Determination of methylated arginines by column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection

A column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fluorescence detection method for the determination of three methylated arginines, N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), N(G),N(G)-dimethyl-L-arginine (asymmetric dimethyl-L-arginine, ADMA), and N(G),N(G)'-dimethyl-L-arginine (symmetric dimethyl-L-arginine, SDMA), which are endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, was developed. After fluorescence derivatization of plasma samples with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F), the samples were injected into the HPLC system. The NBD-derivatized methylated arginines were trapped on a cation exchange column with filter to remove proteins, separated within 42 min on a reversed-phase column, and detected at an emission wavelength of 530 nm with excitation at 470 nm. The detection limits were 10 fmol for L-NMMA and 20 fmol for ADMA and SDMA with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. A good linearity for calibration curves for each methylated arginine was observed within the range of 50-5000 fmol using homoarginine as an internal standard. The proposed method was applied to the quantitative determination of L-NMMA, ADMA and SDMA in rat plasma. The concentrations of L-NMMA, ADMA and SDMA in rat plasma were 0.16 +/- 0.01, 0.73 +/- 0.02 and 0.41 +/- 0.05 micromol l(-1), respectively (n= 5).     

Selective determination of doxorubicin and doxorubicinol in rat plasma by HPLC with photosensitization reaction followed by chemiluminescence detection

A highly sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of doxorubicin (DXR) and its metabolite doxorubicinol (DXR-ol) in rat plasma. The method was based on photosensitization reaction followed by peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection (PO-CL). DXR and DXR-ol that were fluorescent quinones, served as a photosensitizer in the presence of a hydrogen atom donor such as ethanol under aerobic conditions to produce hydrogen peroxide. Then the generated hydrogen peroxide and DXR or DXR-ol were monitored through PO-CL reaction by mixing with aryloxalate as a single post-column reagent that enabled highly selective and sensitive determination of DXR and DXR-ol. The separation of DXR and DXR-ol by HPLC was accomplished isocratically on an ODS column within 15 min. The method involves a simple one step protein precipitation by methanol and a sample size of 50-μL was sufficient. Besides, it can detect accurately the low plasma concentrations. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) were 4.5 and 3.8 fmol for DXR and DXR-ol, respectively. The percentage recovery was found to be 90.7-102.4% and the inter- and intra-assay RSD values in rat plasma were 2.5-8.9%. The method has been successfully used to study pharmacokinetic profiles of DXR and DXR-ol in rats after a single-dose of DXR.     

Determination of vitamin K homologues by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line photoreactor and peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection

A sensitive and highly selective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of vitamin K homologues including phylloquinone (PK), menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7) in human plasma using post-column peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) detection following on-line ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The method was based on ultraviolet irradiation (254 nm, 15 W) of vitamin K to produce hydrogen peroxide and a fluorescent product at the same time, which can be determined with PO-CL detection. The separation of vitamin K by HPLC was accomplished isocratically on an ODS column within 35 min. The method involves the use of 2-methyl-3-pentadecyl-1,4-naphthoquinone as an internal standard. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) were 32, 38 and 85 fmol for PK, MK-4 and MK-7, respectively. The recoveries of PK, MK-4 and MK-7 were greater than 82% and the inter- and intra-assay R.S.D. values were 1.9-5.4%. The sensitivity and selectivity of this method were sufficient for clinical and nutritional applications.     

Sensitive fluorometric detection of prostaglandins by high performance liquid chromatography after precolumn labelling with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulphonyl)-7-(1-piperazinyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-PZ).

A highly sensitive and simple method for the determination of prostaglandins (PGs) by HPLC with fluorescence detection is described. PGs are converted to the corresponding fluorescence derivatives by the reaction with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulphonyl)-7-(1-piperazinyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiaz ole (DBD-PZ) in the presence of 2,2'-dipyridyl disulphide and triphenyl phosphine in acetonitrile. The reaction is completed at room temperature after 30 min. The DBD derivatives of nine PGs are separated within a single 45 min chromatographic run on a reversed phase ODS column with a linear gradient elution using water and acetonitrile. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio of 3) calculated from the standard mixture of PGs (6-keto-F1 alpha, F1 alpha, F2 alpha, E1, E2, D2, limaprost, A1 and B1) are in the range 1.7-5.0 fmol. The applicability of the proposed procedure is evaluated to the detection of PGs added to rat plasma.     

A new sensitive determination method of estradiol in plasma using peroxyoxalate ester chemiluminescence combined with an HPLC system

A new sensitive determination method of estradiol in a plasma sample using peroxyoxalate ester chemiluminescence was developed. Estradiol, which was extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate from plasma, was derivatized with dansyl-chloride (DNS-Cl) and separated by reverse-phase HPLC. The performance of four oxalates, bis(trichlorophenyl)oxalate (TCPO), bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl)oxalate (DNPO), bis(pentafluorophenyl)oxalate (PFPO), and bis[4-nitro-2-(3,6, 9-trioxadecyloxycarbonyl)phenyl] oxalate (TDPO), were evaluated using the static system, and DNPO was found to have the most sensitive and stable chemiluminescence at a H(2)O(2) concentration of 30 mM. HPLC-chemiluminescence system using DNPO for the determination of estradiol was established. The detection limit of dansylated-estradiol (DNS-E2) was 15 fmol (4 pg) in the standard solution and 44 fmol (12 pg) in the rat plasma sample at S/N = 3.     

A Micro Method for the Quantitation of Tryptophan in Biological Fluids by HPLC-EC

Abstract

A micromethod for the quantitation of tryptophan in biological fluids, such as whole blood, RBC, serum, plasma or tissue homogenates using HPLC and electrochemical detection is described. -Methyl tryptophan is used as an internal standard. Ten microliters of the sample are added to a mixture of 50 ul of acetonitrite and 10 ul of internal standard (20 ng/ul). This mixture is then diluted with 180 ul of triethylamine phosphate-buffer (pH 3.0). After centrifugation 25 ul of the sample are injected into HPLC system. Standards containing 100 ng and 200 ng of tryptophan are similarly prepared and 25 ul aliquot injected into HPLC.     

Determination of femtomole concentrations of catecholamines by high-performance liquid chromatography with peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection.

A highly sensitive method for determination of the plasma catecholamines, norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E) and dopamine (DA) is described. The method consists of the extraction of the catecholamines, using 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine as internal standard, from plasma with alumina (5 mg), followed by a reversed-phase column separation, on-column fluorogenic derivatization with ethylenediamine (ED) and post-column peroxyoxalate chemiluminescent reaction detection utilizing bis[4-nitro-2-(3,6,9-trioxadecyl-oxycarbonyl)phenyl] oxalate (TDPO) and hydrogen peroxide. In order to optimize the reaction conditions for high-performance liquid chromatography to obtain highly sensitive detection, the effects of changing reagent compositions on the chemiluminescence yield were investigated. The following are the optimized conditions. Eluent, a mixture of 50 mmol l-1 potassium acetate (pH 3.20)-50 mmol l-1 potassium phosphate (pH 3.20)-acetonitrile (90.15 + 4.85 + 3 v/v/v) containing 1 mmol l-1 sodium hexanesulfonate (40 degrees C) and flow rate, 0.5 ml min-1. Fluorogenic reagent solution, 105 mmol l-1 ED and 175 mmol l-1 imidazole in acetonitrile-ethanol (90 + 10 v/v) and flow rate, 0.25 ml min-1. Reaction coil (15 m x 0.5 mm i.d.) heated at 80 degrees C. Chemiluminogenic reagent solution, 0.25 mmol l-1 TDPO, 150 mmol l-1 hydrogen peroxide and 110 mmol l-1 trifluoroacetic acid in dioxane-ethyl acetate (50:50 v/v) and flow rate, 1.4 ml min-1. The detection limits for all the catecholamines were 1 fmol (signal-to-noise ratio at 2). The standard deviations of the method for the determination of NE, E and DA added to rat plasma (2.5 nM) were 3, 3 and 4%, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

高效液相色谱法测定吲哚美辛控释胶囊的血药浓度和生物利用度

采用ＯＤＳ柱,甲醇－稀磷酸溶液（７６２４）为流动相,２６０ｎｍ为检测波长,建立了测定血浆中吲哚美辛浓度的高效液相色谱法,并测定了吲哚美辛控释胶囊炎痛康的血药浓度。结果表明,血浆中吲哚美辛浓度在０．１２５～５．０ｍｇ／Ｌ范围内线性关系良好（ｒ＝０．９９９６）,检测限６２．５μｇ／Ｌ（Ｓ／Ｎ＝３１）,平均回收率为１００．４％,日内和日间ＲＳＤ均小于５％。１１位受试者单剂量口服炎痛康后的相对生物利用度为１０２．３８％。     

Evaluation of several solid phase extraction liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry on-line configurations for high-throughput analysis of acidic and basic drugs in rat plasma

Several configurations using 6- and 10-port switching valves were studied for high flow, on-line extraction of rat plasma coupled to an electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Each plasma sample was diluted 1:1 with an aqueous internal standard solution. The sample was injected into a 2.1 x 20 mm cartridge column packed with 25 microm divinylbenzene/N-vinylpyrrolidone packing using 100% aqueous mobile phase at 4 mL/min. After sample loading and sample cleanup, the analytes were eluted from the extraction column with a 1.0-min gradient at 0.4 mL/min. The samples were either analyzed directly after elution from the extraction column or after additional separation using a short high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column. The different configurations were tested using an acidic drug (diflunisal) and a basic drug (clemastine) in rat plasma. On-line analysis was performed by injecting 200 microL of diluted plasma. The mass spectrometer was operated in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. All calibration standards gave relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 5%. The total time per sample was 3 min.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine, N(G),N(G)-dimethyl-L-arginine, and N(G),N(G)'-dimethyl-L-arginine using 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2, 1,3-benzoxadiazole as a fluorescent reagent

N(G)-Monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), N(G),N(G)-dimethyl-L-arginine (ADMA), and N(G),N(G)'-dimethyl-L-arginine (SDMA) are emerging cardiovascular risk factors. A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection for the simultaneous determination of L-NMMA, ADMA and SDMA is described. The assay employed 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F) as a fluorescent derivatization reagent. After solid phase extraction with cation-exchange column, the methylated arginines were converted to fluorescent derivatives with NBD-F, and the derivatives were separated within 32 min on a reversed-phase column. Nomega-Propyl-L-arginine was Used as an internal standard. Extrapolated detection limits were 12 nM (12 fmol per injection) for L-NMMA and 20 nM (20 fmol per injection) for ADMA and SDMA, respectively, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The calibration curves for L-NMMA, ADMA and SDMA were linear within the range of 50-5000 fmol. The method was applied to the quantitative determination of L-NMMA, ADMA and SDMA in 200 microl of rat plasma. The concentrations of L-NMMA, ADMA and SDMA in rat plasma were 0.16 +/- 0.03, 0.80 +/- 0.25 and 0.40 +/- 0.21 microM, respectively (n = 5).     

Determination of idebenone in plasma by HPLC with post-column fluorescence derivatization using 2-cyanoacetamide

Idebenone is a benzoquinone analog that is used in the treatment of several neurological disorders including Friedreich's ataxia. It was found that the reaction of idebenone with 2-cyanoacetamide under alkaline conditions generates fluorescent products, and the reaction was considered to proceed via Craven's reaction. The reaction mixture from idebenone gave fluorescence with excitation and emission maximum wavelengths at 358 nm and 409 nm, respectively. It was adopted for HPLC with post-column fluorescence derivatization of idebenone. Idebenone in the plasma showed a linear response in the range of 0.5-32 ng (25-1600 ng/mL), and the quantitation limit (S/N=10) was 12.5 ng/mL. The detection limit (S/N=3) of the standard solution of idebenone was 0.1 ng. The HPLC system was applied to the human blood plasma obtained by finger prick. The plasma sample obtained by finger prick gave a similar chromatogram to that of venous blood obtained by venipuncture.     

Quantitation of N epsilon-(dichloroacetyl)-L-lysine in proteins after perchloroethene exposure by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using chemical ionization and negative ion detection followingimmunoaffinity chromatography.

An antibody specific to N epsilon-(dichloroacetyl)-L-lysine (DCA-Lys) was immobilized to immunoaffinity columns for the use in selective enrichment of dichloroacetylated proteins. These result from the reaction with dichlorothioketene the beta-lyase cleavage product of the perchloroethene metabolite S-(trichlorovinyl)-L-cysteine. Dichloroacetylated proteins from rat kidney mitochondria, rat plasma and human blood plasma were isolated after exposure to 40 ppm tetrachloroethene (PER) for 6 h. After acid hydrolysis of the protein fraction, DCA-Lys was derivatized with 1,3-dichloro-1,1,3,3-tetrafluoroacetone using N epsilon-(trifluoroacetyl)-L-lysine as internal standard. Recovery of dichloroacetylated reference proteins from immunoaffinity columns was about 73%. Samples were analyzed by GC-MS with chemical ionization and negative ion (NCI) detection showing DCA-Lys in proteins with 2.26 (+/- 0.02) pmol/mg protein in male rat kidney mitochondria and 1.92 (+/- 0.05) pmol/mg total mitochondrial protein in female rats. In rat plasma 0.47 (+/- 0.006) pmol DCA-Lys/mg protein in male and 0.34 (+/- 0.02) in female animals were found. DCA-Lys could not be detected in blood plasma of human volunteers exposed to PER with a detection limit of 20 fmol for the DCA-Lys derivative 2,2-bis(chlorodifluoromethyl)-4-(1-dichloroacetamido)-butyl- 1,3-oxazolidine-5-one. Immunoaffinity chromatography with specific antibodies provides a powerful tool for the enrichment of minor quantities of dichloroacetyled proteins in biological samples for GC-NCI-MS analysis of the modified amino acid lysine having broad utility in the biomonitoring of PER exposure.     

Determination and Pharmacokinetics of Mexiletine in Rabbit Plasma by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry

This paper describes a gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry method for determination of mexiletine in rabbit plasma. Mexiletine and internal standard metoprolol were extracted from rabbit plasma with a mixture of ethylacetate and diethylether at basic pH with liquid-liquid extraction. Calibration curves were linear over the concentration range 45–2000 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation) for mexiletine in rabbit plasma were less than 6.9%, and accuracy (relative error) was better than 6.8%. Recovery of mexiletine from rabbit plasma averaged 92.6%. This method was successfully applied to six rabbits which had given an oral capsule of 200 mg mexiletine.     

A Simple Isocratic High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) Determination of Naproxen in Human Plasma using a Microbore Column Technique

Abstract

A simple and sensitive HPLC method was developed for the determination of naproxen in human plasma. The assay employs a microbore column packed with a C18 reversed-phase material (5 μm ODS Hypersil) with an isocratic mixture of acetonitrile and 10 mM phosphate buffer, pH 2.5 (40:60, v/v) as the mobile phase. The mobile phase was pumped at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min. For sample analysis 200 μl of acetonitrile containing internal standard (flurbiprofen) was added to 100 μl of plasma. After centrifugation 10 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4 (200 μl) was added to the tube, then vortexed and centrifuged. The supernatant (20 μl) was injected onto the HPLC column. The chromatographic separation was monitored by a fluorescence detector at an emission wavelength of 350 nm with an excitation wavelength of 225 nm. The direct precipitation of plasma protein using acetonitrile gave a good recovery for both naproxen and the internal standard. The detection limit was 0.1 μg/ml for naproxen. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation at different concentrations evaluated were less than 10%.     

Fluorimetric determination of mexiletine in serum by high-performance liquid chromatography using pre-column derivatization with fluorescamine

A simple, specific and sensitive micro-scale method for the assay of the antiarrhythmic agent mexiletine in human serum is described. The method uses high-performance liquid chromatography, with pre-column fluorimetric derivatization by fluorescamine. Following extraction with diethyl ether, mexiletine and 4-methylmexiletine (an internal standard) were derivatized with fluorescamine under weakly alkaline condition (pH 9.0) and chromatographed on a reversed-phase column with aqueous methanol-2-propanol as the mobile phase. The two fluorescent derivatives of mexiletine and the internal standard were separated as clear single peaks, and no interfering peaks were observed on the chromatograms. The detection limit for mexiletine was 0.005 micrograms/ml from only 100 microliters of serum, and the calibration curves in the range 0.01-5 micrograms/ml were linear, with an overall coefficient of variation of less than 5%. The analytical recovery of a known amount of mexiletine added to serum was almost 100%. This method proved to be effective in the rapid monitoring of the serum concentrations in patients who received this potent antiarrhythmic drug.     

A new ultrafast and high-throughput mass spectrometric approach for the therapeutic drug monitoring of the multi-targeted anti-folate pemetrexed in plasma from lung cancer patients

An analytical assay has been developed and validated for ultrafast and high-throughput mass spectrometric determination of pemetrexed concentrations in plasma using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization–triple quadrupole–tandem mass spectrometry. Patient plasma samples spiked with the internal standard methotrexate were measured by multiple reaction monitoring. The detection limit was 0.4 fmol/μL, lower limit of quantification was 0.9 fmol/μL, and upper limit of quantification was 60 fmol/μL, respectively. Overall observed pemetrexed concentrations in patient samples ranged between 8.7 (1.4) and 142.7 (20.3)?pmol/μL (SD). The newly developed mass spectrometric assay is applicable for (routine) therapeutic drug monitoring of pemetrexed concentrations in plasma from non-small cell lung cancer patients.     

Determination of free and total catecholamines in human urine by HPLC with fluorescence detection

A simple and highly sensitive method for the determination of free and total (free + conjugated) catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine) in human urine is described which employs HPLC with fluorescence detection. Conjugated catecholamines (sulfate form) are hydrolyzed by a sulfatase-mediated reaction to the corresponding free amines. After cation exchange chromatography on a Toyopak IC-SP S cartridge, catecholamines and isoproterenol (internal standard) in urine samples were converted into the corresponding fluorescent compounds by reaction with 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine. These compounds were separated within 8 min on a reversed phase column with isocratic elution using a mixture of water, methanol and acetonitrile containing a Tris-hydrochloric acid buffer (pH 7.0). The detection limit for each catecholamine is ca 2 fmol per 100 microL injection volume.     

Quantitative detection of N(7)-(2-hydroxyethyl)guanine adducts in DNA using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) to develop a sensitive and selective method for the quantitative measurement of N(7)-(2-hydroxyethyl)guanine (N(7)-HEG) adducts in DNA obtained from ethylene oxide-exposed biological samples. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) was used as the detection mode while the fragmentation product ion at m/z 152 generated from the precursor protonated N(7)-HEG (m/z 196) was monitored. The detection limits for N(7)-HEG were estimated by twofold serial dilution and determined to be 4 fmol in neat standard solution and 16 fmol when a matrix effect is considered. When the mass spectrometer was operated in the selected ion monitoring mode using only the first quadrupole (without MS/MS function), the detection limits increased to 128 fmol and 1 pmol (when matrix effect is considered), respectively. A good linear correlation (R(2) = 0.999) was observed for signal intensities obtained by injecting 16 fmol--33 pmol of N(7)-HEG into the HPLC/ESI-MS/MS system. Hep G2 cells were incubated for 8 h with medium containing various concentrations of ethylene oxide (ranging from 0.05 to 5.0 mM). A dose-response relationship was established, indicating that the adduct formation increases with the exposure level. The method shows potential, although the detection limit needs to be lowered for practical applications, for use in monitoring N(7)-HEG formation in other biological systems.     

Liquid chromatographic analysis of mexiletine in serum, with alternate application to tocainide, procainamide, and N-acetylprocainamide.

A simple and precise high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of mexiletine in human serum or plasma is described. Following addition of N-propionylprocainamide as internal standard the specimens are extracted, under basic conditions, into methylene chloride. After removal of the aqueous layer the drug is back-extracted into dilute acid, which is then injected directly for analysis. The extraction efficiency is 79% for both mexiletine and internal standard, and the assay is linear to 4 mg/L (twice upper therapeutic concentration). Inter-run coefficients of variation are 3.0% or less. The relative retention time of mexiletine to internal standard averages 1.3. An adaptation of this method is described for an alternate application to the analysis of tocainide, procainamide and N-acetylprocainamide.     

Immunomagnetic separation and detection of Salmonella cells using newly designed carriers

A new method for simultaneous determination of alkoxyethanols (2-methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, 2-isopropoxyethanol, and 2-butoxyethanol) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection has been developed. The alkoxyethanols and an internal standard (2-phenoxyethanol) were derivatized by treatment with 1-anthroylnitrile to give the anthroyl esters. The esterification was completed in 30 min in the presence of quinuclidine as base catalyst at room temperature. After stopping the reaction, an aliquot of the final solution was injected into the HPLC. The resulting anthroyl esters of the alkoxyethanols and the internal standard were separated on a C18 reversed-phase column with acetonitrile-water-acetic acid (65:35:0.1, v/v) as the mobile phase and detected fluorimetrically at excitation and emission wavelengths of 360 nm and 460 nm, respectively. The detection limits of the derivatives as alkoxyethanols at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 were in the range of 1-3 pg per injection. The minimal amounts of alkoxyethanols derivatized in the reaction mixture for derivatization to determine the limits of detection were approximately 0.5 ng. This HPLC method was applied to the determination of some of alkoxyethanols in the air of the workplace where the thinner containing alkoxyethanols was used for painting.