Molecularly imprinted polymer in microextraction by packed sorbent for the simultaneous determination of local anesthetics: lidocaine,ropivacaine, mepivacaine and bupivacaine in plasma and urine samples

This study presents the use of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as packing material for microextraction by packed syringe (MEPS) to achieve higher extraction selectivity. Pentycaine was used as template for MIP. Development and validation of the determination of lidocaine, ropivacaine, mepivacaine and bupivacaine in human plasma and urine samples utilizing MIP‐MEPS and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) were carried out. The MEPS MIP‐cartridge could be used for 100 extractions before it was discarded. The extraction recovery ranged from 60 to 80%. The correlation coefficients values were >0.999 for all assays using lidocaine, ropivacaine, mepivacaine and bupivacaine in the calibration range 5–2000 nmol/L. The accuracy of the studied compounds, given as a percentage variation from the nominal concentration values, ranged from ‐4.9 to 8.4% using plasma and urine samples. The between‐batch precision, given as the relative standard deviation, at three different concentrations (quality control samples) was ranged from ?4.7 to 14.0% and from 1.8 to 12.7% in plasma and urine, respectively. The lower limit of quantification and limit of detection of the studied substances were 5.0 and 1.0 nm , respectively. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitation of sunitinib,an oral multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor,and its metabolite in urine samples by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis time of flight mass spectrometry

A rapid, sensitive, and specific method was developed and validated using a nonaqueous‐capillary electrophoresis method with TOF‐MS for determination of sunitinib and N‐desethyl sunitinib in human urine. In order to avoid ionic suppression a urine samples dilution with methanol 1:10 previous step was used. This was the only treatment step to urine samples before the injection. Despite this dilution of the urine, the detection limit was as low as 0.07 mg/L for sunitinib and 0.15 mg/L for N‐desethyl sunitinib. Separation of compounds was achieved with a mixture of 5 mM ammonium formate in methanol. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.5–50.0 mg/L for the two analyzed compounds. The within‐run and between‐run precisions were within 5%, while the accuracy ranged from 96.0 to 100.4%. This method can be used in routine clinical practice to monitor sunitinib and N‐desethyl sunitinib drugs in the urine of cancer patients treated with once daily administration.     

Alcohol biomarker analysis: simultaneous determination of 5-hydroxytryptophol glucuronide and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid by direct injection of urine using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A direct ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (UPLC-MS/MS) for simultaneous measurement of urinary 5-hydroxytryptophol glucuronide (GTOL) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was developed. The GTOL/5-HIAA ratio is used as an alcohol biomarker with clinical and forensic applications. The method involved dilution of the urine sample with deuterated analogues (internal standards), reversed-phase chromatography with gradient elution, electrospray ionisation and monitoring of two product ions per analyte in selected reaction monitoring mode. The measuring ranges were 6.7-10 000 nmol/l for GTOL and 0.07-100 micromol/l for 5-HIAA. The intra- and inter-assay imprecision, expressed as the coefficient of variation, was below 7%. Influence from ion suppression was noted for both compounds but was compensated for by the use of co-eluting internal standards. The accuracy in analytical recovery of added substance to urine samples was 96 and 98%, respectively, for GTOL and 5-HIAA. Method comparison with GC-MS for GTOL in 25 authentic patient samples confirmed the accuracy of the method with a median ratio between methods (GC-MS to UPLC-MS/MS) of 1.14 (r(2) = 0.975). The difference is explained by the fact that the GC-MS method also measures unconjugated 5-hydroxytryptophol naturally present in urine. The comparison with data for 5-HIAA obtained by an HPLC method demonstrated a median ratio of 1.05 between the methods. The UPLC-MS/MS method was capable of measuring endogenous GTOL and 5-HIAA levels in urine, which agreed with the literature data. In conclusion, a fully validated and robust direct method for the routine measurement of urinary GTOL and 5-HIAA was developed.     

免疫亲和柱净化-超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱法高灵敏测定尿液和血浆中3种鹅膏毒肽

建立了超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱高灵敏测定尿液和血浆中α-鹅膏毒肽、β-鹅膏毒肽和γ-鹅膏毒肽的方法。经过免疫亲和柱净化,尿液样品浓缩20倍、血浆样品浓缩10倍,以Kinetex Biphenyl色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 μm)作为分析柱,甲醇-0.005%(v/v)甲酸水溶液作为流动相进行梯度洗脱分离,电喷雾电离、负离子、多反应监测模式下检测,外标法定量。3种鹅膏毒肽的线性范围为0.1~200 ng/mL,相关系数(r)>0.999。尿液和血浆中3种鹅膏毒肽的基质效应和提取回收率分别为92%~108%和90%~103%,变异系数均小于13%。尿液中3种鹅膏毒肽的准确度为-9.4%~8.0%,重复性和中间精度分别为3.0%~14%和3.5%~18%,当取样量为2.00 mL时,方法的检出限均为0.002 ng/mL;血浆中3种鹅膏毒肽的准确度为-13%~8.0%,重复性和中间精度分别为3.9%~9.7%和5.5%~12%,当取样量为1.00 mL时,方法的检出限均为0.004 ng/mL。该法操作简单、灵敏、准确,已在中毒患者摄入野生蘑菇后138 h的尿液中检出0.0067 ng/mL α-鹅膏毒肽和0.0059 ng/mL β-鹅膏毒肽。该法已成功解决中毒患者尿液和血浆中超痕量鹅膏毒肽的检测难题,对于疑似中毒病人的早诊断、早治疗、降低死亡率都具有非常重要意义,也为今后开展此类毒素毒理作用及机体代谢规律的研究提供了可靠的技术支撑。     

A fast and simple approach for the quantification of 40 illicit drugs,medicines, and pesticides in blood and urine samples by UHPLC‐MS/MS

A fast and simple approach to overcome challenges in emergency toxicological analysis, using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐MS/MS) has been developed, for the detection of analytes in blood and urine samples from the following drug classes: analgesics, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, drugs of abuse, and pesticides. These substances are relevant in the context of emergency toxicology in Brazil. The sample preparation procedure was relatively easy and fast to perform. The method was fully validated giving limits of in the range of 0.5 and 20 ng mL^?1 for blood and urine samples. The intraday and interday precision and accuracy were considered adequate for all analytes once the relative standard deviation (RSD) (%) was lower than 20% for quality control (QC) low and lower than 15% for CQ medium and high. The developed method was successfully applied to 320 real samples collected at the Poison Control Center of São Paulo, and 89.1% have shown to be positive for some of the analytes. This confirms its applicability and importance to emergency toxicological analysis, and it could be very useful in both fields of clinical and forensic toxicology.     

LC–MS/MS method with chemical derivatization for quantitation of L‐threonate in human plasma

An LC–MS/MS‐based bioanalytical method has been developed to measure the concentration of L‐threonate at its endogenous level in human plasma. Following isotope dilution and protein precipitation, the samples were acetylated and chromatographed under reversed‐phase conditions for baseline separation of the derivatized L‐threonate and its stereoisomer D‐erythronate. The method was assessed by a fit‐for‐purpose validation with a calibration range from 100 to 10,000 ng/mL. The intra‐run coefficients of variation (CVs) were <3.6% and the inter‐run CV was 3.2% for the QC samples at endogenous level. At the lower limit of quantitation, the intra‐run CV was 6.1% and the average inaccuracy was ?1.4%. This method provides an efficient and reliable quantitation of L‐threonate and could be useful to certain biomarker investigators.     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定人尿液中7种邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物

建立了同时检测人尿液中7种邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物的高效液相色谱-串联三重四极杆质谱法。尿液经酶水解后,采用萃取柱净化,以2%(v/v)甲酸甲醇溶液为洗脱剂,经苯基柱分离,以0.1%(v/v)乙酸水溶液和0.1%(v/v)乙酸乙腈溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,采用电喷雾离子源负离子模式和多反应监测模式采集信号,用同位素内标法进行定量分析。尿液中7种邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物在0.2~200.0 μg/L范围内定量离子的相对峰面积比值与质量浓度均呈良好线性关系(r≥0.99976);检出限(LOD)为13.43~80.21 ng/L,定量限为44.77~267.37 ng/L; 3个水平的加标回收率为88.8%~108.9%,日内和日间精密度均不大于17.05%。该方法可同时准确、灵敏、简便地测定人尿液中7种邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物的暴露水平。     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定人尿中毒死蜱的主要代谢产物3,5,6-三氯-2-吡啶醇

建立了人尿液中毒死蜱主要代谢产物3,5,6-三氯-2-吡啶醇(3,5,6-TCP)的超高效液相色谱-串联质谱分析测定方法。采用二氯甲烷-乙酸乙酯(20:80, v/v)溶液中性条件下提取,ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18柱色谱分离,以乙腈-水为流动相梯度洗脱,在电喷雾电离(ESI)负离子模式下,选择离子监测(SIR)方式检测。方法线性范围为0.005~0.4 mg/L,检出限为0.41 μg/L,平均加标回收率为97.9%,日内及日间精密度(RSD)均小于15%。该方法操作简单、灵敏度高、准确性好、重现性强,已成功应用于人尿液实际样品中3,5,6-TCP的测定,为毒死蜱的人体健康风险暴露评估以及其生物负荷的痕量监测提供了有效的方法支撑。     

Development and validation of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for the analysis of paroxetine in human plasma

A sensitive, simple, fast and rugged hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) method for the determination of paroxetine was developed and validated over curve range 0.050-50 ng/mL using only 0.4 mL plasma. This is the first published LC-MS/MS method and the low limit of quantitation of this method is 10-fold lower than previously published methods. A simple liquid-liquid extraction method using methyl-tert butyl ether (MTBE) as the extraction solvent was used to extract paroxetine and the internal standard (IS) fentanyl-d(5) from plasma. The extract was evaporated to dryness, reconstituted and injected onto a silica column using a low aqueous-high organic mobile phase. The chromatographic run time was 2.0 min per injection, with retention times of 1.1 and 1.2 min for paroxetine and IS, respectively. The detection was by monitoring paroxetine at m/z 330 --> 192 and IS at m/z 342 --> 188, respectively. The inter-day precision and accuracy of the quality control (QC) samples were <5.0% relative standard deviation (RSD) and <2.9% relative error (RE). This method can be used for supporting therapeutical drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic or drug-drug interaction studies.     

Quantification of complanatoside A in rat plasma using LC‐MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

Complanatoside A is a flavonol glycoside isolated from Astragalus complanatus, and currently it is used as a quality control index for A. complanatus in the 2010 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. For the first time, a simple and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method was developed for the determination of complanatoside A in rat plasma over the range of 2.3–575 ng/mL. Complanatoside A was extracted from plasma by a protein precipitation procedure, separated by LC and detected by MS/MS in positive electrospray ionization mode. The method was validated for selectivity, carryover, sensitivity, linearity, extraction recovery, matrix effect, accuracy, precision and stability studies. The lower limit of quantification was established at 2.3 ng/mL. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (LLOQ, low‐QC, med‐QC and high‐QC) were <7.9%, and accuracies were between 94.0 and 105.1%. Matrix effect was acceptable (97.9–103.0%) and extraction recovery was reproducible (88.5–94.4%). Complanatoside A was stable in the investigated conditions. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetics of complanatoside A in rats. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of puerarin and its metabolite in human urine

A specific LC-MS method was developed that allowed simultaneous determination of puerarin (PU) and its major metabolite, daidzein (DA), in human urine samples. PU and DA were separated on a packed capillary ODS column with on column concentration. Identification and quantification of the analytes were performed with ESI-Q-TOF mass spectroscopy in negative ionization mode. The method was validated, yielding calibration curves with correlation coefficients greater than 0.998. The LOQ for PU and DA from human urine samples was 0.1 and 0.05 nmol/mL, respectively. Assay accuracy and precision of quality control samples were within +/- 15%. Recoveries of PU and DA in spiked samples were in the range of 79.6-90.4 and 82.3-92.4%, respectively.     

Developing a robust LC–MS/MS method to quantify Zn‐DTPA,a zinc chelate in human plasma and urine

Quantitation of Zn‐DTPA (zinc diethylenetriamene pentaacetate, a metal chelate) in complex biological matrix is extremely challenging on account of its special physiochemical properties. This study aimed to develop a robust and specific liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method for determination of Zn‐DTPA in human plasma and urine. The purified samples were separated on Proteonavi (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm; Shiseido, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan) and a C₁₈ guard column. The mobile phase consisted of methanol–2 mm ammonium formate (pH 6.3)–ammonia solution (50:50:0.015, v/v/v), flow rate 0.45 mL/min. The linear concentration ranges of the calibration curves for Zn‐DTPA were 1–100 μg/mL in plasma and 10–2000 μg/mL in urine. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions for quality control (QC) samples were from 1.8 to 14.6% for Zn‐DTPA and the accuracies for QC samples were from −4.8 to 8.2%. This method was fully validated and successfully applied to the quantitation of Zn‐DTPA in plasma and urine samples of a healthy male volunteer after intravenous infusion administration of Zn‐DTPA. The result showed that the concentration of Zn‐DTPA in urine was about 20 times that in plasma, and Zn‐DTPA was completely (94.7%) excreted through urine in human.     

反相高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定尿液中儿茶酚胺和肾上腺素(英文)

The measurement of urine catecholamine and metanephrine concentrations is important for biochemical screening and diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.The goal of this work was to develop a simple liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS)method for determining catecholamines and metanephrines in urine to replace an existing liquid chromatographic method using electrochemical detection.Urine samples were prepared using Oasis weak-cation-exchange cartridges.The eluate was analyzed on an Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse Plus Phenyl-Hexyl column in 3 min.Adrenaline,noradrenaline,dopamine,metanephrine,normetanephrine,and their deuterated internal standards were monitored in positive electrospray ionization mode by multiple reaction monitoring(MRM).No evidence of ion suppression was observed.The assay was linear up to 5μmol/L for adrenaline,5μmol/L for noradrenaline,6.1μmol/L for dopamine,5.6μmol/L for metanephrine,and 34.6μmol/L for normetanephrine,with lower limits of quantification of 5,5,12,6 and 7nmol/L,respectively.The intra-day and inter-day precisions for all analytes ranged from 0.59%to 4.64%and1.98%to 4.80%,respectively.External quality assurance samples were assayed and showed excellent agreement with the target values.This simple method provides an improved assay for determining urine catecholamines and metanephrines.     

亲水作用色谱-串联质谱测定尿液中尼古丁和可替宁

建立了测定人尿液中尼古丁和可替宁含量的亲水作用色谱-串联质谱(HILIC-MS/MS)方法。尿样加入尼古丁-d4和可替宁-d3同位素内标后,用水稀释10倍,经过滤后的滤液由超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UPLC-MS/MS)进行分离分析。采用ACQUITY UPLC~BEH HILIC色谱柱(50 mm×3.0 mm,1.7μm),以甲醇和体积分数为0.1%的氨水为流动相,流速为0.2 mL/min,在电喷雾电离源正离子模式下测定尿液中尼古丁和可替宁的含量,用标准曲线法定量。尼古丁和可替宁在1.0~1 000μg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数分别为0.994 9和0.995 8;检出限分别为0.082μg/L和0.077μg/L;定量限分别为0.27μg/L和0.26μg/L;加标回收率分别为90.4%~103.5%和93.0%~104.6%;相对标准偏差分别为4.80%~6.21%和4.22%~7.15%。应用所建立的方法测定了200份尿样,结果表明,吸烟人群尿中尼古丁含量为26.68~854.30μg/L,可替宁含量为36.66~1 191.18μg/L(n=86,M_(nicotine)=76.00μg/L,M_(nicotine)=83.52μg/L,M为中位数);非吸烟人群尿中尼古丁含量为5.08~69.66μg/L,可替宁含量为3.16~28.21μg/L(n=114,Mnicotine=7.53μg/L,M_(nicotine)=3.79μg/L)。该方法快速灵敏,操作简单,适用于尿样中尼古丁和可替宁的批量测定,能满足烟草暴露评价的需要。     

A validated LC‐MS/MS assay for simultaneous quantification of methotrexate and tofacitinib in rat plasma: application to a pharmacokinetic study

A highly sensitive, specific and rapid LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of methotrexate (MTX) and tofacitinib (TFB) in rat plasma (50 μL) using phenacetin as an internal standard (IS), as per the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. After a solid‐phase extraction procedure, the separation of the analytes and IS was performed on a Chromolith RP_18e column using an isocratic mobile phase of 5 m m ammonium acetate (pH 5.0) and acetonitrile at a ratio of 25:75 (v/v) using flow‐gradient with a total run time of 3.5 min. The detection was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode, using the transitions of m/z 455.2 → 308.3, m/z 313.2 → 149.2 and m/z 180.3 → 110.2 for MTX, TFB and IS, respectively. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.49–91.0 and 0.40–74.4 ng/mL for MTX and TFB, respectively. The intra‐ and interday accuracy and precision values for MTX and TFB were <15% at low quality control (QC), medium QC and high QC and <20% at lower limit of quantification. The validated assay was applied to derive the pharmacokinetic parameters for MTX and TFB post‐dosing of MTX and TFB orally and intravenously to rats. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

在线固相萃取-液相色谱-串联质谱法检测蘑菇中毒患者尿液中痕量α -鹅膏毒肽

建立了在线固相萃取-液相色谱-串联质谱（online SPE-LC-MS/MS）测定蘑菇中毒患者尿液中痕量α -鹅膏毒肽的分析方法。样品经甲酸酸化的乙腈-甲醇（5：1,v/v）沉淀蛋白质,反相液液微萃取去除样品提取液中的有机溶剂,毒素经ODS微柱（5 mm×2.1 mm,5 μm）在线SPE净化,XBridge^TM BEH C₁₈ 色谱柱（150 mm×3.0 mm,2.5 μm）分离,MS/MS测定。采用基于定量环的快速阀切换技术作为在线SPE和LC-MS/MS模块的接口,使得两个分离模块互相独立,无论是流动相还是压力,都不会互相干扰,保证了系统的稳定性;在线系统的精准净化,有效消除了后续质谱检测的基质效应,确保了尿液中痕量水平α -鹅膏毒肽的定性定量检测。尿液中α -鹅膏毒肽在0.1~50 μg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数（r ² ）为0.9983;检出限（LOD）为0.03 μg/L;α -鹅膏毒肽的加标（0.1、2.0和20 μg/L）平均回收率为84.3%~91.7%,相对标准偏差（RSD）为3.8%~7.2%。体内鹅膏毒肽代谢迅速,生物基质中痕量水平毒素的检测是其中毒实验室鉴定的主要难题,通过实际样品检测,证明该法操作简单,准确、灵敏;溶剂沉淀蛋白质和反相液液微萃取去除有机相和脂溶性基质的简单操作,可以作为水溶性毒素在线SPE-LC-MS/MS检测时快速且有效的配套前处理方法;基于在线SPE精准净化技术,可以实现尿液中α -鹅膏毒肽的高灵敏度测定（LOD为0.03 μg/L）,解决了中毒时患者体内痕量水平α -鹅膏毒肽定性确证的难题,部分患者α -鹅膏毒肽中毒实验室鉴定的时间可以扩展到90 h以上;同时,痕量水平的定量检测技术,可以为中毒后迅速代谢的α -鹅膏毒肽在体内的剂量反应关系研究提供可靠的技术支撑。     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定牛尿液中的甲状腺抑制剂(英文)

Five thyreostats(TSs),namely tapazole,thiouracil,methylthiouracil,propylthiouracil,and phenylthiouracil,were determined in bovine urine using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UHPLC-MS/MS)in positive electrospray ionization mode.Extraction and clean-up were achieved using a ChemElut cartridge with tert-butyl methyl ether,without a derivatization step.Separation was achieved on an Acquity UPLC SS T3 column.The mobile phase was acetonitrile and water containing 0.2%(v/v)formic acid.The mass spectrometer was operated in multiple reaction monitoring mode.Urine samples were spiked with TS solution at levels corresponding to 5,10,15,and 20μg/L.The accuracy(internal standard corrected)ranged from 92%to 107%,with a repeatability precision(relative standard deviation,RSD)less than 15%for all five analytes.The RSDs within-laboratory reproducibility was less than 26%.The decision limits(CCα)and detection capabilities(CCβ)were obtained from a calibration curve and were in the ranges of 3.1-6.1μg/L and 4.0-7.4μg/L,respectively.The CCαand CCβvalues were below the recommended concentration,which was set at 10μg/L.The results show that the described method is suitable for the direct detection of TSs in bovine urine.This method can also be used to determine TSs in porcine urine.     

Simultaneous determination of cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, doxorubicin, epirubicin and daunorubicin in human urine using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: bioanalytical method validation

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (rp-HPLC) system interfaced with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination of cyclophosphamide (CP), ifosfamide (IF), daunorubicin (DNR), doxorubicin (DXR), and epirubicin (EPI) in human urine. The analysis of samples containing multiple analytes with a dissimilar range of polarities was carried out using a conventional reversed-phase chromatographic BDS Hypersil C8 column. The analytical run was 15 min. The triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was operated in positive ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used for drug quantification. The method was validated over a concentration range of 0.2 to 4.0 microg.L(-1) for CP, IF, DXR, EPI and 0.15-2.0 microg.L(-1) for DNR in human urine. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.2 microg.L(-1) for CP, IF, EPI and was set at 0.3 and 0.15 microg.L(-1) for DXR and DNR, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSD%) were <11.2% for inter- and intra-day precisions. The overall accuracy was also within 114.7% for all analytes at the concentrations of the quality control samples. The potential of ionization suppression resulting from the endogenous biological material on the rp-HPLC/MS/MS method was evaluated and measured. The feasibility of the proposed HPLC/ESI-MS/MS procedure was demonstrated by analyzing urine samples from pharmacy technicians and nurses working in hospitals or personnel employed in drug-manufacturing plants.     

Targeting metabolomics analysis of the sunscreen agent 2-ethylhexyl 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)benzoate in human urine by automated on-line solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with liquid chromatography-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry confirmation

The in vivo metabolism of the xenobiotic agent 2-ethylhexyl 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)benzoate (EDP), a UV filter commonly used in sunscreen cosmetic products, was studied by targeting metabolomics analysis in human urine. The metabolomic study involved the use of urine from male and female volunteers before and after application of an EDP-containing sunscreen cosmetic. The metabolism of EDP in urine was studied by using the triple quadrupole detector in a combination of Precursor Ion Scanning and Neutral Loss Scanning modes, with and without enzymatic hydrolysis. Detected metabolites were subsequently confirmed as glucuronide conjugates of 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)benzoic acid and 4-(N-methylamino)benzoic acid by liquid chromatography-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (LC-TOF/MS) in the accurate mass mode. In this way, the existence of phase II metabolism in the detoxification of EDP by effects of the lipophilic character of this sunscreen agent was confirmed. Hence, to study the in vivo metabolism of EDP, a fully automated method using a solid-phase extraction (SPE) workstation connected on-line to a liquid chromatograph and a triple quadrupole mass analyzer (LC-MS/MS) was developed. The ensuing hyphenated method is very simple and requires minimal human intervention. Following thorough optimization of the SPE and LC-MS/MS conditions, the analytical procedure was validated and standard addition calibration used for the quantitative correction of matrix effects. The proposed method was applied to determine the phase I metabolites of EDP in urine samples and afforded limits of detection from 0.1 to 1.1 ng and accuracy of 91-107% with relative standard deviations in the range 1.5-8.7% (sample volume: 100 μL). Based on the results of in vivo percutaneous absorption of a single application of the sunscreen, about 0.5% of the amount of the applied EDP is excreted in urine.     

Determination of ropivacaine in human plasma using highly selective molecular imprint-based solid phase extraction and fast LC–MS analysis

A method for determining ropivacaine in human plasma using highly selective molecular imprint-based solid phase extraction and LC–MS analysis was developed. The imprinted extraction material was prepared using a structural analogue of ropivacaine as the template. The efficient sample cleanup achieved allowed single MS mode operation and analytical separation under isocratic conditions with a total separation time of less than two minutes. The absence of ion suppression was confirmed for both the m/z of ropivacaine and the m/z of the internal standard. The solid phase extraction protocol was optimised for elution of ropivacaine in a small volume of aqueous-rich solvent suitable for injection into a reversed phase LC–MS system. The final method measured trace levels of ropivacaine in human plasma with a limit of quantification of 2.5 nmol/L and interassay accuracy and precision of 101.7–104.4% and 2.1–7.2%, respectively.