Development and validation of a LC–MS/MS method for quantitation of recombinant human growth hormone in rat plasma and application to a pharmacokinetic study

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is a peptide comprising 191 amino acids, that is mainly used to promote the growth of children and plays an important antiaging role. In the present study, a simple and sensitive quantitation method for rhGH in rat plasma was established by LCMS/MS. After simple and rapid enzymatic digestion of the plasma sample, two suitable surrogate peptides (LFDNAMLR and FPTIPLSR) were selected for quantitative analysis. The results showed good linearity over calibration range 10-2000 ng/mL. The quality control (QC) accuracy ranged from -13.8 to 14.3%, and the accuracy of the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) ranged from -12.9 to 19.0%. The intra-day and inter-day precision ranges for all QCs were 1.7-13.6% and 4.0-7.0%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to intravenous and subcutaneous pharmacokinetic studies in rats. In comparison with previously published methods, our method features simple sample preparation combined with a short sample processing time (3.5 h), wide linear range (10-2000 ng/mL), small plasma volume (35 μL), and LLOQ (10 ng/mL).