Mass Spectrometry to Determine Intracellular Concentrations of Antiretroviral Drugs: From chemistry to clinical application

Around 1995 – 1996, treatment options for patients infected with the human immunodefiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) 1, 2, improved dramatically. Therapy with a combination of several classes of antiretroviral drugs resulted in a sustained suppression of HIV replication, and changed HIV infection from a fatal disease to a chronic disease. This cocktail of drugs, which is still widely used today, normally includes one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) or one HIV protease inhibitor with two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). This therapy, however, does not cure HIV infection and life-long treatment is needed to suppress the virus. Although this therapy resulted in a significant decrease in HIV-related morbidity and mortality 3‑5, drug-toxicity and emerge of drug-resistant HIV strains were and remain significant problems associated with antiretroviral therapy.

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