Mechanistic study for the simultaneous determination of metformin and teneligliptin in human plasma using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–MS/MS

Abstract

Aim: A simple, selective and sensitive hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-MS/MS method is developed for the simultaneous determination of metformin (MET) and teneligliptin (TEN) in human plasma using deuterated internal standards. The mechanism of retention of analytes was studied by varying the proportion of organic diluent, buffer strength, pH of the mobile phase and temperature. Results: The results showed a mixed-mode mechanism comprising of hydrophilic (partition) and electrostatic interaction (ion exchange) for MET and essentially hydrophilic for TEN. The linear calibration curves were established in the concentration range of 1.0–1000 ng/ml for MET and 0.50–750 ng/ml for TEN. Conclusion: The method was applied to determine plasma concentration of MET and TEN in healthy subjects.