Introduction
Accurate measurement of rosuvastatin in plasma is critical for effective patient management and treatment monitoring following myocardial infarction (MI). Expensive solid-phase extraction (SPE) and time-consuming liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) have been established for quantifying rosuvastatin. Supported liquid extraction (SLE) could offer a rapid, cost-effective alternative.
Objectives
This study aimed to develop and validate a rapid, cost-effective, accurate, and precise method for quantifying rosuvastatin in high-dose plasma samples from patients following MI.
Methods
Rosuvastatin was extracted from EDTA plasma using SLE and quantified with LC-MS/MS with positive electrospray ionization. The method was validated according to ICH M10 guidelines, focusing on selectivity, matrix effect, accuracy, precision, linearity, and carryover. Rosuvastatin-D6 was used as an internal standard. Additionally, thirty plasma samples from patients on high-dose rosuvastatin therapy (20 or 40 mg/day) following MI were analyzed by both LLE and SLE methods and compared.
Results
The method was successfully validated, demonstrating linearity across a range of 0.1 ng/mL to 50 ng/mL. Compared to the LLE method, SLE achieved superior extraction recovery (96.3 % vs. 60 %) and precision (RSD: 11.9 % vs. 13.6 %) at 0.3 ng/mL rosuvastatin, with a lower absolute matrix effect (12.7 % vs. −36.7 %). Accuracy was comparable (109.3 % vs. 92.8 %). Although SLE involves higher initial costs, it significantly enhances throughput, reduces solvent usage, and minimizes contamination and equipment wear.
Conclusion
This study validates SLE as a superior method for quantifying rosuvastatin in plasma, outperforming LLE in recovery, reproducibility, and automation. SLE offers greater accuracy and reliability, making it ideal for high-throughput applications.