Is the unbound concentration of atazanavir of interest in therapeutic drug monitoring?

Development and validation of an LC-ESI-QTOF-MS method to measure cefepime in the plasma and peritoneal fluid of rats using microdialysis: application in a pilot pharmacokinetic study

Cefepime (CEF) is a cephalosporin and can be administered in secondary peritonitis together with metronidazole to treat sepsis. This study aimed to develop and validate a method of LC-ESI-QTOF-MS for the quantification of cefepime in the plasma and peritoneal microdialysate of healthy Wistar rats. Chromatographic separation was performed using a CLC-ODS C₁₈ column (250 mm x 4.6 mm), a C₁₈ pre-column (4 mm, 5 μm) and isocratic elution. Gallic acid was used as the internal standard (IS). The mobile phase consisted of (A) ultrapure water (pH adjusted to 3.5) and (B) acetonitrile (80:20, v/v) at 0.8 mL/min. Quantification was performed using a mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization in positive mode to monitor ions with m/z 481.1322 (CEF) and m/z 171.0288 (IS). The method was validated for selectivity, precision, accuracy, linearity, stability, lower limit of quantification, carryover, recovery, and matrix effect. Calibration was done in the range of 1-40 μg/mL and 1-100 μg/mL for the peritoneal microdialysate and plasma, respectively. Plasma extraction recovery ranged from 93.9% to 99.9%. The technique was validated and successfully applied in a pilot pharmacokinetic study for estimating the free concentration of CEF in the peritoneal microdialysate of rats for the first time.

Antiretroviral unbound concentration during pregnancy: piece of interest in the puzzle?

Atazanavir and darunavir total concentrations (drug bound to plasma proteins plus unbound drug) progressively decrease during pregnancy. This pharmacokinetic variation leads physicians to recommend increasing doses. Conversely, the unbound concentration (Cu), i.e. the pharmacologically active form of the drug, remains unchanged. The explanation of this desynchronization lies in the fact that the clearance of the unbound form, corresponding to the intrinsic metabolic capacity of the hepatocytes, is the only factor driving Cu, and is constant during pregnancy. The attention of HIV physicians should be attracted to this aspect of pharmacokinetics, which is often incompletely understood and could lead to inadequate dose adjustment, which could then cause overexposure of the foetus for many months, with unknown consequences.