Monitoring the drug benznidazole in biological fluids is a powerful tool for clinical diagnostic and pharmacological studies in chagasic patients. However, research in this concern needs to be done. The accurate quantitation of this drug in complex matrices represents a highly challenging task complicated by the absence of sensitive analytical methods. It follows that sample processing strategies, preparation/cleanup procedures, and chromatographic/ionization/detection parameters, were evaluated for method optimization. The summation of this work generated a rapid, selective, sensitive methodology based on reversed-phase chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of benznidazole in urine samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is a first report of a LC-MS/MS platform employed for this application. Matrix effect was determined; a 90% of signal suppression was observed. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.75 and 4.85 μg L(-1); respectively. The latter allowed the method's application to the detection of benznidazole in clinical studies and pharmacological monitoring analysis.
Keywords: Benznidazole; Chagas disease; Human urine; Liquid chromatography; Tandem mass spectrometry.
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