Stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of cortisol, cortisone, prednisolone and prednisone in plasma.

A capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous determination of cortisol, cortisone, prednisolone and prednisone in human plasma is described. [1,1,19,19,19-2H5]Cortisol, [1,1,19,19,19-2H5]cortisone, [1,19,19,19-2H4]prednisolone and [1,19,19,19-2H4]prednisone were used as internal standards. Formation of the bismethylenedioxy-3-heptafluoro-n-butyryl (BMD-HFB) derivatives made possible the separation of the four corticosteroids with good gas chromatographic behaviour. The new double derivatization has been demonstrated to be of value for sensitive and selective quantification by this technique. Detection was performed by monitoring the molecular ion (M+) of the BMD-HFB derivatives for cortisone and prednisolone, the [M - 18]+ ion for cortisol, and the [M - 30]+ ion for prednisone. The method requires no complex corrections for contributions and provides good accuracy and precision.     

Enhanced stability of surfactant-based semipermanent wall coatings in capillary electrophoresis using oppositely charged surfactant

Semipermanent surfactant coatings are effective for the prevention of wall adsorption of proteins in CE. However, they often suffer from their unsatisfactory coating stability as they essentially degrade from the capillary walls after the surfactants are removed from the buffer. In this paper, we proposed a facile and universal method to improve the stability of semipermanent surfactant coatings based on addition of an oppositely charged surfactant into the coating. Didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) and a gemini surfactant, 18-6-18, were used as the model semipermanent coatings, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was chosen as their oppositely charged surfactant. SDS can strongly alter the packing parameter P of the cationic surfactants, and consequently mediates the coating stability. With the increase of SDS concentration in coating, the coating stability first dramatically increases due to the enlarged P, and then decreases due to the weakness of electrostatic interaction between the capillary wall and surfactant coating. At the proper SDS concentration, very stable coatings can be obtained that, even after rinsing under 138 kPa for 60 min, the reversed electroosmotic flow (EOF) only decreases by 3.6%. These SDS-enhanced coatings show excellent stability and reproducibility in protein separation (RSD of migration time <1.1% for run-to-run assay, n=9). Also, the high separation efficiency (>500,000 plates/m) and fine recovery of tested proteins indicate that these coatings are powerful in wall adsorption suppression. Finally, we found that the separation efficiency of protein was a more exact indicator for the coating stability than the traditional EOF magnitude.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography of corticosteroids. Effect of surfactants and cyclodextrins on the separation selectivity

The separation of neutral hydrophobic corticosteroids (cortisone, cortisone acetate, hydrocortisone, hydrocortisone acetate, prednisolone and prednisolone acetate) by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was studied. In the preparation of microemulsion, heptane was the solvent, n-butanol the co-surfactant and, as anionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or taurodeoxycholic acid sodium salt (STDC) were employed. Using an acidic running buffer, (phosphate pH 2.5) a strong suppression of the electroosmotic flow (EOF) was observed; this resulted in a fast anodic migration of the analytes partitioned into the negatively charged microemulsion droplets. Under these conditions, STDC showed better separation of corticosteroids than the conventional SDS; however, the use of a single anionic surfactant did not provide the required selectivity. The addition of the neutral surfactant polyoxyethylene glycol octadecyl ether (Brij 76) significantly altered the migration of each analytes allowing a better tuning of separation; however, in order to obtain adequate resolution between couples of adjacent critical peaks, the addition of neutral cyclodextrins (CDs) was found to be essential. This apparently complex system (CD-MEEKC), was optimized by studying the effect of the most important parameters affecting separation: STDC concentration, Brij 76 concentration, nature and concentration of cyclodextrins. Following a rational step-by-step approach, the optimised conditions providing the complete separation of the analytes were found to be: 4.0% STDC, 2.5% Brij 76, 6.6% n-butanol, 1.36% heptane and 85.54% of a solution 5 mM beta-CD in 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5). The optimized system was preliminary applied to the detection of corticosteroids related substances at impurity level and it could be considered a useful orthogonal alternative to HPLC methods.     

Simultaneous Determination of Free Cortisol,Cortisone and their Tetrahydrometabolites in Urine by Single Solvent Extraction and Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A fast, efficient and low-cost high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry methodology was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of free urinary cortisone, cortisol and their tetrahydro-metabolites. The developed method comprises a simple liquid-liquid extraction with CH₂Cl_2, followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) with electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive mode. The baseline chromatographic separation of the analytes, including the stereoisomers tetrahydrocortisol (THF) and allo-THF, was achieved on a Hypersil Gold C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.05%v/v formic acid in water—acetonitrile, using a gradient elution program. The influence of the mobile phase composition and the ESI parameters on the sensitivity of the method was extensively studied. Sample preparation was also optimized, testing two techniques: solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Recoveries ranged from 74.7% (a-THF) to 93.5% (cortisol) and the method limits of detection (MLD) ranged from 0.34?ng mL^?1 (cortisol) to 1.37?ng mL^?1 (THF). Intra- and inter-day coefficient of variation of the assay varied from1.5% (allo-THF) to 13% (tetrahydrocortisone) and from 3.6% (allo-THF) to 14.9% (tetrahydrocortisone), respectively. The method was applied for the analysis of urine samples from 53 healthy individuals with a mean age of 13.96?years in order to estimate the concentration of the five corticosteroids and the ratio of the metabolites. Associations between urinary cortisol/cortisone and serum cortisol/cortisone values were also characterized.     

Determination of free cortisol and free cortisone in human urine by on-line turbulent flow chromatography coupled to fused-core chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (TFC–HPLC–MS/MS)

Urinary free cortisol and urinary free cortisone are decisive markers for the diagnosis of syndromes related to the dysfunction of the adrenal gland or to evaluate certain enzymatic disorders. Here, we present a new method, designed for routine laboratory use, which enables quick determination of these analytes with minor sample workup. Turbulent flow chromatography shortens sample preparation, and connection to a fused-core particle-packed column (rugged amide-embedded C18 phase) permits a rapid and effective separation of the analytes, as well as additional separation from other related and isobaric compounds present in urine. Urinary isobaric compounds were successfully identified. The method requires only 100 μl of urine supernatant per sample. The total time between injections is 9.5 min. The solvents used for both turbulent and analytical chromatography are water and methanol, and the relatively low flows needed during the method resulted in an extended life of the columns. Linearity showed a R ²?>?0.994. Limit of detection and limit of quantification are 0.5 and 1.0 ng/ml for cortisone and 1.0 and 2.0 ng/ml for cortisol. Recoveries ranged from 99.7 to 109.1 % for cortisone and from 98.7 to 102.9 % for cortisol. Accuracy values (relative errors) for intra- and inter-assay experiments were always below 8 %, whereas precision (percent CV) ranged from 3.7 to 10.7 %. No matrix effects were detected during the validation process. The reproducibility for each analyte’s retention time was excellent, with a coefficient of variation always below 0.2 %. The final validation step included the study of urine samples from healthy children and from children previously diagnosed with corticoidal disorders. The high selectivity achieved enables quick data handling.     

Determination of M+4 stable isotope labeled cortisone and cortisol in human plasma by microElution solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive microElution solid-phase extraction (SPE) liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of M+4 stable isotope labeled cortisone and cortisol in human plasma. In this method, M+4 cortisone and M+4 cortisol were extracted from 0.3 mL of human plasma samples using a Waters Oasis HLB 96-well microElution SPE plate using 70 microL methanol as the elution solvent, and chromatographed on a Waters Symmetry C18 column (4.6 x 50 mm, 3.5 microm). M+9 cortisone and M+9 cortisol were used as the internal standards. A PE Sciex API 4000 tandem mass spectrometer interfaced with the liquid chromatograph via a turboionspray source was used for mass analysis and detection. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM) of precursor --> product ion transitions were monitored at m/z 365.2 [M+H](+) --> 167.0 and at m/z 367.3 [M+H](+) --> 125.1 for M+4 cortisone and M+4 cortisol, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation was 0.1 ng mL(-1) and the linear calibration range was from 0.1 to 100 ng mL(-1) for both analytes. This method demonstrated to be very reproducible and reliable.     

胶束反相高效液相色谱最佳化研究

本文介绍以YWG-C_(18)为固定相,十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)胶束溶液为移动相,探讨了SDS浓度和柱温对胶束反相高效液相色谱分离最佳化的影响。测定了胶束体系中苯胺的热力学函数ΔH~0值及SDS的临界胶束浓度(C.M.C.),还讨论了非极性和极性溶质的保留机理。     

Simultaneous determination of cortisol and cortisone in human plasma by stable-isotope dilution mass spectrometry.

A method for the simultaneous determination of cortisol and cortisone in human plasma was developed using capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring. [2H5]Cortisol and [2H5]cortisone were used as internal standards. Cortisol and cortisone in plasma were determined from the peak-height ratios of the [M-31] fragment ions of the methoxime-trimethylsilyl derivatives of cortisol and [2H5]cortisol (m/z 605 and 610) and of cortisone and [2H5]cortisone (m/z 531 and 536). Sensitivity, specificity, precision, accuracy and reproducibility of the method were demonstrated to be satisfactory for measuring the circulating concentrations of cortisol and cortisone.     

Separation of exogenous and endogenous steroid hormones by micellar high-performance thin-layer chromatography

The conditions for the separation of prednisolone, dexamethasone, cortisol, cortisone, and cortisone acetate are selected using high-performance thin-layer chromatography on PTSKh-AF-V-UF plates with a 12 mM aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate as a micellar mobile phase. The hormones are identified under UV radiation (254 nm).     

Determination of food colorants by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) method was developed to analyze and detect eight food colorants (tartrazine, fast green FCF, brilliant blue FCF, allura red AC, indigo carmine, sunset yellow FCF, new coccine, and carminic acid), which are commonly used as food additives in various food products. The effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant, organic modifier, cosurfactant, and oil were examined in order to optimize the separation. The amount of organic modifier (acetonitrile) and SDS surfactant were determined as apparent influences on the separation resolution while the type of oil and cosurfactant rarely affected the separation selectivity of the eight colorants. A highly efficient MEEKC separation method, where the eight colorants were separated with baseline resolution within 14 min, was achieved by using a microemulsion solution of pH 2.0 containing 3.31% SDS, 0.81% octane, 6.61% 1-butanol, and 10% acetonitrile. This optimal MEEKC method has a higher separation efficiency and similar detection limit when compared to conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE) method. Furthermore, a sample pretreatment is rarely needed when this MEEKC technique is used to analyze colorants in food products, whereas a suitable sample pretreatment (for example solid-phase extraction) has to be employed prior to CE separation in order to eliminate matrix interferences resulting from the constituents of the food sample.     

LC–MS/MS Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Free Urinary Steroids

Cortisol homeostasis is implicated in hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Two enzymes modulate cortisol availability; 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) preferentially converts inactive cortisone to cortisol, whereas 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) converts cortisol to cortisone. In contrast, 5α and 5β reductases inactivate cortisol by conversion to its tetrahydrometabolites: tetrahydrocortisol, allo-tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone. A subtle local increase in cortisol can be detected by measuring 24-h urine metabolites, LC–MS/MS being the reference method. The 11β-HSD2 activity is assessed based on the cortisol/cortisone ratio, and the 11β-HSD1 activity on the (tetrahydrocortisol + allo-tetrahydrocortisol)/tetrahydrocortisone ratio. To better understand hypertension and/or metabolic syndrome pathogenesis a method for simultaneous determination of cortisol, cortisone, tetrahydrocortisol, allo-tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone was developed and validated in an LC coupled with the new detector AB Sciex QTrap^® 4500 tandem mass spectrometer. The steroids were extracted from 1 mL urine, using cortisol-D4 as internal standard. The quantification range was 0.1–120 ng/mL for cortisol and cortisone, and 1–120 ng/mL for tetrahydrometabolites, with >89 % recovery for all analytes. The coefficient of variation and accuracy was <10 %, and 85–105 %, respectively. Our LC–MS/MS method is accurate and reproducible in accordance with Food and Drug Administration guidelines, showing good sensitivity and recovery. This method allows the assessment of 11β-HSD2 and 11β-HSD1 activities in a single analytical run providing an innovative tool to explain etiology of misclassified essential hypertension and/or metabolic syndrome.     

Micro determination of cortisol and cortisone in umbilical cord blood by chemiluminescent high‐performance liquid chromatography

A simple, sensitive and specific chemiluminescent high‐performance liquid chromatography method, based on the luminol reaction, for determination of serum cortisol and cortisone, was established. In infants, placental 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme (11β‐HSD2) activity may affect adrenal function early after birth. The cortisol–cortisone ratio of serum concentrations in umbilical cord blood is an indicator of placental 11β‐HSD2 activity. The optimum conditions for the luminol reaction were determined to be 1.5 mM luminol, 0.6 M sodium hydroxide, 0.15 mm potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) and 200 mM potassium hexacyanoferrate (II). The calibration curves for cortisol and cortisone exhibited good linearity. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves were 0.996. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions were in the ranges: cortisol 7.0–12.2 and 4.4–9.2%, cortisone 5.3–7.0 and 6.2–9.9%. The recoveries of these steroids were in the ranges: cortisol 97–105%, cortisone 94–102%. The limits of detection were as follows: cortisol, 0.17 μg/dl; cortisone 0.15 μg/dl. This assay could be successfully applied to determination of the cortisol–cortiosone ratio of serum concentrations in umbilical cord bloods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous Determination of Cortisol,Cortisone, and 6β-Hydroxycortisol in Human Urine by UPLC with UV Detector and Application to Determine Diurnal Variations

In the present studies, a simple rapid ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method with UV detection for the simultaneous determination of cortisol, cortisone and 6β-hydroxycortisol in human urine was developed. The three analytes and the internal standard dexamethasone were separated on a Waters Acquity UPLC-Tunable UV system with an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm ID, 1.7 μm) using a gradient elution of methanol and water (containing 0.01% formic acid) with a run time of 7 min. The method was accurate and precise, over the ranges of 5–200 ng mL⁻¹ for cortisol, and 10–1,000 ng mL⁻¹ for both cortisone and 6β-hydroxycortisol, and showed good linearity (r ² > 0.999). This method was applied for the measurement of cortisol, cortisone and 6β-hydroxycortisol in samples collected over different periods as a tool to assess the activity of CYP3A and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzymes.

     

Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography of Cephalosporin Antibiotics

A simple micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) method is described for the simultaneous separation of twelve cephalosporin antibiotics. The separation was performed in a phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 6.6) with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (0.1 M) as an anionic surfactant. The complete separation of twelve cephalosporins was attained in 36 min. Application of the method to the quantitative analysis of cefuroxime, cephalexin, cephapirin and cephradine in pharmaceutical preparations was demonstrated.     

Automated direct high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for estetrol, estriol, cortisone and cortisol in serum and amniotic fluid.

An automated direct assay for the simultaneous determination of unconjugated estetrol, estriol, cortisone and cortisol in serum and amniotic fluid, using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection and ultraviolet detection, has been developed. The analysis time is ca. 1 h. This system offers good reproducibility with low coefficients of variation (estetrol, 2.3%; estriol, 2.3%; cortisone, 2.6%; cortisol, 1.9%). Detection limits are low enough for routine determinations (estetrol and estriol, 150 pg; cortisone and cortisol, 5 ng). Comparison of the values measured by the present method and by radioimmunoassay revealed significant correlations for estetrol (r = 0.787, p less than 0.01), estriol (r = 0.957, p less than 0.01), cortisone (r = 0.956, p less than 0.01) and cortisol (r = 0.865, p less than 0.01). This system proved to be valuable in monitoring feto-placental function.     

Thin-Layer Chromatographic Competitive Protein-Binding Assay for Cortisol and Cortisone, and its Application to Urine Samples from Healthy Men Undergoing Water Diuresis

Specific and rapid determination of free cortisol (compound F) and cortisone (compound E) in human urine has been achieved by concentration of the urine samples, liquid–liquid extraction of the concentrated samples, thin-layer chromatography of ethanolic extracts on aluminium foil-backed silica gel 60 TLC plates, location of the steroids under UV light, elution of cortisol and cortisone from sections of the plates with phosphate buffer, and measurement by competitive protein-binding assay. Chicken serum was used as the source of corticosteroid binding globulin, because it binds cortisol and cortisone with similar high affinity. The method combining thin-layer chromatography and competitive protein-binding assay is easy to perform, specific, sensitive, and quite rapid. Free cortisol and cortisone were measured in the urine of male individuals who abstained from water intake for 2 h or who ingested 1 L of water. The results show, for the first time, that short-term water diuresis markedly increases urinary free cortisone excretion, supporting our previous hypothesis that its excretion is positively correlated with urine volume, i.e. with the volume of 24-h urine samples.     

Electrophoretic separations in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchips using a mixture of ionic and zwitterionic surfactants

The use of mixtures of ionic and zwitterionic surfactants in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchips is reported. The effect of surfactant concentration on electroosmotic flow (EOF) was studied for a single anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS), a single zwitterionic surfactant (N-tetradecylammonium-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate, TDAPS), and a mixed SDS/TDAPS surfactant system. SDS increased the EOF as reported previously while TDAPS showed an initial increase in EOF followed by a reduction at higher concentrations. When TDAPS was added to a solution containing SDS, the EOF decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. The EOF for all three surfactant systems followed expected pH trends, with increasing EOF at higher pH. The mixed surfactant system allowed tuning of the EOF across a range of pH and concentration conditions. After establishing the EOF behavior, the adsorption/desorption kinetics were measured and showed a slower adsorption/desorption rate for TDAPS than SDS. Finally, the separation and electrochemical detection of model catecholamines in buffer and reduced glutathione in red blood cell lysate using the mixed surfactant system were explored. The mixed surfactant system provided shorter analysis times and/or improved resolution when compared to the single surfactant systems.     

An HPLC method for the determination of the free cortisol/cortisone ratio in human urine

The measurement of the urinary free cortisol-cortisone ratio has been reported to be a sensitive indicator of renal 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11 beta-HSD 2) activity. This converts biologically active cortisol to inactive cortisone. A decrease in its activity (e.g. through disease or inhibition caused by a therapeutic agent or a foodstuff) may increase cortisol levels and susceptibility towards hypertension. The method presented here uses a simple isocratic tandem column HPLC system. The method has been validated and found to be robust and reproducible. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was found to be 10 ng/mL for both cortisol and cortisone. Samples of urine (n = 99) from patients, most of whom were on complex combinations of drugs, were analyzed and 92% of samples were found to give successful results with this method (cortisol and cortisone above LLOQ). The ratio ranged from 0.07 to 5.61. No interferences were noted from the drugs that the patients were taking. It was also found that a morning spot urine sample gave comparable results to 24 h collection samples, thus making sample collection much easier.     

Phase-transfer catalytic determination of phenols as methylated derivatives by gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass-selective detection

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatographic (MEEKC) method was developed for the separation of six catechins, specific marker phytochemicals of Cistus species. The MEEKC method involved the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, heptane as organic solvent and butan-1-ol as co-solvent. In order to have a better stability of the studied catechins, the separation was performed under acidic conditions (pH 2.5 phosphate buffer). The effects of SDS concentration and of the amount of organic solvent and co-solvent on the analyte resolution were evaluated. The optimized conditions (heptane 1.36% (w/v), SDS 2.31% (w/v), butan-1-ol 9.72% (w/v) and 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) 86.61% (w/v)) allowed a useful and reproducible separation of the studied analytes to be achieved. These conditions provided a different separation profile compared to that obtained under conventional micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MECK) using SDS. The method was validated and applied to the determination of catechin and gallocatechin in lyophilized extracts of Cistus incanus and Cistus monspeliensis.     

Separation of corticosteroids by microemulsion EKC with diethyl L-tartrate as the oil phase

A novel microemulsion based on a mixture of diethyl L-tartrate (DET) and SDS was developed for the microemulsion EKC (MEEKC) determination of structurally related steroids. The system consisted of 0.5% w/w DET, 1.7% w/w SDS, 1.2% w/w 1-butanol, 89.6% w/w phosphate buffer (40 mM, pH 7.0), and 7% w/w ACN. With an applied voltage of +10 kV, a baseline separation of aldosterone (A), cortisone acetate (CA), dexamethasone (D), hydrocortisone (H), hydrocortisone acetate (HA), prednisolone (P), prednisolone acetate (PA), prednisone (Ps), triamcinolone (T), and triamcinolone acetonide (TA) could be achieved. Under the optimized conditions, the reproducibility of the retention time (n = 4) for most of the compounds was less than +/-0.8% with the exception of A, Ps, and T. The average number of theoretical plates was 18 800 plates/m. The results were compared with those achieved by the modified micellar EKC (MEKC). MEEKC showed obvious advantages over MEKC for the separation of highly hydrophobic substances. To further evaluate the system, we tested the MEEKC method by analyzing corticosteroids in a spiked urine sample.