Successful and cost-efficient replacement of immunoassays by tandem mass spectrometry for the quantification of immunosuppressants in the clinical laboratory

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implantation of mass spectrometry in replacement of immunoassays for the measurement of immunosuppressant drugs in the clinical setting, from scientific and financial perspectives. A straightforward, rapid, and economical method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of tacrolimus, sirolimus, and cyclosporine. Following a simple protein precipitation step, supernatants are injected on a small C18 guard cartridge and gradient elution of the immunosuppressants is performed in a total chromatographic run time of 2.25 min. Sodium adducts of the compounds and internal standards are quantified by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The method shows inter-assay impression of less than 10–15% for all compounds with good extraction efficiency (89–104%) and minimal matrix effects, except for sirolimus where ion suppression is more pronounced. The method correlates well with chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassays (on the Abbott Architect analyzer), although the immunoassay results are significantly higher than those obtained by HPLC–MS/MS. The transition from immunoassays to mass spectrometry was well received by the laboratory staff, and significant reductions in reagent costs have been realized (>$250,000 CAD per year). With these savings, the purchase and installation of two complete HPLC–MS/MS systems was completely financed in less than three years.