Micro-liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for the analysis of antineoplastic drugs from wipe samples

A fast quantification method for the determination of 11 antineoplastic drugs from wipe samples was developed using micro-scale liquid chromatography in combination with tandem mass spectrometry. The extraction efficiency from the wipes has been investigated using different extraction solvents. The results indicate that a mixture of 70/30 water/isopropanol (v/v) acidified with 0.1 % formic acid is suitable to desorb the antineoplastic drugs with sufficient recovery between 80 and 120 %. Compared to conventional liquid chromatography, the total analysis time can be reduced to 2.25 min using a 50 × 0.3 mm column at a flow rate of 25 μL min−1. Ion source parameters as well as the injection volume were optimized to ensure the highest sensitivity. The results of method validation showed an instrumental limit of quantification between 0.0068 and 0.0488 ng mL−1 using an injection volume of 4.25 μL estimated by the signal to noise ratio. Moreover, the retention time repeatability was determined with a maximum relative standard deviation of 0.4 %.