Application of capillary zone electrophoresis in the separation and determination of the principal gum opium alkaloids

We describe the use of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) for the qualitative and quantitative determination of major alkaloids (i.e., thebaine, codeine, morphine, papavarine and narcotine) in gum opium involving the analysis of alkaloids without derivatization or purification. Three extractions with 2.5% w/v aqueous acetic acid quantitatively extracted major alkaloids. The separation was carried out by CZE using a 7:3 mixture of methanol and sodium acetate (100 mM, pH 3.1) at a potential of 15 kV, with UV detection at 224 nm. Spiking of pure reference alkaloid standards in the opium extract was used for peak identification. The influences of buffer composition, pH and voltage on the separation of alkaloids were studied. The detection limit of each alkaloid dissolved in methanol was found to be 850 ng/mL (morphine), 450 ng/mL (thebaine), 500 ng/mL (codeine), 550 ng/mL (papaverine), and 500 ng/mL (narcotine) at an injection pressure of 300 mbar (injection volume, 4 nL) with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1. The external standard method was used for the quantification of alkaloids. The calibration plot was based on linear regression analysis. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for peak area and migration time was in the range of 1.03-3.56% and 0.34-0.69%, respectively. Percentage compositions (g%) of opium alkaloids in five gum opium samples were found to be in the range of 14.45-15.95 (morphine), 2.0-3.45 (codeine), 1.32-2.73 (thebaine), 0.92-2.37 (papavarine), and 3.85-5.77 (narcotine). The method developed is suitable for the routine analysis of major gum opium alkaloids in samples of forensic importance.     

HPLC separation of opium alkaloids on porous and non-porous stationary phases

Summary A new reversed-phase (RP) HPLC method has been developed and validated for the separation of the main opium alkaloids morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine and noscapine on a non-porous (micropellicular) stationary phase. On this phase quantification of the compounds by internal standardization with brucine was achieved extremely rapidly, in ca 1.5 min, only. Thus, the analysis time for the opium alkaloids was approximately one tenth of that on porous stationary phases. Different opium samples were investigated using non-porous and porous packings. The correlation between the results was excellent. Presented at Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 1–3, 1999     

Principal opium alkaloids as possible biochemical markers for the source identification of Indian opium

A total of 124 opium samples originating from different licit opium growing divisions of India were analyzed for their principal alkaloid (thebaine, codeine, morphine, papaverine, and narcotine) content by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) without derivatization or purification. Absence of papaverine in Bareilly, Tilhar, and most of the samples originating from Kota is a significant observation in relation to the source of Indian opium. Multiple discriminant analysis was applied to the quantitative principal alkaloid data to determine an optimal classifier in order to evaluate the source of Indian opium. The predictive value based on the discriminant analysis was found to be 85% in relation to the source of opium and the study also revealed that all the principal alkaloids have to be analyzed for source identification of Indian opium. Chemometrics performed with principal alkaloids analytical data was used successfully in discriminating the licit opium growing divisions of India into three major groups, viz., group I, II, and III. The methodology developed may find wide forensic application in identifying the source of licit or illicit opium originating from India, and to differentiate it from opium originating from other opium producing countries.     

Use of dynamically coated capillaries with added cyclodextrins for the analysis of opium using capillary electrophoresis

A rapid, precise, accurate, and robust method using capillary electrophoresis (CE) with dynamically coated capillaries for the analysis of the major opium alkaloids in opium is presented. Dynamic coating of the capillary surface is accomplished using a commercially available reagent kit (polycation coating followed by polyanion coating). The addition of dual cyclodextrins (hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin and dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin) to the run buffer imparts excellent selectivity for the opium alkaloids. For the determination of morphine, papaverine, codeine, noscapine and thebaine in opium gum and opium latex samples (using tetracaine as an internal standard) good agreement with values obtained by gradient high-performance liquid chromatography is obtained. Compared to the latter technique, CE affords better resolution with significantly faster analysis time (12 min versus 29 min). Dynamically coated capillaries, which give rise to a relatively high and robust electroosmotic flow (EOF) at the background electrolyte pH of 2.5, allow for rapid analysis and excellent migration time and peak area precision (RSDs < or = 0.12% and < or = 1.2%, respectively). Reproducible separations (relative migration times) for over 500 samples have been obtained on a single capillary. The nature of the injection solvent, the injection time and the contents of the waste vials have a profound effect on the pressure injection precision of the relatively hydrophobic solutes. The CE conditions reported in this study are also applicable to the analysis of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) exhibits.     

毛细管电泳叠加对比法测定阿片粉中吗啡的含量

 用毛细管区带电泳 ,以叠加对比法对阿片粉中的吗啡进行了定量分析 ,样品的回收率为 10 0 .6 % ,峰迁移时间的相对标准偏差 (RSD)不大于 2 .4 % ,相对迁移时间的RSD不大于 1.1% ,相对峰面积的RSD不大于 0 .5 1%。与内标对比工作曲线法作了比较 ,实验表明两种分析方法的结果无显著性差异 ,叠加对比法具有简便、快速、准确的优点 ,可用于样品中有效成分的快速定量。     

Differentiation of opium and poppy straw using capillary electrophoresis and pattern recognition techniques

Opium samples from four different locations and poppy straw from different plant varieties have been assayed using micellar capillary electrophoresis incorporating a sweeping technique. Individual alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine, thebaine, oripavine, reticuline and narceine) were quantitatively determined in the different samples by a validated capillary electrophoresis method. Unsupervised pattern recognition of the opium samples and the poppy straw samples using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), showed distinct clusters. Supervised pattern recognition using soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) was performed to show individual groupings and allow unknown samples to be classified according to the models built using the CZE assay results.     

公安办案中鸦片的前处理方法研究

确定适合公安办案的鸦片样品前处理的首选方法,为鸦片类收缴毒品的提取、检测提供参考。分别采用不同前处理方法提取鸦片中吗啡组分,采用高效液相色谱法检测,依据经济成本、提取效率、回收率等多种因素选定前处理方法,并对该方法进行优化。公安办案中对于鸦片的前处理方法首选水溶解法,固相萃取法可以作为水溶解法的补充。采用优化后的水溶–固相萃取方法,国产固相萃取小柱可以得到98.7%的回收率。进口固相萃取小柱的萃取效率略优于国产柱,而国产固相萃取小柱也能够满足检测要求。     

Separation and determination of five major opium alkaloids with mixed mode of hydrophilic/cation-exchange monolith by pressurized capillary electrochromatography

A method for the separation and determination of five major opium alkaloids (narcotine, papaverine, thebaine, codeine, and morphine) in pericarpium papaveris by pressurized CEC (pCEC) with monolithic column has been developed. Under the optimum condition, linear calibration ranges of narcotine, papaverine, thebaine, codeine, and morphine were obtained as 2-85, 2-85, 5-75, 10-65, and 10-65 microg/mL, respectively. LODs of these analytes were 1.5-6.0 microg/mL. The RSD (n=7) of the migration time and peak area were 1.94-5.24 and 4.05-8.21%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of pericarpium papaveris samples. Average recoveries of 79.0-95.9% at different fortified levels of alkaloids were achieved with RSD less than 4.6%. Meanwhile, the mechanism of the separation of the alkaloids on the monolithic column was also discussed. The result showed that the separation of alkaloids was mainly based on the mixed mode of hydrophilic interaction (HI) and cation exchange.     

The use of CE-electrochemiluminescence with ionic liquid for the determination of bioactive constituents in Chinese traditional medicine

CE / tris(2,2-bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)(3) (2+)) electrochemiluminescence (ECL), CE-ECL, with an ionic liquid (IL) detection system was established for the determination of bioactive constituents in Chinese traditional medicine opium poppy which contain large amounts of coexistent substances. A minimal sample pretreatment which involves a one-step extraction approach avoids both sample loss and environmental pollution. As the nearby hydroxyl groups in some alkaloid such as morphine may react with borate to form complexes and IL, as a high-conductivity additive in running buffer, could cause an enhanced field-amplified effect of electrokinetic injection. Running buffer containing 25 mM borax-8 mM 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMImBF(4))IL (pH 9.18) was used which resulted in significant changes in separation selectivity and obvious enhancement in ECL intensities for those alkaloids with similar structures. Sensitive detection could be achieved when the distance between the Pt working electrode and the outlet of separation capillary was set at 150 microm and the stainless steel cannula was fixed approximately 1 cm away from the outlet of the capillary. Quantitative analysis of four alkaloids was achieved at a detection voltage of 1.2 V and a separation voltage of 15 kV in less than 7 min. Detection limits of thebaine, codeine, morphine, and narcotine were 2.5 x 10(-7), 2.5 x 10(-7), 1 x 10(-9) and 1 x 10(-6) M(S/N = 3), respectively. The method was successfully applied to determine the amounts of opium alkaloids in real poppy samples.     

High-throughput analytical strategy with combined planar and column liquid chromatography for improvement of the poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) with a high alkaloid content

Summary Poppy capsules with a high alkaloid content are of great importance to the pharmaceutical industry, because approximately 35 000 tons of straw (capsule with short stem), 350 tons of straw concentrate, and 1000 tons of opium are used annually for extraction of morphinane alkaloids. The combined use of four different liquid chromatographic methods is proposed for determination of alkaloid content. In the first, semi-quantitative, method screening is performed by multilayer overpressured-layer chromatography (MLOPLC) in which 142 samples are separated on silica as stationary phase within 5 s per sample. If the morphine content is >1.3% it is then measured quantitatively by NPHPTLC (normal-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography) combined with densitometric evaluation. A second, quantitative, determination is always performed by means of a rapid RPHPLC (reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography) method in which the separation time is less than 4 min per sample. If the difference between the alkaloid content measured by use of the last two methods is >12% a confirmatory RPHPLC method with increased selectivity and analysis time (15 min) must be used. The high throughput strategy presented has been used for analysis of ca. 15 000 samples per year, per genotype. Systematic selection, cross-breeding, and this analytical strategy with combined planar and column liquid chromatographic methods resulted in the discovery of two new candidate cultivars with high morphine (ca. 2%) and thebaine (ca. 1.5%) content. Presented at Balaton Symposium '01 on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 2–4, 2001.     

海洛因滥用者唾液中毒品代谢物的SPE-GC/MS-SIM分析

本文首先考查了不同类型不同厂家的固相萃取柱的萃取效果,采用提取效果较好的50 mg/mL的Clean-screen CSDAUL01混合型强阳离子固相萃取柱,对唾液中的吗啡、可待因、6-单乙酰吗啡等3种鸦片类毒品进行提取后,将提取液吹干;再经MBTFA衍生化后,进行GC/MS-SIM检测。以乙基吗啡为内标,3种毒品的线性相关系数均大于0.99,线性范围为10～1000 ng/mL,相对回收率分别为85%～110%、94%～107%和75%～92%;相对标准偏差小于10%。3种毒品的检测限分别为2 ng/mL、1 ng/mL和2 ng/mL。该方法灵敏度高、重现性好、操作简便,可用于鸦片类毒品滥用者及中毒者唾液中的毒品及其代谢物的检测。     

A rapid and reliable solid-phase extraction method for high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of opium alkaloids from papaver plants

A rapid and reliable solid-phase extraction method for HPLC analysis of opium alkaloids from Papaver plants was established. Fifty mg of dried and powdered plant sample was extracted with 5 ml of 5% acetic acid for 30 min under sonication. After centrifugation, 3 ml of the supernatant was loaded on a reversed-phase cation-exchange solid-phase extraction cartridge. After seriate washings with 0.1 M hydrochloric acid and methanol, alkaloids were eluted with a mixture of 28% ammonia and methanol (1:19). The eluate was concentrated under nitrogen stream at 40 degrees C and the residue was dissolved in 50% aqueous methanol for high performance liquid chromatographic analysis. With this solid-phase extraction method, the recovery of morphine, codeine, oripavine, thebaine, papaverine, noscapine and sanguinarine was from 99.94 to 112.18% when the standard alkaloids were added to the plant samples. Opium alkaloids of a variety of genus Papaver plants cultivated in a field and phytotron were analyzed by this method.     

SPE-GC/MS法检测人血中的鸦片类毒品

采用混合型强阳离子固相萃取柱（SPE）对血液中的吗啡、可待因、6-单乙酰吗啡3种鸦片类毒品进行提取,提取液吹干后,再用N-甲基-双三氟乙酰胺（MBTFA）衍生化,进行GC/MS-SIM检测。以乙基吗啡为内标,3种毒品检测的线性相关系数均大于0.99, 线性范围为10~1000μg/L,相对回收率分别为90%~116 %、90%~110%、79%~102 % ;日内和日间相对标准偏差分别小于10%和16%;检测限分别为1、0.5和3 μg/L。该方法灵敏度高、重现性好、操作简便,可用于鸦片类毒品滥用者或中毒者血液中的毒品及其代谢物的检测。     

A mass-spectrometric study of the aqueous solutions of opiates with their ionization in a collison nebulizer

It was found that the use of a Collison nebulizer as an ionization source for the mass-spectrometric analysis of the aqueous solutions of opium alkaloids makes it possible to determine opiates with the limits of detection of 8.8 × 10^–9, 8.83 × 10^–8, 1.6 × 10^–7, and 3.5 × 10^–8 M for papaverine, codeine, heroin, and morphine, respectively. The dependence of mass-spectrometric responses [(M + H)⁺ ions] on the concentrations of these compounds in water in a range from 10^–8 to 10^–3 M appears as a curve with a maximum; this is explained by the consideration of the most probable mechanisms of the ionization of drops on liquid spraying in a Collison nebulizer (a model of the destruction of a double electrical layer and a model of statistical fluctuations, which is also known as a model of symmetrical charging). The transformation of the mass spectrum of a mixture (1: 1: 1: 1) of morphine, codeine, papaverine, and heroin was studied on varying the concentration of this mixture in aqueous solution. Two samples of opium of Central-Asian origin were analyzed to test the applicability of ionization in a Collison nebulizer to the analysis of real test materials.     

Determination of the five major opium alkaloids by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on a base-deactivated stationary phase

Summary A reversed phase HPLC method for the separation of the five major alkaloids fromPapaver somniferum L., morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine and noscapine, has been developed and validated. By use of a basedeactivated silica-based stationary phase excellent peak shape was achieved for each substance. The five alkaloids were quantified by internal standardization within 20 min and with good precision. The method is applicable to opium and to poppy straw.     

Automated multiple development thin-layer chromatography for separation of opiate alkaloids and derivatives

There are three types of opiate alkaloids. First, the poppy alkaloids: morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine and papaverine; then, the semi-synthetic and synthetic derivatives used in therapy as antitussives and analgesics, such as pholcodine, ethylmorphine and dextromethorphan; at last narcotic compounds, diacetylmorphine (heroin) and opiates employed as substitutes in treatment of addiction: buprenorphine and methadone. For classical thin-layer chromatography (TLC) of opium alkaloids, it is necessary to use complex eluents with strong alkaline substances to obtain a clean separation between morphinan and isoquinoline compounds. This study purposes the planar chromatographic analysis of these substances by the automated multiple development (AMD) compared with results obtained by classical TLC method. The aim of this work was to achieve the best separation of these opiate alkaloids and derivatives by this modern technique of planar chromatography. The AMD system provided a clean separation for each of three opiates groups studied and the best results have been obtained with universal gradient: methanol 100, methanol-dichloromethane 50/50, dichloromethane 100, dichloromethane 100, hexane 100 for opium alkaloids and with gradient A: 5% of 28% ammonia in methanol 100, acetone 100, acetone 100, ethyl acetate-dichloromethane 50/50, dichloromethane 100 for antitussives and substitutes. Two reagents were used for the detection of alkaloids by spraying: Dragendorff and iodoplatinate reagents. The detection limits with these two reagents were 1 microg for ethylmorphine, thebaine, papaverine, codeine, and 2 microg for morphine and noscapine and other alkaloids.     

Quantitative evaluation of 28 mineral elements by inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry and its application in source identification of Indian opium

An analytical method based on inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) was developed for the determination of 28 mineral elements (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Sr, Cd, Ag, Ba, Pb, Bi Y, La, Ce, Nd, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) in Indian opium samples. The detection limits were found to be in the range of 0.0008-0.45 ng/mL. The recoveries of spiked samples for each element were found to be in the range of 83-106%, with a precision of less than 9%. A total of 124 opium samples from India were analyzed for the distribution pattern of the 28 mineral elements. Quantitative elemental data were subjected to chemometric analysis in order to determine an optimal classifier to evaluate the source of Indian opium. The study indicated that mineral elements might not be the suitable discriminators for the discrimination of licit opium-growing divisions of India. However, the methodology developed and the analytical data on elemental profile may find important forensic application in discriminating Indian opium with that of licit and illicit opium originating from different geographical regions of world.     

TurboFlow在线净化-超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆/复合线性离子阱质谱法快速测定食品中违禁添加的罂粟壳

采用在线净化-超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆/复合线性离子阱质谱(TF-UPLC-QTRAP MS)技术,建立了食品中吗啡、可待因、蒂巴因、罂粟碱、那可丁和原阿片碱6种罂粟壳标志物的快速确证检测方法。样品经0.10 mol/L盐酸提取、正己烷脱脂后,直接注入TF-UPLC-QTRAP MS进行分析。对影响净化的条件如TF-净化柱、流动相、洗脱溶液等条件进行了优化。确定以TurboFlow Cyclone MCX柱作为净化柱,Acquity BEH C_(18)柱为分析柱,甲醇-0.05%(体积分数)氨水溶液作为流动相,电喷雾正离子模式下多反应监测-触发增强子离子(MRM-IDA-EPI)扫描方式检测,以溶剂标准内标法定量。方法的检出限为0.05~0.5μg/kg,定量限为0.2~2μg/kg。平均加标回收率为81.1%~98.6%,相对标准偏差为2.9%~15.7%(n=6)。该方法灵敏、准确,适用于食品中非法添加罂粟壳的检测,已应用于实际样品的测定。     

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid analysis using high‐resolution Orbitrap LC‐MSn

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) have profound implications on human health owing to their potent pharmacological properties. Notable naturally occurring BIAs are the narcotic analgesics morphine, the cough suppressant codeine, the potential anticancer drug noscapine, the muscle relaxant papaverine, and the antimicrobial sanguinarine, all of which are produced in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Thebaine, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of codeine and morphine, is used in the manufacture of semisynthetic opiates, including oxycodone and naloxone. As the only commercial source of pharmaceutical opiates, opium poppy has been the focus of considerable research to understand BIA metabolism in the plant. The elucidation of several BIA biosynthetic pathways has enabled the development of synthetic biology platforms aimed at the alternative commercial production of valuable phytochemicals in microorganisms. The detection and identification of BIA pathway products and intermediates in complex extracts is essential for the continuing advancement of research in plant specialized metabolism and microbial synthetic biology. Herein, we report the use of liquid chromatography coupled with linear trap quadrupole and high‐resolution Orbitrap multistage mass spectrometry to characterize 44 authentic BIAs using collision‐induced dissociation (CID), higher‐energy collisional dissociation (HCD), and pulsed Q collision‐induced dissociation (PQD) MS² fragmentation, with MS² CID followed by MS³ and MS⁴ fragmentation. Our deep library of diagnostic spectral data constitutes a valuable resource for BIAs identification. In addition, we identified 22 BIAs in opium poppy latex and roots extracts.     

Surface-Ionization Mass Spectrometry of Opium Alkaloids

Surface ionization of the opium alkaloids morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine, and narcotine was investigated by mass spectrometry. It was shown that the alkaloid molecules were ionized with high efficiency through surface ionization. The mass spectra of morphine, codeine, and thebaine exhibited series of lines for quasimolecular ions with elimination of up to nine H atoms from the opiates that was accompanied by heterogeneous aromatization of the rings and their skeletal rearrangement. The results were compared with GC-MS data from electron ionization.