Ahn To develop a high resolution HPLC method for the determination of ondansetron in human plasma and to study the pharmacokinetics of ondansetron in orally disintegrating tablets. Methods HPLC determination involved liquid-liquid extraction, separation on a CN column and ultraviolet detection at 310 ran with granisetron as an internal standard. Pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence of ondansetron in orally disintegrating tablets by direct compression and conventional 8 mg tablets were evaluated and compared in 20 healthy human male volunteers after a single oral dose in a randomized cross-over study. Results The limit of quantification was 0.25 ng· mL^-1. The recovery was about 85 % or over for ondan setron and about 90% for internal standard. Linearity was good within the concentration range of 0.5 - 50 ng·mL^-1 with r^2 ranging from 0.997 1 to 0.999 9. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged from 1.78% to 2.38% and 3.88% -5.19%, respectively. Accuracies for spiked concentrations of 2.0, 10.0, and 30.0 ng·mL^-1 were 104.7% ±4.4%, 102.2% ± 1.1%, and99.51% ±2.34%, respectively. Pharmacokinetic parameters of AUCo-t, AUCo-∞ , Cmax, Tmax, and T1/2 were 230.2 ± 78.0 ng·h·L^-1 , 265.2± 101.5 ng·h·mL^-1, 35.67 ± 8.94 ng·mL^-l, 1.51 ±0.79 h, and 5.00± 1.41 h for orally disintegrating tablets, respectively. The analysis of variance did not show any significant difference between orally disintegrating tablets and conventional tablets, and 90% confidence intervals fell within the acceptable range for bioequivalence. Conclusion High resolution HPLC method has been set up and applied in pharmacokinetic evaluation of ondansetron in orally disintegrating tablets.
