Evaluation of 4 quantification methods for monitoring 16 antidepressant drugs and their metabolites in human plasma by LC-MS/MS

Background Therapeutic drug monitoring for antidepressants (ADs) is vital due to the potentially serious consequences and disputes related to medical events. Therefore, we created a quick and convenient analysis way for separation and quantification of ADs. Methods To ensure quantitative stability, we divided the 16 ADs or their metabolites into 4 pools (AD1-AD4), considering the hospital frequency that the clinician prescribed, the physicochemical properties of medicines, and the calibration range of selected ADs. After precipitation with methanol, the analytes were eluted for at least 3.5 min on a BEH C 18 analytical column by different gradient elution methods. Results: The LLOQ and LOD were 1.25–10 ng/mL and 0.42–5 ng/mL, respectively. High precision (<12 %) and accuracy (87.07–111.47 %) were demonstrated by quality control samples both within and between days. All the compounds were stable at room temperature and within −80 °C. Conclusion The method is of wide clinical and laboratory interest due to simpler sample cleanup, shorter chromatographic run times, and wider calibration range compared to other methods.