Multidimensional high-performance liquid chromatography on Pinkerton ISRP and RP18 columns: direct serum injection to quantify creatinine.

A two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of creatinine with direct serum injection without sample pretreatment has been developed. The column-switching technique allowed a switch from columns packed with internal surface reversed-phase (ISRP) material to columns of almost any other material, even if the eluents necessary in a particular case do not appear to be directly compatible. A Pinkerton ISRP column, which stands out because of its very good stability when loaded with undiluted serum samples, was used as precolumn. The creatinine-containing fraction was switched to a reversed-phase Shandon RP18 column and was focused there by alteration of the eluent from pH 6.5 to phosphoric acid-ion-pair reagent. The separation occurs via a pH gradient, with ultraviolet detection at 234 nm. This method stands out particularly for its good long-term stability, simple sample handling without pretreatment, high selectivity, a broad linearity (0.3-30 mg/dl creatinine), good reproducibility (inter-assay coefficient of variation less than 3%) and high recovery (97-100%) relative to values obtained with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.     

Analysis of pharmaceutical preparations containing local anesthetics by micellar liquid chromatography and spectrophotometric detection

Summary An HPLC procedure for the determination of six local anesthetics, bupivacaine, lidocaine, mepivacaine, procaine, propanocaine and tetracaine, in pharmaceutical silane ODS-2 C₁₈ analytical column and spectrophotometric detection at 230 nm were used. The chromatographic tographic behaviour of local anesthetics with different micellar eluents of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) is described. Selection of the adequate composition of the micellar mobile phase (SDS and 1-propanol concentrations) for the analysis of pharmaceuticals was studied. Adequate retention was achieved with an eluent containing 0.15 M SDS +10% 1-propanol at pH 3. Application of the proposed method to the analysis of eight pharmaceutical formulations gave recoveries between 93 and 100.2% of the values declared by the manufacturers. The proposed procedure for the determination of local anesthetics is rapid, reliable and free from interferences.     

The Use of Internal Surface Reversed-Phase Packing for the Solid Phase Extraction of Drugs from Serum

Abstract

The utilization of Internal Surface Reversed Phase (ISRP) packing as a solid phase extraction (SPE) matrix was investigated. Evaluation of the relative retention of nineteen medicinal agents on ISRP material was monitored using HPLC. The effects of altering pH and/or buffer concentration on retention were further studied using verapamil, phenelzine and tamoxifen as model compounds. Spiked serum samples containing the model compounds plus amitriptyline were also subjected to ISRP-SPE and HPLC. Verapamil, phenelzine, and tamoxifen were all strongly retained on ISPR as pH increased. The buffer concentration of the sample was not as critical on retention of these compounds as pH. Verapamil was quantitatively recovered from spiked serum samples (103 /pm 8.5%, n = 6), with a limit of detection of 10 ng/mL using fluorescent detection (γex = 280 nm, γem = 310 nm). Amitriptyline recovery was also quantitative (99.0/pm 5.3%, n = 6), and its limit of detection was 10 ng\mL employing short wavelength UV detection (γ = 214 nm). The ISRP packing as an SPE matrix failed to adequately disrupt the binding of either phenelzine or tamoxifen from serum proteins; therefore, recoveries of these compounds were poor (<50%). A comparison of ISRP to conventional C18 and C2 SPE columns indicated that the ISRP packing eliminated interferences as well or better than the conventional columns.     

Rapid analysis of proteins and peptides by reversed-phase chromatography with polymeric micropellicular sorbents

Peptides and proteins were separated by reversed-phase chromatography on a 30 x 4.6 mm I.D. column packed with non-porous crosslinked polystyrene particles having a mean particle diameter of 3 micron and a rugulose surface. The polymeric support did swell slightly in organic solvents, but the estimated 5-8% change in particle diameter did not adversely affect the efficiency of the column which was used repeatedly with gradient elution from water to organic solvent under conditions typically employed in reversed-phase chromatography. In these experiments, the pH of the eluent was varied in a wide range in order to compare the effect of acidic and alkaline eluents on the separation of protein and complex peptide mixtures. The column showed no deterioration even after extensive exposure to alkaline mobile phases. The retention behavior of sixteen proteins having widely different pI values was studied as a function of the eluent pH. The chromatographic system exhibited large selectivity differences upon changing the pH of the eluent from 2 to 11. Analytical information about peptide and protein mixtures could therefore be enhanced by using eluents at the pH extremes. At the pH extremes of 2 and 11 peak sharpness and protein mass recovery were found to be superior to those obtained with neutral eluents. Usually the column temperature was held at 80 degrees C and typical analysis times ranged from 30 s to 10 min as illustrated by chromatograms of protein mixtures and by peptide maps. With regular use under such conditions the column showed no deterioration after three months.     

Analysis of carbamazepine in serum by liquid chromatography with direct sample injection and surfactant-containing eluents

Surfactant-containing eluents are evaluated for the analysis of carbamazepine in serum with conventional reversed-phase columns. Bovine serum was quantitatively eluted at the column void volume using surfactant concentrations in conventional reversed-phase eluents. The effect of pH, guard columns and column switching was evaluated with respect to separating and detecting clinical levels of the drug and its primary metabolite. Column lifetime was also investigated.     

Direct analysis of the dopamine agonist (-)-2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin hydrochloride in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography using two-dimensional column switching.

A reversed-phase, two-dimensional, liquid chromatographic method incorporating column switching and electrochemical detection was used for the direct analysis of the dopamine (D2) agonist (-)-2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin hydrochloride in plasma. Sample work-up consisted of addition of internal standard, filtration, then direct injection of the plasma sample onto an internal surface reversed-phase (ISRP) guard column where the dopamine agonist and internal standard were separated from plasma proteins. An automated pneumatic valve was then used to switch to a stronger eluent which stripped the retained substances from the ISRP support onto a C18 analytical column where the analytes were separated from endogenous biological interferences. A dual-electrode electrochemical detector was used to minimize interferences and provide the desired sensitivity. The method has a detection limit of 1.5 ng/ml and requires a total assay time of 20 min per plasma sample. The method is linear from 1.5 to 1000 ng/ml and yielded greater than 80% drug recovery for plasma concentrations greater than 10 ng/ml. Precision for the method at 100 ng/ml yielded a relative standard deviation of 4.4%. Reproducibility was within 6.5% on a 20 ng/ml spiked plasma sample assayed on different days by different people. The method has successfully been applied to human plasma samples and for pharmacokinetic studies in rats and monkeys.     

The determination of lactate,acetate, chloride and phosphate in an intravenous solution by non-suppressed ion chromatography

Summary The determination of acetate, lactate, chloride and phosphate in an intravenous solution is investigated using non-suppressed ion chromatography with indirect UV absorption detection. When phthalate eluents are used with low capacity anion-exchange columns, the above solute species cannot be resolved unless acetonitrile is added to the eluent. Optimum results are obtained with 0.3 mM phthalate (pH 6.0) containing 30% acetonitrile as eluent. The improved resolution with this eluent is attributed to the existence of a partial reversed-phase retention mechanism operating on the unfunctionalised portions of the styrene-divinylbenzene polymeric ion-exchange material.     

Simultaneous determination of 16 estrogens,dehydroepiandrosterone and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates in serum using sodium cholate micelle capillary electrophoresis

The simultaneous determination of 16 estrogens, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with sodium cholate micelle is reported. Sodium cholate, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and alpha-, beta-, gamma-cyclodextrins were studied as micelle reagents in the pH range of 7.0-10.0. Estrogens, DHEA and their glucuronide and sulfate conjugates were separated using a 50 cm x 50 microm capillary with 10 mM borate-phosphate buffer (pH 8.0) containing 50 mM sodium cholate as carrier. The method could simultaneously determine 1.0-1000 microg/mL of steroids and metabolites in 100 microL of serum by photometric detection at 214 nm within 14 min and 80 ng/mL steroids could be determined by using 2.0 mL of serum. The relative standards deviations were 6.7-7.7% at 10 microg/mL in serum. The recoveries were 89.1-92.0% with 10 microg/mL serum samples.     

Lipophilicity measurements of protonated basic compounds by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography : II. Procedure for the determination of a lipophilic index measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The retention behaviour of protonated basic compounds in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, using methanol-water mixtures as the eluent, is reported. A minimum is found in the relationship between the logarithm of the capacity factor (log k) and the percentage of methanol (x) in the eluent. The deviation from linearity is postulated to be caused by a dual retention mechanism, namely polar interactions between the solute and eluent molecules in water-poor eluents, and hydrophobic expulsion in water-rich ones. The influence of the pH, pK_a and lipophilicity on retention behaviour is also investigated.     

Application of size exclusion chromatography with surfactant eluent to the study of polymer–surfactant interactions: oligomeric and micellar chromatographic effects

Complexation of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) with a wide range of molecular weights of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) has been studied by size exclusion chromatography using aqueous SDS eluent. A multi-angle laser light scattering detector and a differential refractometer were applied to give direct measurement of the molecular weight of complexes without reference to elution volume, since the latter is not a reliable indicator of the complex size. Background light scattering from micellar eluents hampered quantitative size measurements, but was minimal in sub-micellar eluent, where saturated binding was observed for polymers larger than 1000 g mol⁻¹. Multiple peaks and voids were observed in the elution profiles of low molecular weight polymers (up to a mass of 600 g mol⁻¹) in eluent at micellar concentrations. Several sources contribute to this behavior, including micellar chromatographic separation of the PEG oligomers due to their different distribution coefficients between the micellar and water phases. Preliminary results are reported for distribution coefficients of individual oligomers in a 600 g mol⁻¹ PEG sample. Three distinct binding behaviors are observed with increasing degree of polymerization of PEG: no interaction for small glycols, equilibrium partitioning of intermediate oligomers in and out of micelles, and binding of micelles to the larger polymers.     

Separation by capillary zone electrophoresis of the active anthraquinone components of the Chinese herbPolygonum multiflorum Thunb

Summary An optimization strategy was applied to explore the capability of hybrid micellar eluents of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), using acetonitrile or pentanol as modifiers, to resolve mixtures of eleven steroids showing a wide range of hydrophobicity (clostebol acetate, dehydrotestosterone, dydrogesterone, medroxyprogesterone, medroxyprogesterone acetate, methandienone, methyltestosterone, progesterone, testosterone, testosterone enanthate and testosterone propionate). The accurate prediction of the retention behaviour of the steroids, with relative errors in the 0.8–1.7% and 0.4–2.9% ranges for SDS-acetonitrile and SDS-pentanol eluents, respectively, demonstrated the reliability of the methodology. Acetonitrile and pentanol had a complementary effect in these analyses. The elution strength of acetonitrile was weaker, but allowed higher efficiencies. A 0.094 M SDS-16% acetonitrile eluent separated seven steroids (dehydrotestosterone, dydrogesterone, medroxyprogesterone, medroxyprogesterone acetate, methandienone, methyltestosterone and testosterone) in 27 min, while the most hydrophobic steroids were strongly retained. In contrast, a 0.125 M SDS-5.8% pentanol eluent permitted the elution of a mixture of eight steroids (dehydrotestosterone, dydrogesterone, medroxyprogesterone acetate, methandienone, methyltestosterone, progesterone, testosterone enanthate and testosterone propionate) of diverse hydrophobicity in 14 min. With this eluent, however, the peaks of dehydrotestosterone-medroxyprogesterone and methandienone-testosterone were highly overlapping.     

Retention behaviour of metal complexes with 5-sulphoquinoline-8-ol in reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography

Summary The reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatographic behaviour of several metal complexes with 5-sulphoquinoline-8-ol (HQS) on an octadecyl-modified silica column was investigated by using a fluorescence detector. The aluminum complex gave two peaks on the chromatograms when eluents containing phosphate buffer were used. The effects of the pH of the eluent, HQS concentration, the nature of anions in the eluent, and the column temperature on the retention behaviour of the aluminum complex are discussed on the basis of the equilibria and the kinetics of the complexation of the aluminum ion with HQS and anions in the eluent. The equilibrium constant for the interconversion reaction between the two Al(III)-HQS species which correspond to the two peaks observed and the second stepwise formation constant for the Zn(II)-HQS complex were evaluated from the HPLC data obtained.     

The Internal Surface Reverse Phase. Concepts and Applications

Abstract

Patented in 1985, introduced commercially in 1986, internal-surface reversed phase (ISRP) supports have attracted wide attention. ISRP supports allow the analysis of serum and plasma samples by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) without requiring the prior removal of protein. Proteins cannot enter the pores of ISRP supports and are not adsorbed by ISRP outer surfaces; proteins pass right through ISRP HPLC columns. Therefore, the number of serum injections that given ISRP-guarded ISRP columns can receive runs into the thousands; ISRP columns nicely lend themselves to automation. ISRP indifference to proteins is complemented by the remarkable selectivity toward drugs of its stationary phase, glycine-phenylalanine-phenylalanine (GFF), a selectivity that recently has been shown to extend to peptides. More recently still, it has been shown that ISRP columns can be used to analyze both the free and the bound forms of drugs, even distinguishing among different bound forms. A potential new intrinsically monomeric GFF shows improved retention and surprisingly high chromatographic efficiency.     

Peptide mapping with mobile phases of intermediate pH value using capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

This investigation describes the separation of tryptic peptides by capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with eluents in the intermediate pH range, followed by in-line electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) analysis. For these purposes, gradient elution procedures with an aqueous eluent containing 20 mM ammonium formate, and an increasing content of acetonitrile or methanol, were employed. Compared to the analysis of the same tryptic peptides under low-pH conditions with an ion-pairing reagent, the increase in the pH with the 20 mM ammonium formate mobile phase led to significant changes in both peptide retention to the reversed-phase column and the collision-induced dissociation at the MS/MS stage as a consequence of the changes in the physico-chemical properties of these peptides, such as their overall charge, polarity and relative hydrophobicity. Thus, improved selectivity for the peptide separation and favourable tandem mass spectrometry analysis could be obtained with eluents in this intermediate pH range. The number of tryptic peptides identified by the new approach for the proteins investigated were significantly higher than that obtained by the conventional low-pH methods. Moreover, analysis of protein digests at very low concentrations was also performed under both acidic and intermediate pH conditions and similar improvements in selectivity and MS/MS detection limits were observed, i.e. identification of more distinct peptides and higher sequence coverage of the protein was obtained when eluents of intermediate pH were employed. This study therefore highlights the potential of conducting peptide mapping in the intermediate pH range to achieve more reliable and sensitive protein identifications with capillary RP-HPLC–ESI-MS/MS.     

Simple reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for 13-cis-retinoic acid in serum.

An isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of 13-cis-retinoic acid in serum is developed. Sample preparation includes deproteination with acetonitrile-perchloric acid-acetic acid followed by centrifugation. 9-Methylanthracene is used as the internal standard. Chromatographic separation is achieved on a C18 column (Zorbax) using an acetonitrile-aqueous 0.5% acetic acid (85:15, v/v) eluent containing 0.05% (w/v) sodium hexanesulfonate. The limit of detection is 12 ng/ml in serum, using 0.5 ml samples. Quantitative recoveries and excellent intra-day and inter-day precision are reported.     

Zwitterionic ion chromatography with carboxybetaine surfactant-coated particle packed and monolithic type columns

Both particle packed (25 cm x 0.46 cm I.D. SUPELCOSIL 5 microm C18) and monolithic type (10 cm x 0.46 cm I.D. Merck Chromolith Performance C18) reversed-phase substrates were dynamically coated with a carboxybetaine type zwitterionic surfactant ((dodecyldimethyl-amino) acetic acid) and investigated as stationary phases for use in zwitterionic ion chromatography (ZIC). Investigations into eluent concentration and pH were carried out using KCl eluents containing 0.2 mM of the carboxybetaine surfactant to stabilise the column coatings. It was found that eluent concentration decreased anion retention whilst simultaneously increasing peak efficiencies, which may be due to the dissociation of intra- and inter-molecular salts of the carboxybetaine surfactant under higher ionic strength conditions. The Effect of eluent pH was an increase in anion retention with decreased eluent pH due to the increased protonation of the weak acid terminal group of the carboxybetaine, causing both a relative increase in the positive charge of the stationary phase and less repulsion of the anions by the dissociated weak acid group. The carboxybetaine-coated monolithic phase was applied to rapid anion separations using elevated flow rates and flow rate gradients.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel internal surface reversed-phase silica supports for high-performance liquid chromatography

An original synthetic method was developed for the preparation of a family of six novel deactivated restricted-access materials (RAMs), belonging to the group of the internal surface reversed-phase (ISRP) supports. The supports (ISRP-RAM phases A-F) have an alkyl-chain (14 methylenes) with two embedded ureido groups bound only to the internal surfaces of the porous silica, and polyvinyl alcoholic groups (PVA, 100,000-->22,000 molecular weight) chemically bound to the external surfaces. The average pore diameters of the prepared ISRP-RAM supports, calculated by inverse size-exclusion chromatography, ranged between 49 A and 88 A, and were able to exclude macromolecules heavier than about 24000 Da (such as serum proteins) from the pores. The novel supports were designed for the determination of a semi-synthetic anticancer drug of the camptothecin family in human plasma, but they represent universal ISRP-RAM supports not limited to such class of compounds.     

Terbium-sensitized luminescence determination of levofloxacin in tablets and human urine and serum

A selective and sensitive luminescence method for the determination of levofloxacin is described. The method is based in the luminescence signal from a terbium(III)-levofloxacin complex, in a micellar solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), using a chemical deoxygenation agent (Na2SO3). The method allows the determination of 8-600 ng mL-1 of levofloxacin in 10 mM SDS solution containing 0.04 M acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer (pH 6) and 7.5 mM Na2SO3 with lambda exc = 292 nm and lambda em = 546 nm. The luminescence method was applied to the determination of the levofloxacin in a Spanish commercialized pharmaceutical formulation Tavanic (Hoechst Marion Roussel). Good concordance was found between the nominal and experimental values (500 and 488 mg, respectively), with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.6%. The proposed method was shown to be 100-fold more sensitive than the spectrophotometric method, and nearly 2-fold more sensitive than the fluorescence method. The method was also applied to levofloxacin determination in human serum (by external calibration method) and urine (by standard additions method), spiked at levels found after drug administration at normal clinical doses. Average recoveries found were 90.1 (RSD 1%) and 102 (RSD 1.9%), respectively.     

Simple eluents for the formation of ascending pH gradients in chromatofocusing of bipolar compounds

The formation of ascending pH gradients was studied in carboxyl columns with the use of eluents of simple composition (one or two components). The obtained gradients are comparable in a wide pH range with the gradient formed with the use of the synthetic polyampholytic eluent Polybuffer-96. The smoothest nearly linear pH gradients are formed at the ionic strength 0.05–0.5 in one or both mobile phases: the starting solution and the eluent. Potentialities of the analytical use of simple eluents in chromatofocusing were demonstrated with the example of the separation of a model mixture of proteins and formate dehydrogenase isoforms.     

Simultaneous determination of retinol, alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene in serum by isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography.

A simultaneous determination of retinol, alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene in serum by high-performance liquid chromatography is described. Total analysis time is 13 min. A reversed-phase (Ultrasphere ODS, 5 microns) column is used with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-methanol-dichloromethane (70:10:20, v/v/v) and a flow-rate of 1.2 ml/min. Retinol is monitored at 325 nm, alpha-tocopherol at 292 nm and beta-carotene at 450 nm. Serum is deproteinized with ethanol containing the internal standard (alpha-tocopherol acetate), then extracted with hexane. The evaporated organic layer is reconstituted with the mobile phase and injected. The choice of the eluent is discussed, as well as the choice of an internal standard and the need for an antioxidant during the extraction step. Sixteen different eluents are compared in terms of analysis time and selectivity. The linear concentration ranges (retinol 0.016-13.7 microM, alpha-tocopherol 0.18-91.8 microM, beta-carotene 0.05-5.75 microM), within-run coefficients of variation (retinol less than 7%; alpha-tocopherol less than 8%, beta-carotene less than 7%), between-run coefficients of variation (retinol less than 13%, alpha-tocopherol less than 9%, beta-carotene less than 8%) and recoveries (retinol greater than 95%, alpha-tocopherol greater than 91%, beta-carotene greater than 80%) are suitable for clinical investigations. Serum reference values were found to be 2.47 +/- 0.61 microM (retinol), 30.5 +/- 6.8 microM (alpha-tocopherol) and 0.91 +/- 0.55 microM (beta-carotene). A significant difference (p less than 0.001) between males and females was found for retinol.