Validation and clinical application of a method to quantify efavirenz in
cervicovaginal secretions from flocked swabs using LC-MS/MS
Abstract
Abstract Aim: An LC-MS/MS method to quantify drug in dried
cervicovaginal secretions from flocked swab was developed and validated
using the antiretroviral efavirenz as example. Methods: Cervicovaginal
swabs (CVS) were prepared by submerging flocked swabs in
efavirenz-spiked matrix. Time to full saturation, weight uniformity,
recovery and room temperature stability were evaluated. Chromatographic
separation was on a reverse-phase C18 column by gradient elution using
1mM ammonium acetate in water/acetonitrile at 400 µL/min. Detection and
quantification were on a TSQ Quantum Access triple quadrupole mass
spectrometer operated in negative ionisation mode. The method was used
to quantify efavirenz in CVS samples from HIV-positive women in the
VADICT study (NCT03284645). Results: Swabs were fully saturated within
15 seconds, absorbing 128 µL of matrix with coefficient of variation
(%CV) below 1.3%. The method was linear with a weighting factor (1/X)
in the range of 25-10000 ng/mL with inter- and intra-day precision (%
CV) of 7.69-14.9%, and accuracy (% bias) of 99.1-105.3%. Mean
recovery of efavirenz from CVS was 83.8% (%CV, 11.2) with no
significant matrix effect. Efavirenz remained stable in swabs for at
least 35 days after drying and storage at room temperature. Median
(range) CVS efavirenz AUC0-24h was 16370 ng*h/mL (5803-22088), Cmax was
1618 ng/mL (610-2438) at a Tmax of 8.0 h (8.0-12), and Cmin was 399
ng/mL (110-981). Efavirenz CVS:plasma AUC0-24 ratio was 0.41
(0.20-0.59). Conclusion: Further application of this method will improve
our understanding of the pharmacology of other therapeutics in the
female genital tract, including in low- and middle-income countries.