Analysis of NSAIDs in Rat Plasma Using 3D-Printed Sorbents by LC-MS/MS: An Approach to Pre-Clinical Pharmacokinetic Studies

Analytical sample preparation techniques are essential for assessing chemicals in various biological matrices. The development of extraction techniques is a modern trend in the bioanalytical sciences. We fabricated customized filaments using hot-melt extrusion techniques followed by fused filament fabrication-mediated 3D printing technology to rapidly prototype sorbents that extract non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from rat plasma for determining pharmacokinetic profiles. The filament was prototyped as a 3D-printed sorbent for extracting small molecules using Affinisol (TM), polyvinyl alcohol, and triethyl citrate. The optimized extraction procedure and parameters influencing the sorbent extraction were systematically investigated by the validated LC-MS/MS method. Furthermore, a bioanalytical method was successfully implemented after oral administration to determine the pharmacokinetic profiles of indomethacin and acetaminophen in rat plasma. The C-max was found to be 0.33 +/- 0.04 mu g/mL and 27.27 +/- 9.9 mu g/mL for indomethacin and acetaminophen, respectively, at the maximum time (T-max) (h) of 0.5-1 h. The mean area under the curve (AUC(0-t)) for indomethacin was 0.93 +/- 0.17 mu g h/mL, and for acetaminophen was 32.33 +/- 10.8 mu g h/mL. Owing to their newly customizable size and shape, 3D-printed sorbents have opened new opportunities for extracting small molecules from biological matrices in preclinical studies.

Automated summary

Analytical sample preparation techniques are crucial for evaluating chemicals in different biological matrices, and the development of extraction techniques is a contemporary trend in bioanalytical sciences.