A sensitive and selective method for the quantitative analysis of miglitol in rat plasma using unique solid‐phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive, selective and robust liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed for the quantification of miglitol in rat plasma. The sample preparation procedures involved protein precipitation and unique solid‐phase extraction, which efficiently removed sources of ion suppression and column degradation interference present in the plasma. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an amide column using 10 mmol/L CH₃COONH₄ and CH₃CN:CH₃OH (90:10, v/v) as the mobile phase under gradient conditions. Detection was performed using tandem mass spectrometry equipped with an electrospray ionization interface in positive ion mode.The selected reaction monitoring transitions for miglitol and a stable isotope‐labeled internal standard were m/z 208 → m/z 146 and m/z 212 → m/z 176, respectively. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves ranged from 0.9984 to 0.9993 over a concentration range of 0.5–100 ng/mL plasma. The quantification limit of the proposed method was more than 10 times lower than those of previously reported LC‐MS/MS methods. The novel method was successfully validated and applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rats. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of benzofurazan derivatization reagents for short chain carboxylic acids in liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS)

Benzofurazan derivatization reagents, 4‐[2‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)ethylaminosulfonyl]‐7‐(2‐aminopentylamino)‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole (DAABD‐AP) and 4‐[2‐(N,N‐dimethylamino) ethylaminosulfonyl]‐7‐(2‐aminobutylamino)‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole (DAABD‐AB), for short‐chain carboxylic acids in liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) were synthesized. These reagents reacted with short chain carboxylic acids in the presence of the condensation reagents at 60°C for 60 min. The generated derivatives were separated on the reversed‐phase column and detected by ESI‐MS/MS with the detection limits of 0.1–0.12 pmol on column. Upon collision‐induced dissociation, a single and intense product ion at m/z 151 was observed. These results indicated that DAABD‐AP and DAABD‐AB are suitable as the derivatization reagents in LC/ESI‐MS/MS analysis. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantification of glycated N‐terminal peptide of hemoglobin using derivatization for multiple functional groups of amino acids followed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A novel method of amino acid analysis using derivatization of multiple functional groups (amino, carboxyl, and phenolic hydroxyl groups) was applied to measure glycated amino acids in order to quantify glycated peptides and evaluate the degree of glycation of peptide. Amino and carboxyl groups of amino acids were derivatized with 1‐bromobutane so that the hydrophobicities and basicities of the amino acids, including glycated amino acids, were improved. These derivatized amino acids could be detected with high sensitivity using LC‐MS/MS. In this study, 1‐deoxyfructosyl‐VHLTPE and VHLTPE, which are N‐terminal peptides of the β‐chains of hemoglobin, were selected as target compounds. After reducing the peptide sample solution with sodium borohydride, the obtained peptides were hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid. The released amino acids were then derivatized with 1‐bromobutane and analyzed with LC‐MS/MS. The derivatized amino acids, including glycated amino acids, could be separated using an octadecyl silylated silica column and good sharp peaks were detected. We show a confirmatory experiment that the proposed method can be applied to evaluate the degree of glycation of peptides, using mixtures of glycated and non‐glycated peptide. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry applications for quantification of endogenous sex hormones

Liquid chromatography, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, presents a powerful tool for the quantification of the sex steroid hormones 17‐β estradiol, progesterone and testosterone from biological matrices. The importance of accurate quantification with these hormones, even at endogenous levels, has evolved with our understanding of the role these regulators play in human development, fertility and disease risk and manifestation. Routine monitoring of these analytes can be accomplished by immunoassay techniques, which face limitations on specificity and sensitivity, or using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. LC–MS/MS is growing in capability and acceptance for clinically relevant quantification of sex steroid hormones in biological matrices and is able to overcome many of the limitations of immunoassays. Analyte specificity has improved through the use of novel derivatizing agents, and sensitivity has been refined through the use of high‐resolution chromatography and mass spectrometric technology. This review highlights these innovations, among others, in LC–MS/MS steroid hormone analysis captured in the literature over the last decade.     

Charge‐derivatized amino acids facilitate model studies on protein side‐chain modifications by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

The α‐amino groups of histidine and lysine were derivatized with p‐carboxylbenzyltriphenylphosphonium to form the pseudo dipeptides, PHis and PLys, which can be sensitively detected by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOFMS) due to the fixed positive charge of the phosphonium group. Detection limits of PHis and PLys by MALDI‐TOFMS were both 30 fmol with a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 5:1. These pseudo dipeptides were excellent surrogates for His‐ or Lys‐containing peptides in model reactions mimicking proteins with reactive electrophiles, prominently those generated by peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids including 4‐hydroxy‐2(E)‐nonenal (HNE), 4‐oxo‐2(E)‐nonenal (ONE), 2(E)‐octenal, and 2(E)‐heptenal. An air‐saturated solution of linoleic acid (d₀:d₅ = 1:1) was incubated in the presence of Fe(II) and ascorbate with these two pseudo dipeptides, and the reaction products were characterized by MALDI‐TOFMS and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS). By using PHis and PLys, the previously reported ONE‐derived His‐furan adduct was detected along with evidence for a cyclic α,β‐unsaturated ketone. A dimer formed from ONE was found to react with PHis through Michael addition. Alkenals were found to form two novel adducts with PLys. 2(E)‐Octenoic acid–His Michael adduct and N^ε‐pentanoyllysine were identified as potential protein side‐chain adducts modified by products of linoleic acid peroxidation. In addition, when PHis or PLys and AcHis or BocLys were exposed to the linoleic acid peroxidation, an epoxy‐keto‐ocatadecenoic acid mediated His–His cross‐link was detected, along with the observation of a His–ONE/9,12‐dioxo‐10‐dodecenoic acid–Lys derived pyrrole cross‐link. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of different mass spectrometry techniques in the measurement of L‐[ring‐13C6]phenylalanine incorporation into mixed muscle proteins

Precise measurement of low enrichment of stable isotope labeled amino‐acid tracers in tissue samples is a prerequisite in measuring tissue protein synthesis rates. The challenge of this analysis is augmented when small sample size is a critical factor. Muscle samples from human participants following an 8 h intravenous infusion of L‐[ring‐¹³C₆]phenylalanine and a bolus dose of L‐[ring‐¹³C₆]phenylalanine in a mouse were utilized. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), gas chromatography (GC) MS/MS and GC/MS were compared to the GC‐combustion‐isotope ratio MS (GC/C/IRMS), to measure mixed muscle protein enrichment of [ring‐¹³C₆]phenylalanine enrichment. The sample isotope enrichment ranged from 0.0091 to 0.1312 molar percent excess. As compared with GC/C/IRMS, LC/MS/MS, GC/MS/MS and GC/MS showed coefficients of determination of R² = 0.9962 and R² = 0.9942, and 0.9217 respectively. However, the precision of measurements (coefficients of variation) for intra‐assay are 13.0%, 1.7%, 6.3% and 13.5% and for inter‐assay are 9.2%, 3.2%, 10.2% and 25% for GC/C/IRMS, LC/MS/MS, GC/MS/MS and GC/MS, respectively. The muscle sample sizes required to obtain these results were 8 µg, 0.8 µg, 3 µg and 3 µg for GC/C/IRMS, LC/MS/MS, GC/MS/MS and GC/MS, respectively. We conclude that LC/MS/MS is optimally suited for precise measurements of L‐[ring‐¹³C₆]phenylalanine tracer enrichment in low abundance and in small quantity samples. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple and sensitive assay for eflornithine quantification in rat brain using pre‐column derivatization and UPLC‐MS/MS detection

Eflornithine (α‐difluoromethylornithine) has been used to treat second‐stage (or meningoencephalitic‐stage) human African trypanosomiasis and currently is under clinical development for cancer prevention. In this study, a new ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS)‐based assay was developed and validated for the quantification of eflornithine in rat brain. To improve chromatographic retention and MS detection, eflornithine was derivatized with 6‐aminoquinolyl‐N‐hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate for 5 min at room temperature prior to injection. Derivatized eflornithine was separated on a reverse‐phase C₁₈ UPLC column with a 6‐min gradient; elution occurred at approximately 1.5 min. Prior to derivatization, eflornithine was reproducibly extracted from rat brain homogenate by methanol protein precipitation (~70% recovery). Derivatized eflornithine was stable in the autosampler (6 °C) for at least 24 h. This new assay had acceptable intra‐ and interday accuracy and precision over a wide dynamic range (5000‐fold) and excellent sensitivity with a lower limit of quantification of 0.1 µm (18 ng/mL) using only 10 μL of rat brain homogenate. The validated eflornithine assay was applied successfully to determine eflornithine distribution in different regions of rat brain in an in situ rat brain perfusion study. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MALDI mass spectrometry‐based sequence analysis of arginine‐containing glycopeptides: improved fragmentation of glycan and peptide chains by modifying arginine residue

This paper describes an improved method for the sequence analysis of Arg‐containing glycopeptide by MALDI mass spectrometry (MS). The method uses amino group derivatization (4‐aza‐6‐(2,6‐dimethyl‐1‐piperidinyl)‐5‐oxohexanoic acid N‐succinimidyl ester) and removal (carboxypeptidase B) or modification (peptidylarginine deiminase 4) of the arginine residue of the peptide. The derivatization attaches a basic tertiary amine moiety onto the peptides, and the enzymatic treatment removes or modifies the arginine residue. Fragmentation of the resulting glycopeptide under low‐energy collision‐induced dissociation yielded a simplified ion series of both the glycan and the peptide that can facilitate their sequencing. The feasibility of the method was studied using α₁‐acid glycoprotein‐derived N‐linked glycopeptides, and glycan and peptide in each glycopeptide were successfully sequenced by MALDI tandem MS (MS/MS). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of sub‐ppb epichlorohydrin levels in water by on‐line solid‐phase extraction liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A new sensitive and selective method based on on‐line solid‐phase extraction (SPE) coupled to liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer has been developed for the determination of epichlorohydrin (ECH) in different types of water samples. ECH is not easily determined directly by ESI‐MS as it is not readily ionized, and it has a low molecular mass and high polarity. Thus, prior derivatization of ECH was necessary, employing 3,5‐difluorobenzylamine as a derivatizing agent with Fe(III) as a catalyst. In order to achieve accurate quantification, correcting for matrix effects, losses in the derivatization process and instrumental deviations, isotope labelled ECH (ECH‐d₅) was added as an internal standard (IS) to the water samples. The method was validated based on European SANCO guidelines using drinking and other types of treated water spiked at two concentration levels (0.1 and 1.0 µg/L), the lower level having been established as the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method. Satisfactory accuracy (recoveries between 70 and 103%), precision (RSD <20%) and linearity (from 0.05 to 50 µg/L, r >0.99) were obtained. The limit of detection (LOD) was set up at 0.03 µg/L. The method was applied to different water samples (drinking water and water samples collected from a municipal treatment water plant). In order to enhance confidence, five selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transitions were acquired, thus obtaining a simultaneous reliable quantification and identification of ECH in water, even at sub‐ppb levels. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitive LC‐MS/MS‐ESI method for simultaneous determination of montelukast and fexofenadine in human plasma: application to a bioequivalence study

A rapid, simple, sensitive and selective LC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of montelukast (MT) and fexofenadine (FF) in human plasma (200 μL) using montelukast‐d₆ (MT‐d₆) and fexofenadine‐d₁₀ (FF‐d₁₀), respectively as an internal standard (IS) as per the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The chromatographic resolution was achieved on a Chromolith RP_18e column using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of 20 mm ammonium formate–acetonitrile (20:80, v/v) at flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. The LC‐MS/MS was operated under the multiple‐reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization. The total run time of analysis was 4 min and elution of MT, FF, MT‐d₆ and FF‐d₁₀ occurred at 2.5, 1.2, 2.4 and 1.2 min, respectively. The standard curve found to be linear in the range 2.00–1000 ng/mL with a coefficient of correlation of ≥0.99 for both the drugs. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision values for MT and FF met the acceptance as per FDA guidelines. MT and FF were found to be stable in a battery of stability studies viz., bench‐top, auto‐sampler and repeated freeze‐thaw cycles. The validated assay was applied to an oral bioequivalence study in humans. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Challenges in the identification process of phenidate analogues in LC‐ESI‐MS/MS analysis: Information enhancement by derivatization with isobutyl chloroformate

A new analytical technique for the structural elucidation of four representative phenidate analogues possessing a secondary amine residue, which leads to a major/single amine‐representative fragment/product ion at m/z 84 both in their GC‐EI‐MS and LC‐ESI‐MS/MS spectra, making their identification ambiguous, was developed. The method is based on “in vial” chemical derivatization with isobutyl chloroformate in both aqueous and organic solutions, followed by liquid chromatography‐electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI‐MS/MS). The resulting carbamate derivatives promote rich fragmentation patterns with full coverage of all substructures of the molecule, enabling detailed structural elucidation and unambiguous identification of the original compounds at low ng/mL levels.     

Characterization of the dehydration products due to thermal decomposition of peptides by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry

Thermal decomposition (TD) of proteins is being investigated as a rapid digestion step for bottom‐up proteomics. Mass spectrometry (MS) analyses of the TD products of simple peptides and intact proteins have revealed several nonvolatile products at masses lower than the precursor biomolecule (M). In addition to products stemming from site‐specific cleavages, many signals are also observed at a corresponding M‐18, most likely because of dehydration (M‐H₂O) during the heating process. Understanding the structural nature of the water loss product is important in establishing the utility of their tandem mass spectra (collision‐induced dissociation) in determining the precursor ion amino acid sequence in a bottom‐up proteomic workflow. Dehydration of a peptide can take place from a variety of sources including side chain groups, C‐terminus, and/or intramolecular cyclization (C to N‐terminus cyclization). In this work, liquid chromatography‐tandem MS (LC‐MS/MS) and a series of standard peptides (angiotensin II, DRVYIHPF and its cyclic analog) are implemented to decipher the structure of the TD dehydration product. In addition, a derivatization strategy incorporating N‐terminus acetylation was developed that allowed the direct comparison of tandem mass spectra of standard cyclic peptides with those resulting from the TD process, thus eliminating any ambiguity from the direct comparison of their mass spectra (due to gas‐phase cyclization of b‐ions, which can result in sequence scrambling of the precursor ion). Results from these investigations indicated that peptide dehydrated TD products were mostly linear in nature, and water loss was favored from the C‐terminus carboxyl group or, when present, the aspartic acid side chain. Given the predictable nature of the formation of TD dehydration products, their MS/MS analysis can be of utility in providing complementary and confirmatory sequence information of the precursor peptide. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Isothiocyanates as derivatization reagents for amines in liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry

The applicability of 3‐pyridyl isothiocyanate, p‐(dimethylamino)phenyl isothiocyanate and m‐nitrophenyl isothiocyanate as the derivatization reagents for amines in high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) was examined. The generated derivatives of amines with these reagents were favorably separated on the reversed‐phase column and detected by ESI‐MS/MS. The C–N bond of the generated thiourea structure was efficiently cleaved by collision‐induced dissociation and gave the single and intense product ion. Among the three reagents, 3‐pyridyl isothiocyanate was the most suitable as the derivatization reagent with regard to the reactivity to amines and the detection sensitivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of an LC‐ESI‐MS/MS quantification method for a potential γ‐aminobutyric acid transporter 3 (GAT3) marker and its application in preliminary MS binding assays

Binding assays for the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter GAT3 can be assumed to significantly facilitate screening for respective inhibitors. As appropriate labeled ligands for this promising drug target are not available so far, we started efforts to set up mass spectrometry‐based binding assays (MS binding assays), for which labeled markers are not required. Therefore, we developed a sensitive and rapid LC‐ESI‐MS/MS quantification method for DDPM‐1007 {(RS)‐1‐[4,4,4‐Tris(4‐methoxyphenyl)but‐2‐en‐1‐yl]piperidine‐3‐carboxylic acid}, one of the most potent GAT3 inhibitors yet known, as a potential GAT3 marker. Using a 50 × 2 mm C₈ column in combination with a mobile phase composed of 10 mm ammonium bicarbonate buffer pH 8.0 and acetonitrile (60:40, v/v) at a flow rate of 450 μL/min DDPM‐1007 could be analyzed in the positive multiple reaction monitoring mode [(m/z) 502.5 → 265.4] within a chromatographic cycle time of 3 min. Deuterated DDPM‐1007 [(²H₉)DDPM‐1007] was synthesized and employed as internal standard. This way DDPM‐1007 could be quantified in a range from 100 pm to10 nm in the matrix resulting from respective binding experiments without any sample preparation. The established quantification method met the requirements of the FDA guidance for bioanalytical method validation concerning linearity and intra‐ and inter‐batch accuracy. Based on this LC‐ESI‐MS/MS quantification preliminary MS binding assays employing membrane preparations obtained from a stably GAT3 expressing HEK293 cell line and DDPM‐1007 as nonlabeled GAT3 marker could be performed. In these experiments specific binding of DDPM‐1007 at GAT3 could be unambiguously detected. Additionally, the established LC‐MS method provides a suitable analytical tool for further pharmacokinetic characterization of DDPM‐1007, as exemplified for its logD determination. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of peptide acetylation and dimethylation on electrospray ionization efficiency

Peptide acetylation and dimethylation have been widely used to derivatize primary amino groups (peptide N‐termini and the ε‐amino group of lysines) for chemical isotope labeling of quantitative proteomics or for affinity tag labeling for selection and enrichment of labeled peptides. However, peptide acetylation results in signal suppression during electrospray ionization (ESI) due to charge neutralization. In contrast, dimethylated peptides show increased ionization efficiency after derivatization, since dimethylation increases hydrophobicity and maintains a positive charge on the peptide under common LC conditions. In this study, we quantitatively compared the ESI efficiencies of acetylated and dimethylated model peptides and tryptic peptides of BSA. Dimethylated peptides showed higher ionization efficiency than acetylated peptides for both model peptides and tryptic BSA peptides. At the proteome level, peptide dimethylation led to better protein identification than peptide acetylation when tryptic peptides of mouse brain lysate were analyzed with LC‐ESI‐MS/MS. These results demonstrate that dimethylation of tryptic peptides enhanced ESI efficiency and provided up to two‐fold improved protein identification sensitivity in comparison with acetylation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of an LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for the quantification of D‐84, reboxetine and citalopram for their use in MS Binding Assays addressing the monoamine transporters hDAT,hSERT and hNET

MS Binding Assays represent a label‐free alternative to radioligand binding assays. In this study, we present an LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for the quantification of (R,R)‐4‐(2‐benzhydryloxyethyl)‐1‐(4‐fluorobenzyl)piperidin‐3‐ol [(R,R)‐D‐84, (R,R)‐ 1 ], (S,S)‐reboxetine [(S,S)‐ 2 ], and (S)‐citalopram [(S)‐ 3 ] employed as highly selective nonlabeled reporter ligands in MS Binding Assays addressing the dopamine [DAT, (R,R)‐D‐84], norepinephrine [NET, (S,S)‐reboxetine] and serotonin transporter [SERT, (S)‐citalopram], respectively. The developed LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method uses a pentafluorphenyl stationary phase in combination with a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and ammonium formate buffer for chromatography and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in the multiple reaction monitoring mode for mass spectrometric detection. Quantification is based on deuterated derivatives of all three analytes serving as internal standards. The established LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method enables fast, robust, selective and highly sensitive quantification of all three reporter ligands in a single chromatographic run. The method was validated according to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) guideline for bioanalytical method validation regarding selectivity, accuracy, precision, calibration curve and sensitivity. Finally, filtration‐based MS Binding Assays were performed for all three monoamine transporters based on this LC‐ESI‐MS/MS quantification method as read out. The affinities determined in saturation experiments for (R,R)‐D‐84 toward hDAT, for (S,S)‐reboxetine toward hNET, and for (S)‐citalopram toward hSERT, respectively, were in good accordance with results from literature, clearly demonstrating that the established MS Binding Assays have the potential to be an efficient alternative to radioligand binding assays widely used for this purpose so far.     

Simultaneous determination of sibutramine and its active metabolites in human plasma by LC‐MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI‐MS/MS) technique was developed and validated for the determination of sibutramine and its N‐desmethyl metabolites (M1 and M2) in human plasma. After extraction with methyl t‐butyl ether, chromatographic separation of analytes in human plasma was performed using a reverse‐phase Luna C₁₈ column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile–10 mm ammonium formate buffer (50:50, v/v) and quantified by ESI‐MS/MS detection in positive ion mode. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 200 μL/min and the retention times of sibutramine, M1, M2 and internal standard (chlorpheniramine) were 1.5, 1.4, 1.3 and 0.9 min, respectively. The calibration curves were linear over the range 0.05–20 ng/mL, for sibutramine, M1 and M2. The lower limit of quantification was 0.05 ng/mL using 500 μL of human plasma. The mean accuracy and the precision in the intra‐ and inter‐day validation for sibutramine, M1 and M2 were acceptable. This LC‐MS/MS method showed improved sensitivity and a short run time for the quantification of sibutramine and its two active metabolites in plasma. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study in human. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of acetaldehyde in tobacco smoke using N-methyl-4-hydrazino-7-nitrobenzofurazan and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for the determination of carbonyl compounds based on derivatization with N-methyl-4-hydrazino-7-nitrobenzofurazan (MNBDH) has been developed. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in the positive mode proved the most versatile ionization technique for MNBD-hydrazones. APCI/MS spectra were recorded and the detection limits were determined for [M+H]⁺. ¹³C₂ acetaldehyde MNBD-hydrazone has been synthesized and characterized. It is applied as internal standard for the quantification of acetaldehyde. Tobacco smoke has been investigated concerning its carbonyl content. Acetaldehyde was identified as main product and quantified by LC/MS using internal standardization. The result is in good agreement to quantification data obtained with UV/vis detection.     

Simultaneous determination of calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside,calycosin, formononetin,astragaloside IV and schisandrin in rat plasma by LC‐MS/MS: application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Shenqi Wuwei chewable tablets

A rapid, sensitive and reliable high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of the five main bioactive components, calycosin, calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside, formononetin, astragaloside IV and schisandrin in rat plasma after oral administration of Shenqi Wuwei chewable tablets. Plasma samples were extracted using solid‐phase extraction separated on a CEC₁₈ column and detected by MS with an electrospray ionization interface in multiple‐reaction monitoring mode. Calibration curves offered linear ranges of two orders of magnitude with r > 0.995. The method had a lower limit of quantitation of 0.1, 0.02, 0.1, 1 and 0.1 ng/mL for calycosin, calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside, formononetin, astragaloside IV and schisandrin, respectively. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (relative standard deviation) for all analytes ranged from 0.97 to 7.63% and from 3.45 to 10.89%, respectively. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of the five compounds in rats after oral administration of Shenqi Wuwei chewable tablets. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of β‐blockers in groundwater using large‐volume injection coupled‐column reversed‐phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Atenolol, nadolol, metoprolol, bisoprolol and betaxolol were simultaneously determined in groundwater samples by large‐volume injection coupled‐column reversed‐phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD) and liquid chromatography‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐TOF‐MS). The LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD method combines analyte isolation, preconcentration and determination into a single step. Significant reductions in costs for sample pre‐treatment (solvent and solid phases for clean up) and method development times are also achieved. Using LC‐TOF‐MS, accurate mass measurements within 3 ppm error were obtained for all of the β‐blockers studied. Empirical formula information can be obtained by this method, allowing the unequivocal identification of the target compounds in the samples. To increase the sensitivity, a solid‐phase extraction step with Oasis MCX cartridge was carried out yielding recoveries of 79–114% (n=5) with RSD 2–7% for the LC‐TOF‐MS method. SPE gives a high purification of β‐blockers compared with the existing methods. A 100% methanol wash was allowed for these compounds with no loss of analytes. Limit of quantification was 1–7 ng/L for LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD and 0.25–5 ng/L for LC‐TOF‐MS. As a result of selective extraction and effective removal of coextractives, no matrix effect was observed in LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD and LC‐TOF‐MS analyses. The methods were applied to detect and quantify β‐blockers in groundwater samples of Almería (Spain).