Analysis of recombinant monoclonal antibodies by capillary zone electrophoresis

Analytical platforms that characterize charge heterogeneity in therapeutic proteins, such as mAbs, are important tools that can be used to define quality attributes. CZE separates protein moieties close to their native state and is a valuable physicochemical analytical method that can be used in parallel with other orthogonal methods for characterization and comparability. In this study, custom conditions for the analysis of charge heterogeneity of two mAbs were developed with regard to critical parameters in the BGE, running conditions, and sample treatment. The method application was tested for up to four mAbs and one mAb fragment. The electropherograms showed specific profiles and contrasting levels of basic and acidic isoforms with respect to the main isoform. Issues that surround this method, such as peak tailing and capillary lifetime, are summarized. Using this method, the identities of rituximab and trastuzumab were confirmed, based on the correspondence between the biosimilars and reference products, noninterference of the sample matrix, and the ability to separate spiked samples of related mAbs. The RSD of the isoform content and migration time for the method repeatability were less than 2 and 1%, respectively.     

Combined blockade of HER2 and VEGF exerts greater growth inhibition of HER2-overexpressing gastric cancer xenografts than individual blockade

Gastric cancer overexpressing the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) protein has a poor outcome, although a combination of chemotherapy and the anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab has been approved for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in gastric cancer is correlated with recurrence and poor prognosis; however, the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab has shown limited efficacy against gastric cancer in clinical trials. In this study, we evaluated the antitumor effects of trastuzumab; VEGF-Trap binding to VEGF-A, VEGF-B and placental growth factor (PlGF); and a combination of trastuzumab and VEGF-Trap in a gastric cancer xenograft model. Although trastuzumab and VEGF-Trap each moderately inhibited tumor growth, the combination of these agents exerted greater inhibition compared with either agent alone. Immunohistochemical analyses indicated that the reduction in tumor growth was associated with decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of tumor cells and decreased tumor vascular density. The combined treatment resulted in fewer proliferating tumor cells, more apoptotic cells and reduced tumor vascular density compared with treatment with trastuzumab or VEGF-Trap alone, indicating that trastuzumab and VEGF-Trap had additive inhibitory effects on the tumor growth and angiogenesis of the gastric cancer xenografts. These data suggest that trastuzumab in combination with VEGF-Trap may represent an effective approach to treating HER2-overexpressing gastric cancer.     

Adsorption and recovery issues of recombinant monoclonal antibodies in reversed‐phase liquid chromatography†

The poor recovery of large biomolecules is a well‐known issue in reversed‐phase liquid chromatography. Several papers have reported this problem, but the reasons behind this behavior are not yet fully understood. In the present study, state‐of‐the‐art reversed‐phase wide‐pore stationary phases were used to evaluate the adsorption of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. These biomolecules possess molar mass of approximately 150 000 g/mol and isoelectric points between 6.6 and 9.3. Two types of stationary phases were tested, the Phenomenex Aeris Widepore (silica based), with 3.6 μm superficially porous particles, and the Waters Acquity BEH300 (ethylene‐bridged hybrid), with 1.7 μm fully porous particles. A systematic investigation was carried out using 11 immunoglobulin G1, G2, and G4 antibodies, namely, panitumumab, natalizumab, cetuximab, bevacizumab, trastuzumab, rituximab, palivizumab, belimumab, adalimumab, denosumab, and ofatumumab. All are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency in various therapeutic indications and are considered as reference antibodies. Several test proteins, such as human serum albumin, transferrin, apoferritin, ovalbumin, and others, possessing a molar mass between 42 000 and 443 000 g/mol were also evaluated to draw reliable conclusions. The purpose of this study was to find a correlation between the adsorption of monoclonal antibodies and their physicochemical properties. Therefore, the impact of isoelectric point, molar mass, protein glycosylation, and hydrophobicity was investigated. The adsorption of intact antibodies on the stationary phase was significantly higher than that of proteins of similar size, isoelectric point, or hydrophobicity. The present study also demonstrates the unique behavior of monoclonal antibodies, contributing some unwanted and unpredictable strong secondary interactions.     

Trastuzumab quantification in serum: a new,rapid, robust ELISA assay based on a mimetic peptide that specifically recognizes trastuzumab

Trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), is a milestone in the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer patients. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for trastuzumab has been developed for routine use in the laboratory to support clinical and pharmacokinetic studies to optimize therapy. The method relies on an antigen peptide linked to a 96-well plate via the streptavidin/biotin system. The peptide sequence mimics the extracellular portion of the HER2 receptor that is recognized by trastuzumab. The calibration range of the assay is 10 to 360 ng/mL per well, corresponding to a trastuzumab serum concentration from 5 to 180 μg/mL with a lower limit of quantification of 10 μg/mL. Validation results demonstrate that trastuzumab can be accurately and precisely quantified in human serum using this assay. The procedure was also tested in sera obtained from breast cancer patients to evaluate trastuzumab serum levels, confirming the applicability of method that could be a valid assay to use in daily laboratory practice.     

Bioanalysis of bevacizumab and infliximab by high-temperature reversed-phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after immunoaffinity magnetic purification

This study presents two simple and rapid methods for the quantification of therapeutic mAbs based on LC. Two mAbs (bevacizumab and infliximab) in plasma samples were purified using magnetic beads immobilized with a commercially-available idiotype antibody for each mAb. Purified mAbs were separated with HT-RPLC and detected with their native fluorescence. Using immunoaffinity beads, each mAb was selectively purified and detected as a single peak in the chromatogram. The HT-RPLC achieved good separation for the mAbs with sharp peaks within 20 min. The calibration curves of the two mAbs ranged from 1 to 20 μg mL⁻¹ (bevacizumab) and 1–10 μg mL⁻¹ (infliximab), and they had strong correlation coefficients (r² > 0.998). The LOD of bevacizumab and infliximab was 0.07 and 0.15 μg mL⁻¹, and the LLOQ of bevacizumab and infliximab was 0.12 and 0.25 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. Thus, the sensitivities were sufficient for clinical analysis. Immunoaffinity purification with HT-RPLC produced a selective and accurate bioanalysis without an LC-MS/MS instrument. Both methods could become general-purpose analytical methods and complement the results obtained with conventional LBA.     

Determination of vigabatrin in human plasma by means of CE with LIF detection

A method has been developed for the quantitation of the antiepileptic drug vigabatrin (VGB) in human plasma. It is based on CE with LIF detection. The effect of the pH of the buffer and of N-methylglucamine (GLC) as BGE constituent was investigated. The final BGE consisted of 50 mM borate buffer, pH 9.0, with 100 mM GLC and enabled separation within 12 min at 20 kV voltage. An SPE procedure was used for the pretreatment of biological samples, based on mixed-mode lipophilic-cation exchange cartridges, followed by a derivatization step with 6-carboxyfluorescein-N-succinimidyl ester (CFSE). Fluorescence was excited by an Ar-ion laser (lambda(exc) = 488 nm). Linearity was observed in the 10-120 microg/mL plasma concentration range. Extraction yield was >96%, precision (expressed as RSD) <6.7% and accuracy (recovery) was between 97.0 and 101.6%. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of VGB in plasma of epileptic patients undergoing therapy with the drug.     

Chiral separation and quantitation of cetirizine and hydroxyzine by maltodextrin-mediated CE in human plasma: effect of zwitterionic property of cetirizine on enantioseparation

In the present study, a very simple CE method for chiral separation and quantitation of zwitterionic cetirizine (CTZ), as the main metabolite of hydroxyzine (HZ), and HZ has been developed. In addition, the effect of zwitterionic property of CTZ on enantioseparation was investigated. Maltodextrin, a linear polysaccharide, as a chiral selector was used and several parameters affecting the separation such as pH of BGE, concentration of chiral selector and applied voltage were studied. The best BGE conditions for CTZ and HZ enantiomers were optimized as 75 mM sodium phosphate solution at pH of 2.0, containing 5% w/v maltodextrin. Results showed that, compared to HZ, pH of BGE was an effective parameter in enantioseparation of CTZ due to the zwitterionic property of CTZ. The linear range of the method was over 30-1200 ng/mL for all enantiomers of CTZ and HZ. The quantification and detection limits (S/N=3) of all enantiomers were 30 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. The method was used to quantitative enantioseparation of CTZ and HZ in spiked human plasma.     

Intact and middle-down CIEF of commercial therapeutic monoclonal antibody products under non-denaturing conditions

A two-step CIEF with chemical mobilization was developed for charge profiling of the therapeutic mAb rituximab under non-denaturing separation conditions. CIEF of the intact mAb was combined with a middle-down approach analyzing Fc/2 and F(ab´)₂ fragments after digest with a commercial cysteine protease (IdeS). CIEF methods were optimized separately for the intact mAb and its fragments due to their divergent pIs. Best resolution was achieved by combining Pharmalyte (PL) 8–10.5 with PL 3–10 for variants of intact rituximab and of F(ab´)₂ fragments, respectively, whereas PL 6.7–7.7 in combination with PL 3–10 was used for Fc/2 variants. Charge heterogeneity in Fc/2 dominates over F(ab´)₂. In addition, a copy product of rituximab, and adalimumab were analyzed. Both mAbs contain additional alkaline C-terminal lysine variants as confirmed by digest with carboxypeptidase B. The optimized CIEF methods for intact mAb and Fc/2 were tested for their potential as platform approaches for these mAbs. The CIEF method for Fc/2 was slightly adapted in this process. The pI values for major intact mAb variants were determined by adjacent pI markers resulting in 9.29 (rituximab) and 8.42 (adalimumab). In total, seven to eight charge variants could be distinguished for intact adalimumab and rituximab, respectively.     

Two-dimensional nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system for applications in proteomics

Transient isotachophoresis-capillary zone electrophoresis with artificial seawater as the background electrolyte (BGE) was improved to further lower the limit of detection (LOD) for determination of nitrite and nitrate in seawater. By lowering the pH of BGE, the difference between effective mobility of nitrite and that of nitrate increased, thereby permitting increased sample volumes to be tolerated and their LOD values to decrease. Artificial seawater with pH adjusted to 3.0 using phosphate buffer was adopted as the BGE. To reverse electroosmotic flow (EOF), a capillary was flushed with 0.1 mM dilauryldimethylammonium bromide for 3 min before the capillary was filled with the BGE. Limits of detection (LODs) for nitrite and nitrate were 2.7 and 3.0 microg/l (as nitrogen), respectively. The LODs were obtained at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Values of the relative standard deviation (RSD) of peak area for these ions were 2.0 and 0.75%, respectively, when nitrite concentration was 0.05 mg/l and that of nitrate was 0.5 mg/l. The RSDs of peak height were 4.4 and 2.3%. The RSD values of migration time for these ions were 0.19 and 0.17%. The proposed method was applied to determination of nitrite and nitrate in a proposed certified reference material for nutrients in seawater, MOOS-1, distributed by the National Research Council of Canada. Results agreed with the assigned tolerance interval. This method was also applied to determination of these ions in seawater collected around Osaka Bay. Results nearly agreed with those obtained by a conventional spectrophotometric method.     

New pressure‐assisted sweeping on‐line preconcentration for polar environmentally relevant nitrosamines: Part 1. Sweeping for polar compounds and application of auxiliary pressure

Typically sweeping reversed migration EKC (RM‐EKC) is used for online enrichment and separation of neutral compounds in CE, however sweeping is not usually suitable for highly polar neutral compounds due to the lack of strong interaction with micellar phase. Since acidic BGE or coated capillaries (BGE pH 2–8) are used to virtually eliminate the EOF, migration of neutral analytes is only through association with the micelles with relatively slow electrophoretic mobility. To decrease the long analysis times that result, an auxiliary pressure can be applied, which also serves to avoid the associated band broadening. In this study, we have modified a commercially available CE instrument to perform pressure‐assisted sweeping. The apparatus described can be used to precisely control the application of pressure, and therefore direction and magnitude of bulk flow in the capillary. This modification allows us to employ longer capillaries and capillaries with larger internal diameter to increase the sensitivity. An optimized method was used for the analysis of a group of seven N‐nitrosamines that have been widely reported in environmental samples and good concentration factors of up to 34 were achieved. When a coated capillary is employed, this method is effective even at neutral pH, making it broadly applicable.     

Production and quality control of [<Superscript>166</Superscript>Ho]-DOTA-bevacizumab for therapeutic applications

Antiangiogenic monoclonal antibodies in combination with therapeutic radionuclides are potential targeted therapy agents in cancer. In this study, bevacizumab was successively labeled with [¹⁶⁶Ho]HoCl₃ after conjugation with DOTA-NHS-ester with a radiochemical purity of higher than 95% (RTLC). The conjugates were purified by molecular filtration, the average number of DOTA conjugated per mAb was calculated and total concentration was determined by spectrophotometric method and the average chelate to antibody ratio (c/a) for the conjugate used in this study was 5.8:1 and protein integrity experiments (SDS-PAGE). The biodistribution studies in wild-type rats demonstrate a similar pattern to the other radiolabeled anti-vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) immunoconjugates. ¹⁶⁶Ho-DOTA-bevacizumab is a potential compound for therapy/imaging of VEGF-A expression in oncology.     

Radio-immunoconjugated,Dox-loaded,surface-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) as a bioprobe for breast cancer tumor theranostics

In this research, we develop dual modality molecular imaging and also radio-immunotherapy (RIT) bioprobes, in the form of modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) conjugated to radiolabeled antibodies, for PET and MRI of HER2 expressing cancers as well as a PH sensitive drug carrier by embedded an anticancer agent for cancer therapeutic applications. The bioprobes were developed by conjugating ⁶⁴Cu labeled trastuzumab (herceptin) and rituximab (Anti CD-20) antibodies to modified SPIONs. The SPIONs were modified with carboxymethyl chitosan and functionalized with acrylic acid (AA). Also, with the purpose of identifying more effective bifunctional chelator (BFC), we compared the properties of novel BFC, p-NO₂-Bn-PCTA with the commonly used DOTA-NHS for radio-immunoconjugate preparations. Moreover, a chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin, was then loaded onto engineered nanoparticles for targeted intracellular drug delivery and selective cancer cell killing. Resulting radio-immunoconjugated-SPIONs were evaluated for molecular imaging and effective targeting of the HER2+ receptors in SKBR3 cell lines and breast tumor bearing Balb/C mice. Therefore, our biocompatible SPIONs could serve as a promising multifunctional theranostics nanoplatform in dual modality imaging guided RIT of HER2 overexpressing cancer applicable to drug delivery and controlled drug release for trigger both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis.     

三角形法和四面体法优化选择毛细管区带电泳背景电解质

建立了两种高效、快速的毛细管区带电泳背景电解质(BGE)的优化方法三角形优化法和四面体优化法。以色谱指纹图谱指数F和色谱指纹图谱相对指数Fr作为评价毛细管电泳分析系统的目标函数,以雪莲药材水提取液为样品,考察一定浓度的硼砂、硼酸、磷酸氢二钠和磷酸二氢钠溶液按三角形优化法和四面体优化法构成背景电解质时对样品的分离情况,通过添加有机改性剂和调节pH进行再优化。用三角形法优化出以50 mmol/L硼砂-含3%乙腈的150 mmol/L磷酸二氢钠(体积比为1∶1)作为BGE时分离效果最佳,用四面体法优化出以50 mmol/L硼砂-150 mmol/L磷酸二氢钠-200 mmol/L硼酸(体积比为1∶1∶2,用0.1 mol/L氢氧化钠调pH 8.55)作为BGE时分离效果最佳,分别获得28个和25个电泳峰。所建立的方法操作简捷,适用于中药材水提取液或醇提取液的毛细管区带电泳BGE的选择。     

Method development for the analysis of particle phase substituted methoxy phenols and aromatic acids from biomass burning using capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (CE/ESI-MS)

A method is developed for the determination of substituted methoxy phenols and aromatic acids in biomass burning aerosol using capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled to an electrospray ionization mass spectrometer. Background electrolytes (BGEs) containing ammonium acetate, ammonium hydroxide and 10% (v/v) methanol at pH 9.1 and ammonium hydroxide at pH 11 are investigated for their suitability. A good linearity is found for all analytes in the range of 1-50 microM for the ammonium acetate based BGE and 1-40 microM for the ammonium hydroxide BGE. The detection limit ranged from 0.1 to 1.0 microM for the ammonium acetate based BGE and 0.3 to 0.7 microM for the ammonium hydroxide BGE. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) is typically less than 0.5% (ammonium acetate based BGE) and 4.2% (ammonium hydroxide BGE) for the migration time and 3-9% (ammonium acetate based BGE) and 2.5-8% (ammonium hydroxide BGE) for the peak area (n = 5). The analytical time was less than 10 min for both methods. The proposed methods are fast, sensitive and quantitative and can be applied to the analysis of complex biomass burning aerosol samples without complex pre-treatment. The results from the analysis of real biomass burning samples demonstrate the suitability of the proposed methods to the analysis of low concentration water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in biomass burning samples. The fast analytical time and high sensitivity of the proposed methods enables the analysis of a large number of size segregated impactor samples from biomass burning aerosols.     

Small Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Carriers for Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy

Small mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs; ca. 37 nm in diameter) have a high loading capacity for a hydrophobic photosensitizer, SiPcCl₂ (82.6 % in weight), and excellent endocytosis properties. As a result, the amount of SiPcCl₂ being delivered to cancer cells is increased by approximately two orders of magnitude compared to pure SiPcCl₂ at the same dosage, and the photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficiency is enhanced by over fourfold. Our method can be widely used to increase the dosage of hydrophobic anti‐cancer drugs in cancer cells and therefore increase the cytotoxicity of the drugs.     

Analysis of red inks by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with laser‐induced fluorescence detection

A combination of MEKC with a—highly sensitive but not commonly used—LIF detector was tested regarding the possibility of differentiation of red inks. The separation process was conducted in a fused silica capillary (id 50 μm, 60/50 cm total/effective length) in BGE consisting of 40 mM sodium borate, 20 mM SDS and 10% v/v ACN with 30 kV applied. The optimized temperature of storage and capillary was 10 and 25°C, respectively. The samples were prepared using 20 dots (ø 0.5 mm), extracted in 35 μL BGE and diluted with 30 μL of water. The proposed method showed excellent repeatability and reproducibility (RSD (t_m) < 0.8 and < 2.5%, respectively). It was applied to group identification and differentiation of different brands, models, and batches of red printing, stamp, and pen inks. It was demonstrated that differentiation can be performed effectively on the basis of migration times and ratios of peak areas. The high efficiency of the developed method was indicated by discriminating power ranging from 87.3 to 98.8%, for stamp and pen inks, respectively. The results showed that the proposed procedure can be valuable for an objective examination of the red parts of questioned documents.     

Determination of anthracycline antibiotics doxorubicin and daunorubicin by capillary electrophoresis with UV absorption detection.

Sweeping preconcentration and electrokinetic injection was used for the capillary electrophoretic analysis of trace amounts of biologically active anthracyclines with UV absorption detection. Phosphate buffer (100 mM), pH 2.5, with addition of 40% v/v methanol was used as background electrolyte (BGE). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (150 mM) was added to BGE in the inlet vial as the sweeping agent. The system enables effective separation of anthracyclines as well as cleanup from matrix impurities. Sweeping preconcentration of sample provides an excellent detection limit (1 x 10(-9) mol L(-1)). The method was applied for the determination of therapeutic levels of doxorubicin in real plasma samples.     

Liquid crystals purity assay using nonaqueous capillary electrokinetic chromatography

A method for purity control of newly synthesized lactic acid–based liquid crystals has been developed. The electrokinetic chromatography proved to be suitable for the separation of these electroneutral substances from their impurities. The separations were performed in an acidic acetonitrile-based background electrolyte (BGE) with a pseudostationary phase formed by a cationic surfactant. During the optimization step, appropriate concentrations of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, acetic acid, and water were seeked. In the optimized method, separations were carried out in acetonitrile with 1-mol/L acetic acid, 80-mmol/L cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and 6% (v/v) water. Interesting positive effects of a small water content in the BGE on electroosmotic flow and resolution of liquid crystal substances from their impurities were observed and discussed. Samples of five liquid crystal substances, both pure and containing impurities from synthesis, were analyzed. The identification of analytes was based on a comparison of relative migration times related to the migration time of mesityl oxide. For all five samples, impurities were separated from the liquid crystals and the method thus showed its viability. To the best of our knowledge, this method is used for the first time for the purity control of newly synthesized liquid crystals. This method can be used to confirm or complement the results obtained by commonly used high-performance liquid chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography methods. Furthermore, the electrokinetic chromatography method requires very small amounts of sample, solvents, and buffer constituents. Overall, its operational costs are significantly lower.     

A simple and sensitive CE method for the simultaneous determination of catecholamines in urine with in-column optical fiber light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence detection

A simple and sensitive method has been developed for simultaneous analysis of three catecholamines: dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NE) in urine by capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with in-column fiber-optic light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence detection (ICFO-LED-IFD). Fluorescein isothiocyanate was used as the fluorescence tagged reagent for derivatization of DA, EP and NE. The CE conditions for separation of these catecholamines were systematically investigated. It was found that catecholamines could be more effectively separated by adding β-cyclodextin (β-CD) and acetonitrile (ACN) to a background electrolyte (BGE) of sodium borate. The migration times are 10.61, 10.83 and 11.14 min for DA, EP and NE, respectively and the catecholamines are completely separated within 11.5 min under the optimal condition of a BGE containing 10% v/v ACN, 20 mM β-CD and 20 mM sodium borate (pH 9.5), and an applied voltage of 13 kV. The relative standard deviations of migration time and peak area for these catecholamines are less than 0.16 and 2.0%, respectively. The limit of quantifications (LOQs) for DA, EP and NE are 3.5, 1.0 and 3.1 nM whereas the limit of detections (LODs) for DA, EP and NE are 1.0, 0.3 and 0.9 nM, respectively. Our proposed CE method provides low LOQ and LOD values. This CE-ICFO-LED-IFD methodology has been successfully applied to analyze catecholamines in human urine samples with good accuracy and satisfactory recovery.     

Analysis of major alkaloids in Rhizoma coptidis by capillary electrophoresis-electrospray-time of flight mass spectrometry with different background electrolytes

CE-based techniques with DAD and detection ESI-TOF-MS have been developed for the analysis of seven protoberberine alkaloids and one aporphinoid alkaloid in Huanglian (Rhizoma coptidis), a well-known traditional Chinese herbal medicine. One aqueous BGE and one nonaqueous BGE were developed for CE-DAD and CE-MS analyses, and the CE-ESI-TOF-MS conditions including nebulizer gas pressure, the sheath-liquid composition, its flow rate, etc. were optimized. Eight main alkaloids in R. coptidis could be separated with baseline resolution by CE-DAD with these two different BGEs, and identified by TOF-MS analysis. Moreover, three major alkaloids (berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine) could be quantified accurately by CE-DAD and CE-MS with the BGE system consisting of 50:50 v/v water and ACN containing 50 mM ammonium acetate at pH 6.8. Both techniques provided similar LODs and could be applied with confidence within similar linear dynamic range. However, reproducibility and speed of analysis were better using CE-DAD. When the CE technique was compared with the RP-HPLC method, the CE-DAD and CE-MS methods provided greater efficiency and faster analysis speed, i.e., achieving baseline resolution for all the eight main basic compounds in less than 14 min. The CE method, as a viable alternative to HPLC, is suitable for use as a routine procedure for the rapid identification and quantification of basic compounds in herbal or natural product applications.