Determination of minocycline in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry: application to bioequivalence study

Minocycline was determined in human plasma by HPLC-MS-MS using clarithromyc in as an internal standard. The method is fast (single liquid extraction an d run time of <3 min) and sensitive (5 ng/ml) and it was employed in a bioe quivalence study of two 100 mg tablet formulations in 24 healthy volunteers . The 90% confidence interval of the individual ratio geometric mean for bo th AUC((0-96 h)) and C-max were 99.2-111.1% and 95.6-117.5%, respectively. Thus, Minoderm was considered bioequivalent to Minomax according to both th e rate and extent of absorption. No food interaction was observed with eith er formulation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.