Sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of meloxicam in human plasma

Meloxicam was quantified in human plasma after a single 15 mg oral dose of the drug was given to 26 healthy volunteers. An Applied Biosystems Sciex API 2000 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, using TurboIonSpray (TIS) in the positive ion mode, was used. Protein precipitation with acetonitrile was followed by C18 reverse phase liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The mean recovery for meloxicam was 92% with a lower limit of quantification of 8.96 ng/ml. Piroxicam was used as the internal standard. This assay method makes use of the increased sensitivity and selectivity of tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) detection to allow for a more rapid (extraction and chromatography) and selective method for the determination of meloxicam in human plasma than has previously been described.