfactory regression coefficients. Method developed for two-dimensional determination of gliptins would be useful as a reference in therapeutic drug monitoring and screening for forensic medical cases which involve the abuse, unintentional or misuse of multiple gliptins in terms of its practical use, easy detection and reliable results.

Sensitive detection of quinoline-derivatized sitagliptin in small volumes of human plasma by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are incretin-based medications used as oral antidiabetic agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, DPP-4 inhibitors produce side effects like acute pancreatitis, upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, urinary tract infection, serious allergies, cardiovascular diseases, hemolysis, and retinopathy. Hence, the development of a fast and simple method to detect DPP-4 inhibitors in body fluids is important. In this study, we developed a derivatization-assisted microextraction method to enhance the detection sensitivity for trace levels of a DPP-4 inhibitor, sitagliptin, from a small volume (10 μL) of human plasma by using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Subjecting the analyte to 100 W microwave irradiation after derivatization using a quinoline alkylating reagent (8-bromomethyl quinilone, BrMQ) shortened the reaction time to ~120 s and allowed the target analyte to be easily extracted to a small volume of the organic layer (20 μL). The analyte was then detected by MALDI-TOF MS using α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid as the matrix. The relative standard deviation and relative error were below 10% in intra- and inter-day assays. Using sitagliptin-d4 as an internal standard, the limits of quantitation and detection were found to be 0.03 μg/mL and 0.01 μg/mL, respectively. All the derivatization and extraction procedures described herein were of microliter grade. This method could effectively reduce the use of organic chemicals and solvents, thereby proving to be an eco-friendly strategy that will cause no harm to the environment.

A Rapid and Sensitive Method for the Pharmacokinetic Study of Janumet (Sitagliptin and Metformin) Tablets by LC-MS/MS Coupled with Ion-Pair Solid Phase Extraction

Background:

As first-line treatments for diabetes, sitagliptin and metformin have been widely prescribed as a combination to enhance the therapeutic effect.

Objective:

To establish a methodology to simultaneously monitor the two drugs in vivo by a reversedphase Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method.

Methods:

The two drugs were extracted from 50 μl human plasma by ion-pair solid phase extraction. The separation of the plasma samples was implemented on an Agilent Zorbax SB-CN column (150×4.6 mm, 5.0 µm). The mobile phase was the mixture (80:20, v/v) of methanol and 5.0 mM ammonium formate in water (pH 4.5). An ion trap spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source was utilized to detect the elution in positive mode. Quantification of the analytes was achieved by Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) using the transitions of m/z 408.3→235.1 for sitagliptin and m/z 130.1→ 60.2 for metformin.

Results:

Sitagliptin and metformin demonstrated good linearity among the range of 1.00-1000 ng/mL and 5.00-4000 ng/mL. The intra-day and inter-day investigations displayed precisions of ≤ 3.6% and an accuracy range of -7.5% to 6.0% for the two drugs. The mean recovery of the two drugs was 96.0% and 98.5%. Under mandatory storage conditions, both the drugs gave an acceptable stability. The throughput of the assay was found to be more than 100 plasma samples per day ascribed to the run time of 3.0 min for each sample.

Conclusion:

The developed method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study for a fixeddose tablet formulation containing 50 mg sitagliptin and 500 mg metformin in 12 healthy volunteers.

A HILIC-MS/MS assay for the quantification of metformin and sitagliptin in human plasma and urine: A tool for studying drug transporter perturbation

This article describes the development and validation of a HILIC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of metformin and sitagliptin from human plasma and urine. The presented method uses quick sample preparation and fast chromatography allowing for high sample throughput. The quantification is performed using multi-reaction monitoring and ESI positive mode with stable isotope labelled internal standards for both metformin and sitagliptin. Excellent linearity in the selected calibrations ranges, low inter-day variability (CV% <6.7%), and high accuracy (95.5-104.1%) were obtained. Adequate retention was attained for both analytes by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography using a plain silica column in combination with a mobile phase composed of ammonium formate, acetonitrile, formic acid and water in gradient separation mode.

LC-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of metformin and sitagliptin in human plasma after ion-pair solid phase extraction

A reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous determination of two oral hypoglycemic drugs metformin (MET) and sitagliptin (STG) in human plasma. The analytes were extracted from 50μL human plasma by ion-pair solid phase extraction using sodium lauryl sulphate on Phenomenex Strata-X (30mg/1mL) cartridges. The chromatographic separation was accomplished on XSelect HSS CN (150×4.6mm, 5μm) column using mobile phase consisting of methanol-8.0mM ammonium formate in water, pH 4.5 (80:20, v/v) under isocratic condition. Tandem MS detection was performed on a triple quadrupole spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source, operated in the positive mode. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to quantify the analytes following transitions, m/z 130.1→60.1 and m/z 408.3→235.1 for MET and STG respectively. The method displayed acceptable linearity in the concentration range of 4.00-3200ng/mL for MET and 1.00-800ng/mL for STG. The intra-batch and inter-batch precisions were ≤5.1% and accuracy ranged from 96.5 to 103.3% for both the drugs. The mean recovery of MET and STG obtained from spiked plasma samples was 82.5% and 90.4% respectively with minimal matrix interference. Both the drugs were found to be stable under all mandatory storage conditions. The validated method was successfully applied to a clinical pharmacokinetic study for a fixed-dose tablet formulation containing 500mg MET and 50mg STG in 16 healthy volunteers.

Analytical tools for determination of new oral antidiabetic drugs, glitazones, gliptins, gliflozins and glinides, in bulk materials, pharmaceuticals and biological samples

The review presents analytical methods for determination of new oral drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), focusing on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists (glitazones), dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (gliptins) and sodium/glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (gliflozins). Drugs derived from prandial glucose regulators, such as glinides, are considered because they are present in some new therapeutic options. The review presents analytical procedures suitable for determination of the drugs in bulk substances, such as pharmaceuticals and biological samples, including HPLC-UV, HPLC/LC-MS, TLC/HPTLC, CE/CE-MS, spectrophotometric (UV/VIS), spectrofluorimetric and electrochemical methods, taken from the literature over the past ten years (2006-2016). Some new procedures for extraction, separation and detection of the drugs, including solid phase extraction with molecularly imprinted polymers (SPE-MIP), liquid phase microextraction using porous hollow fibers (HP-LPME), HILIC chromatography, micellar mobile phases, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and isotopically labeled internal standards, are discussed.

A comparative study of smart spectrophotometric methods for simultaneous determination of sitagliptin phosphate and metformin hydrochloride in their binary mixture

Simple, specific, accurate and precise spectrophotometric methods were developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of the oral antidiabetic drugs; sitagliptin phosphate (STG) and metformin hydrochloride (MET) in combined pharmaceutical formulations. Three methods were manipulating ratio spectra namely; ratio difference (RD), ratio subtraction (RS) and a novel approach of induced amplitude modulation (IAM) methods. The first two methods were used for determination of STG, while MET was directly determined by measuring its absorbance at λmax 232 nm. However, (IAM) was used for the simultaneous determination of both drugs. Moreover, another three methods were developed based on derivative spectroscopy followed by mathematical manipulation steps namely; amplitude factor (P-factor), amplitude subtraction (AS) and modified amplitude subtraction (MAS). In addition, in this work the novel sample enrichment technique named spectrum addition was adopted. The proposed spectrophotometric methods did not require any preliminary separation step. The accuracy, precision and linearity ranges of the proposed methods were determined. The selectivity of the developed methods was investigated by analyzing laboratory prepared mixtures of the drugs and their combined pharmaceutical formulations. Standard deviation values were less than 1.5 in the assay of raw materials and tablets. The obtained results were statistically compared to that of a reported spectrophotometric method. The statistical comparison showed that there was no significant difference between the proposed methods and the reported one regarding both accuracy and precision.

Novel contribution to the simultaneous analysis of certain hypoglycemic drugs in the presence of their impurities and degradation products utilizing UPLC-MS/MS

A novel, sensitive, rapid and selective UPLC-MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous quantification of vildagliptin, sitagliptin and metformin in the presence of their degradation products and impurities.

Comparison of conventional and supported liquid extraction methods for the determination of sitagliptin and simvastatin in rat plasma by LC-ESI-MS/MS

Three extraction methods were compared for their efficiency to analyze sitagliptin and simvastatin in rat plasma by LC–MS/MS, including (1) liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), (2) solid phase extraction (SPE) and (3) supported liquid extraction (SLE). Comparison of recoveries of analytes with different extraction methods revealed that SLE was the best extraction method. The detection was facilitated with ion trap-mass spectrometer by multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) in a positive ion mode with ESI. The transitions monitored were m/z 441.1→325.2 for simvastatin, 408.2→235.1 for sitagliptin and 278.1→260.1 for the IS. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.2 ng/mL for sitagliptin and 0.1 ng/mL for simvastatin. The effective SLE offers enhanced chromatographic selectivity, thus facilitating the potential utility of the method for routine analysis of biological samples along with pharmacokinetic studies.

Oligomers-model building in protonation equilibria of sitagliptin

Mixed protonation constants of sitagliptin phosphate at various ionic strengths I (mol kg−1) in range 0.01 and 0.50 and at 298.15 K are determined using FBSTAC4 and HYPERQUAD nonlinear regression analyses of the potentiometric titration curve. At a low concentration c L = 1.1 mmol kg−1 the monomers L, LH, LH2, LH3 and LH4 dominate, while for a concentration range from c L = 13.7 to 24.7 mmol kg−1 dimers L2H2, L2H3, L2H4 and L2H are mainly present. The regression programme has almost no influence on the precision of the protonation constants. The accuracy of the protonation constants log βqr depends on the accuracy of the group parameters. As two group parameters c L,0, c H,T are ill-conditioned in a model, their determination is therefore uncertain: both can significantly cause a systematic error in the estimated common parameters log10βqr . Fitness tests using regression diagnostics have proven the reliability of the parameter estimates.

Direct determination of sitagliptin in pharmaceutical formulations and its determination in urine after solid-phase extraction by spectrofluorimetry

The fluorescence characteristics of sitagliptin phosphate were used to develop a methodology that allowed its determination in pharmaceutical formulations and urine samples; under the studied conditions, limits of determination and quantification of 0.25 and, respectively, 0.85 mg/L were achieved. Linear correlation between fluorescence analytical signal and sitagliptin concentration was achieved up to 10.0 mg/L. The method was considered selective for sitagliptin determination in pharmaceutical formulations because no interferences due to excipients present in considered matrix were observed (as demonstrated by recovery tests comparing analytical and addition curves). When the method was applied to urine samples, Interferences related to the matrix were observed, which made a solid-phase extraction system necessary. The use of calibration was possible only by applying the standard addition method.

Direct bioanalytical sample injection with 2D LC–MS

New analytical platforms have been developed in response to the need for attaining increased peak capacity for multicomponent complex analysis with higher sensitivity and characterization of the analytes, and high-throughput capabilities. This review outlines the fundamental principles of target and comprehensive 2D LC method development and encompasses applications of LC–LC and LC × LC coupled to MS in bioanalysis using a variety of online analytical procedures. It also provides a rationale for the usage of the most employed mass analyzers and ionization sources on these platforms.

Simultaneous Determination of Sitagliptin Phosphate Monohydrate and Metformin Hydrochloride in Tablets by a Validated UPLC Method

A novel approach was used to develop and validate a rapid, specific, accurate and precise reverse phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of Sitagliptin phosphate monohydrate and Metformin hydrochloride in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The chromatographic separation was achieved on Aquity UPLC BEH C8 100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm, column using a buffer consisting of 10 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate and 2 mM hexane-1-sulfonic acid sodium salt (pH adjusted to 5.50 with diluted phosphoric acid) and acetonitrile as organic solvent in a gradient program. The flow rate was 0.2 mL min⁻¹ and the detection wavelength was 210 nm. The limit of detection (LOD) for Sitagliptin phosphate monohydrate and Metformin hydrochloride was 0.2 and 0.06 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for Sitagliptin phosphate monohydrate and Metformin hydrochloride was 0.7 and 0.2 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. This method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision, specificity and robustness. The method was also found to be stability-indicating.

Evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition following single doses of sitagliptin in healthy, young Japanese males

AIMS

Sitagliptin is a selective inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) used to treat type 2 diabetes. The present aim was to evaluate pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic (PD) and safety characteristics of sitagliptin following single doses in healthy, young Japanese males.

METHODS

In this alternating two-panel, randomized, controlled double-blind study, six healthy Japanese male subjects (aged 20-46 years) in each panel received single oral doses of 5-400mg sitagliptin and two received placebo. Plasma and urine drug concentrations were measured from 0-48h post dose and plasma DPP-4 inhibition from 0-24h post dose. The results were compared with historical data from young, healthy non-Japanese males.

RESULTS

Plasma concentrations of sitagliptin increased approximately in proportion to dose; maximum concentrations occurred 2-6h post-dose. The mean apparent terminal half-life for plasma sitagliptin was 9-14h, with the half-life slightly decreasing as the dose increased. The mean dose fraction excreted unchanged in the urine was 0.73-1.00. Ingestion of a traditional Japanese breakfast prior to dosing had only a minor effect on PK parameters. After correction for dilution and competition effects during assay, doses of sitagliptin ≥50mg resulted in weighted average DPP-4 inhibition from 0-24h post-dose >94% (without correction, >78%). No clinically meaningful differences in PK and DPP-4 inhibition parameters were found between Japanese and non-Japanese subjects. Sitagliptin was generally well tolerated and there were no serious adverse experiences or episodes of hypoglycaemia.

CONCLUSIONS

The PK and PD findings from this study are consistent with once daily dosing of sitagliptin in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Development of an ultra fast online-solid phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) based approach for the determination of drugs in pharmacokinetic studies

High-throughput analyses of a large number of samples for pharmacokinetic (PK) studies are essential in drug development. Analysis of drug candidates from blood using LC-ESI-MS generally requires separation of the plasma fraction followed by various offline sample preparation procedures. This step is a bottleneck that impedes throughput. In order to overcome this difficulty and accelerate analysis in PK and other studies, we developed an approach allowing the direct analysis of low volumes of whole blood (10 μL) after dilution and centrifugation. Samples were injected in an online-SPE-LC-ESI-MS/MS setup allowing a total run time of only 126 s for a full gradient separation. Analytes were extracted from the matrix within 30 s by turbulent flow chromatography. Subsequently, a full gradient separation was carried out within 1.5 minutes on a 50 × 2.1 mm (1.7 μm) RP-18 column and the analytes were sensitively detected by ESI-MS/MS in SRM mode. The performance of this new ultra fast online SPE-LC-ESI-MS/MS approach was demonstrated by the analysis of diclofenac (DCF), a widely used anti-inflammatory drug. DCF eluted at stable retention times (±0.33%) with narrow peak width (FWHM 3.3 ± 0.15 s). The method displays excellent analytical performance, with a limit of detection of 6 fmol on column, a linear range of over four orders of magnitude and a negligible carry over of 0.12 ± 0.03% for DCF. The PK profile of DCF administered by topical and intraperitoneal routes in rats and by oral route in one human volunteer is investigated using this method. Finally, general applicability of the approach for drugs is demonstrated by analysis of rofecoxib and several inhibitors of the soluble epoxide hydrolase. This new method requires only readily available, off the shelf standard LC instrumentation, and is compliant with the requirements of green analytical chemistry.

Determination of sitagliptinin human plasma using protein precipitation and tandem mass spectrometry

A simple offline LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of sitagliptin in human plasma is described. Samples are prepared using protein precipitation. Filtration of the supernatants through a Hybrid-SPE-PPT plate was found to be necessary to reduce ionization suppression caused by co-elution of phospholipids with sitagliptin. The sitagliptin and its stable isotope labeled internal standard (IS) were chromatographed under hydrophilic interaction chromatography conditions on a Waters Atlantis HILIC Silica column (2.1 mm x 50 mm, 3 microm) using a mobile phase of ACN/H(2)O (80/20, v/v) containing 10 mM NH(4)Ac (pH 4.7). The sample drying after protein precipitation due to high organic content in the sample is not necessary, because HILIC column was used. The analytes were detected with a tandem mass spectrometer employing a turbo ion spray (TIS) interface in positive ionization mode. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions were m/z 408-->235 for sitagliptin and m/z 412-->239 for IS. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) for this method is 1 ng/mL when 100 microL of plasma is processed. The linear calibration range is 1-1000 ng/mL for sitagliptin. Intra-day precision and accuracy were assessed based on the analysis of six sets of calibration standards prepared in six lots of human control plasma. Intra-day precision (RSD%, n=6) ranged from 1.2% to 6.1% and the intra-day accuracy ranged from 97.6% to 103% of nominal values.