A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography - Tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of phenylephrine in dried blood spots from preterm infants

A sensitive and accurate hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry method (HILIC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination of phenylephrine concentration in Dried Blood Spot (DBS) samples from preterm infants, after ocular administration of an ophthalmic solution with phenylephrine. Sample preparation involved the extraction of the analyte from an 85 μL DBS sample with methanol - acetonitrile (50:50, v/v). Chromatographic separation was achieved on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH AMIDE column, under isocratic conditions within a 5 min run. Detection was achieved with a triple quadrupole MS applying electrospray ionization in positive mode. The method was fully validated and proved precise and accurate with in a linear range of 0.59-3.53 ng/ml in blood. The method was developed to provide insights on the level of exposure of infant population to phenylephrine after ocular administration.