Development and validation of a new UPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of ganoderic acid-A loaded nanolipidic carrier in rat plasma and application to pharmacokinetic studies

A systematic methodology was used to quantify ganoderic acid-A (GA-A) loaded nano-lipid carriers (NLC) in rat plasma using UPLC-MS/MS. Separation of the analyte was achieved using ACQUITY UPLC BEH C₁₈ column (1.7 µm) and mobile phase as water containing 0.1% Acetonitrile (40: 60% v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL·min⁻¹. The analyte was detected using MRM mode to track precursor-to-product ion transitions of 515.37 → 285.31 m/z (time scan of 2 min) for GA-A, and 175.11 → 115.08 m/z (time scan of 4 min) for ascorbic acid as an internal standard (IS), respectively. The developed method was validated for linearity, accuracy, within and between day precisions, limit of quantification and recovery of the analyte. The results indicated intra and inter-day consistency and precision values were found to be within the acceptance limit for the plasma samples. The method applicability for determination of pharmacokinetic parameters of GA-A was assessed after oral administration of free GA-A solution and GA-A-loaded NLC, which indicated significant difference (p < 0.05) in the rate and extent of absorption parameters of GA-A from the NLC formulation vis-à-vis the plain solution. Overall, the studies construed successful development and application of UPLC-MS/MS method for estimation of GA-A in the lipidic formulation.