Determination of caffeine, paraxanthine, theophylline and theobromine in premature infants by HILIC-MS/MS
Wen S, Ma H, Chen X, et al. | Bioanalysis, 14(23), 1497 – 1508 (2023)
Keywords: • caffeine • HILIC-MS/MS • premature infants
Aim: Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, used to treat apnea of prematurity. A hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) approach was developed to detect caffeine, paraxanthine, theophylline and theobromine in premature infants. Method: Protein precipitation of plasma samples (10 μl) was carried out by treating with acetonitrile containing caffeine-13C3. The separation was carried out on an ACQUITY HPLC® BEH HILIC column. Caffeine and its metabolites were quantified by multiple reaction monitoring modes with positive electrospray ionization. Results: The established method had a good linear relationship in the range of 0.0600–60.0 μg/ml for caffeine, 0.0250–7.50 μg/ml for theobromine and 0.0150–4.50 μg/ml for paraxanthine and theophylline. Conclusion: A HILIC-MS/MS method was developed and validated to determine caffeine and its major metabolites in plasma of premature infants.
