LC-MS/MS method for the determination of a semi-synthetic phenolic antioxidant 2,6-diisobornyl-4-methylphenol in rats after different administration routes.

IBP (2,6-diisobornyl-4-methylphenol) is a small drug molecule with antioxidant properties considered to be a promising neuro-, cardio-, and retinoprotective agent. In this study, a bioanalytical LC-MS/MS method for its determination in rat plasma was developed using 11H-indeno[1,2-b]quinoxalin-11-one oxime as an internal standard (IS). The analytes were extracted from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction technique using isopropyl alcohol:chloroform mixture (1:5, v/v) followed by evaporation and reconstitution of the residues in acetonitrile. The chromatographic separation was carried out on the EC Nucleodur C8 ec column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) under an isocratic elution mode using acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% (v/v) formic acid (97:3, v/v) as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.55 mL/min (40 °C). The IS and IBP were eluted at 3.79 ± 0.02 and 6.30 ± 0.02 min, respectively. The total analysis time was 7.00 min. Multiple reaction monitoring was used to conduct the MS/MS detection in the negative ion mode with transitions at m/z 245.9 → 214.9 (IS) and 379.2 → 256.0 (IBP). Validation studies of the developed method revealed good linearity over the range of 10-5,000 ng/mL. Within- and between-run accuracy was in the range of 92-110%, while within- and between-run precision was below 8%. Additionally, low matrix effects and high recovery (above 98%) were observed. IBP remained stable in rat plasma at room temperature for 4 h, at -80 °C for 21 days, over three freeze-thaw cycles, under vacuum concentrator (45 °C, dried residues) and auto-sampler (15 °C, processed samples) temperatures for 1 h and 24 h, respectively. Subsequently, the validated LC-MS/MS method has been successfully applied to quantitate IBP in actual plasma samples after a single oral, intramuscular, and subcutaneous dose of IBP (10 mg/kg in the peach oil) to rats. Pharmacokinetic studies show that more rapid and complete IBP absorption with a satisfactory excretion rate were observed after oral administration route compared to the intramuscular and subcutaneous ones.