Background: Artemether–lumefantrine is the most widely recommended artemisinin-based combination treatment for falciparum malaria. Quantification of artemether and its metabolite dihydroartemisinin in biological matrices has traditionally been difficult, with sensitivity being an issue. Results: A high-throughput bioanalytical method for the analysis of artemether and its metabolite dihydroartemisinin in human plasma using solid-phase extraction in the 96-well plate format and liquid chromatography coupled to positive ion mode tandem mass spectroscopy has been developed and validated according to US FDA guidelines. The method uses 50 µl plasma and covers the calibration range 1.43–500 ng/ml with a limit of detection at 0.36 ng/ml. Conclusions: The developed liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry assay is more sensitive than all previous methods despite using a lower plasma volume (50 µl) and is highly suitable for clinical studies where plasma volumes are limited, such as pediatric trials.

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Published online 27 March 2009

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Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was part of the Wellcome Trust-Mahidol University-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Programme (077166/Z/05/Z) supported by the Wellcome Trust of Great Britain. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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