A rapid, sensitive and specific method for quantification of methoxsalen in human plasma using metaxalone as the internal
standard is presented. An Applied Biosystems Sciex API 3200 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring
mode, using TurboIonSpray in the positive ion mode was used. Simple solid phase extraction was followed by C18 reverse phase
chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry using metaxalone as the internal standard. The mean recovery for methoxsalen was
90.0% with a lower limit of quantification of 1.0 ng mL
−1. This validated assay method makes use of the sensitivity and selectivity of tandem mass spectrometry detection to allow
for a more rapid and selective method for the determination of methoxsalen in human plasma.
Keywords Column liquid chromatography - Tandem mass spectrometry - Human plasma - Methoxsalen and metaxalone