Selective high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole in plasma from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients

A sensitive and selective reversed-phase liquid chromatographic assay for itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole in human plasma has been developed and validated. Itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole were extracted from the matrix using solid-phase extraction on a strong cation-exchange sorbent. All compounds were detected using fluorescence at 265 and 363 nm for excitation and emission, respectively. The assay has been validated over the range 10–1000 ng/ml for both compounds, 10 ng/ml being the lower limit of quantification. Accuracies ranged from 104 to 113% for itraconazole and from 91 to 103% for hydroxyitraconazole. The intra-assay precisions were all below 9% for itraconazole and below 8% for hydroxyitraconazole. The selectivity has been evaluated with respect to all registered anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drugs and other potential co-medications and a few of their metabolites, commonly used by HIV-infected individuals. Both itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole were stable under relevant conditions for HIV-inactivation and storage of samples. The applicability of the assay was demonstrated for samples collected from a treated HIV-infected patient.