Application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in research of traditional Chinese medicine

It is well known that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a more and more important role in modern pharmaceutical industry. It has been used in the therapy of many diseases for several thousand years because of its high pharmacological activity, low toxicity and rare side effects. In TCM, as an important group of secondary metabolites, essential oils have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is the most commonly used technique for the analysis of liposoluble constituents, especially volatile/semi-volatile compounds, and their metabolites in biological fluids due to its high resolution, selectivity and sensitivity. This review briefly describes the applications of GC-MS for the isolation and characterization of volatile compounds from TCM. In addition, GC-MS methods adopted in the metabolic profiling of volatile compounds in biological matrices are also described.     

Identifying the chemical markers in raw and wine-processed Scutellaria baicalensis by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with multiple statistical strategies

Herb processing is a typical pharmaceutical preparation process for traditional Chinese medicine. After processing, its clinical applications and pharmacological effects vary greatly, which is most commonly attributed to the changing chemical properties between raw herb and processed products. In this work, a total of 53 chemical compounds were detected, among which 17 compounds were identified as discriminatory chemicals between raw and wine-processed Scutellaria baicalensis, and 10 components were identified as chemical markers with a cumulative content contribution of 88.75%. In addition, this work revealed that the best wine-processed time was 18 min by investigating the changes of chemical markers in S. baicalensis during processing. This work demonstrated that ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with multiple statistical strategies is an effective approach for screening and identifying discriminatory chemical markers in complex traditional Chinese medicine.     

毛细管电泳技术在药物分离分析中的研究与应用

综述了近5年毛细管电泳在手性药物拆分、药物制剂及中草药分析中的应用.在手性药物拆分的应用中主要探讨了手性选择剂的种类及毛细管分离方法;在药物制剂、中草药的应用中主要介绍该法对药效成分进行的分离及定量分析,总结方法的检出限、线性范围和检测方法;最后,探讨了毛细管电泳在求取药物水解常数上的应用.提出毛细管电泳在药物分析中将有广阔的应用前景.     

药物分析(Ⅰ)

对国内药物分析在2002．1～2003．6的主要进展进行评述。内容包括分光光度法、高效液相色谱法、气相色谱法、薄层色谱法、毛细管电泳法和其它分析方法等.另外,着重对中药指纹图谱、手性药物拆分和高效液相色谱法联用技术等进行评述。共引用文献2211篇.     

高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术的应用进展

高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术具有高分离能力、高灵敏度、应用范围广和极强的专属性等特点。对高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术在药物分析、食品分析和环境分析等领域的应用,特别是在中草药成分分析、中药指纹图谱研究、药物代谢研究、体内药代动力学研究、西药及中成药成分分析、药物筛选研究等方面的应用进行了综述。     

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis in pharmaceutical analysis

This review presents different solvents and electrolytes commonly used as BGEs in NACE for the analysis of pharmaceutical compounds. Most NACE applications carried out since 1998 for the analysis of compounds of pharmaceutical interest are presented in four tables: (i) analysis of drugs and related substances, (ii) analysis of chiral substances, (iii) analysis of phytochemical extracts and (iv) analysis of drugs in biological fluids. These selected examples are used to illustrate the interest in NACE versus conventional aqueous CE.     

Quantitative 1H NMR method for the routine spectroscopic determination of enantiomeric purity of active pharmaceutical ingredients fenfluramine, sertraline, and paroxetine

Determining the enantiomeric purity of chiral therapeutic agents is important in the development of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). A strategy for determining the enantiomeric purity of three APIs was developed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and the chiral solvating agent (CSA) 1,1-bi-2-naphthyl (1). While chiral chromatography is widely used to evaluate enantiomeric purity, it can sometimes suffer from tedious sample preparation obviating rapid measurements that are sometimes needed during the manufacture of such agents. The techniques described herein provide comparable enantiomeric purity results with those obtained with traditional chiral HPLC and other published methods for these compounds. Chiral analysis of standard samples of methylbenzylamine enantiomeric mixtures using 1 were found to be quantitative to approximately 1% minor enantiomer. Enantiomeric purity determination by NMR utilizing chiral solvating agents do not require special instrumental techniques, chemical derivatization or standards and is therefore ideally suited for rapid routine analysis. As a result, the technique demonstrated is commonly used in our laboratory as a complementary or alternative method to chiral HPLC or optical rotation measurements for routine determination of enantiomeric purity.     

Comparative studies of immobilized polysaccharide derivatives chiral stationary phases for enantioseparation of furanocoumarins and dihydroflavones and discussion on chiral recognition mechanism

Enantiomeric separation of furanocoumarins and dihydroflavones compounds were systematically studied in the normal-phase mode using four different polysaccharide-type chiral stationary phases, namely, Chiralpak IA, Chiralpak IC, Chiralpak IG, and Chiralpak IK-3 by high-performance liquid chromatography. The effect of alcohol modifiers and alcohol content on enantiomeric separation was evaluated for the separation of furanocoumarins and dihydroflavones. All the eight compounds have achieved baseline separation with the resolutions ranging between 1.52 and 23.11. For a better insight into the enantiorecognition mechanisms, thermodynamic analysis was carried out. The mechanisms of chiral recognition have been discussed. Among four chiral columns, Chiralpak IG exhibited the most universal and the best enantioseparation ability toward furanocoumarins and dihydroflavones when used n-hexane-isopropanol and n-hexane-ethanol as mobile phase, respectively. The steric hindrance, hydrogen bonding, and π-π interaction played major roles in chiral recognition on Chiralpak IG. By comparing four chiral columns, this work systematically analyzed the separation methods of furanocoumarins and dihydroflavones for the first time and reported some active chiral ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine that have never been separated, which provided a further insight into the enantioseparation of furanocoumarins and dihydroflavones on chiral stationary phases.     

电子传感技术在中药材及农产品分析领域的应用研究进展

电子传感技术以其信号易于获得、信息丰富、能够从整体上表征样品性质等优势, 近年来在中药材及农产品分析领域得到日益广泛的应用.对常用的电子传感技术电子眼、电子鼻、电子舌等进行介绍, 对上述技术在中药、烟叶、食品、饮料等领域的应用报道进行综述, 并对其相关的多变量数据分析技术、多源数据融合技术、品牌保护技术及未来仪器研发进行展望, 以期为电子传感技术在中药材及农产品领域的推广应用提供借鉴.     

毛细管电泳用于药物分析的研究进展

药物分析是毛细管电泳（CE）的重要应用领域,所有CE分离模式与检测方法都在各种药物及其不同形式样品的分离分析中显示出特色和应用能力。该文从药品分析领域中的小分子药物（包括手性药物）及其有关物质、中药与天然产物、体内药物分析、生物制品药物分析等几个方面,综述了近几年CE在这些传统药物分析领域应用的研究进展。限于篇幅,未包括现代药物分析研究比较活跃的理化常数测定、亲和毛细管电泳与结合常数研究（药物与受体间的相互作用等）、临床生物标志物分析、代谢组学和微流控芯片CE分析等方面的内容。根据目前传统药物分析领域的发展,该文关注到近期CE在顺应药物分析的法规需求、电容耦合非接触电导检测（CE-C⁴ D）、改进检测灵敏度与精密度、CE-十二烷基硫酸钠（SDS）毛细管电泳、全柱成像毛细管等电聚焦（icIEF）、抗体分析等方面的新进展。该文结合文献,讨论了目前传统药物分析领域的需求,以及CE在其中的地位、挑战和机遇。对目前CE主要作为互补分析方法在化学药和中药分析中的应用研究提出了一些针对性的建议,期待CE在生物制品分析中的特色和能力得到进一步的发挥,同时提出CE-MS和对CE分析重复性改进等新进展可能对未来CE应用领域的大幅度扩展。该综述主要涉及近3年（2017年1月到2020年2月）及部分2016年的相关文献。     

多囊卵巢综合征相关雄性激素的液相色谱-串联质谱检测

建立了液相色谱-串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)检测血清中硫酸脱氢表雄酮(DHEAS)、雄烯二酮(A4)、睾酮(T)、17-羟基孕酮(17-OHP)、双氢睾酮(DHT)5种激素的分析方法。血清样本经蛋白沉淀后,采用固相萃取,经Agela Venusil MP C18色谱柱(3.0 mm×50 mm,3μm)分离,以含0.1%甲酸的甲醇和含0.02%甲酸的水为流动相进行梯度洗脱。使用正-负离子多反应监测模式进行数据采集。结果表明,5种激素在各自质量浓度范围内线性关系良好(r2>0.995),回收率为96.0%~105%,各激素的批内精密度和批间精密度均小于10%,DHEAS、A4、T、17-OHP、DHT的定量下限(LOQ)分别为5.00、0.05、0.05、0.025、0.025 ng/mL。该方法快速、准确、灵敏,适用于临床对多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)患者血清雄性激素水平的检测。     

生物制药研究中的多维色谱

对全二维气相色谱(GC×GC)、全二维液相色谱(HPLC×HPLC)、多维毛细管电泳等多维分离技术在生物制药研究中的应用进行了综述,其中对作者所在研究组在全二维气相色谱应用于中药及固相萃取-液相色谱联用分析系统等方面的工作做了重点介绍。由所综述的生物制药研究得出结论：多维分离方法以其高分辨、快速、自动化等特点已经在生物制药领域显示出它的巨大优势,并将发挥更大的作用。     

Rapid characterization of chemical constituents and metabolites of Qi‐Jing‐Sheng‐Bai granule by using UHPLC–Q‐TOF‐MS

Qi‐Jing‐Sheng‐Bai granule is an effective traditional Chinese medicine formula that has been widely used for the treatment of leukopenia post radiotherapy or chemotherapy. However, its chemical constituents were still unclear, which hindered interpreting bioactive constituents and studying integrative mechanisms. In this study, we developed a three‐step strategy to characterize the chemical constituents and metabolites of Qi‐Jing‐Sheng‐Bai by using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. As a result, a total of 143 compounds, including 56 flavonoids, 51 saponins, and 36 other compounds, of which contained six pairs of isomers, were tentatively identified and characterized via reference standards and by comparing mass spectrometry data with literature. After oral administration of 15 g/kg Qi‐Jing‐Sheng‐Bai, a number of 42 compounds including 24 prototype compounds and 18 metabolites have been detected in the serum of rats. This work serves as the first reference for Qi‐Jing‐Sheng‐Bai chemical components and metabolites. Moreover, it provided a rapid and valid analytical strategy for characterization of the chemical compounds and metabolites of traditional Chinese medicine formula.     

中药粉体物理指纹图谱研究进展

中药(TCM)粉体是中药口服固体制剂的重要中间体或产品,粉体的物理性质不仅影响制剂成型,而且直接或间接影响产品质量。中药粉体种类众多、尺度各异,采用物理指纹图谱可从物理状态层面整体评价中药粉体质量,并可将其作为对中药粉体含量测定或HPLC指纹图谱评价的补充,这为中药粉体全面质量控制提供了新的工具和思路。该文系统梳理了中药粉体物理指纹图谱的规范化建立方法,包括指标体系的设计、二级指标的测试或计算,以及二级指标标准化处理和图谱展示。总结了物理指纹图谱在中药破壁粉、中药浸膏粉、中药颗粒、药用辅料、制剂成型工艺全过程质量评价和制剂处方设计中的应用。指出了开展物理指纹图谱和物性分析方法验证,确保物理指纹图谱数据可靠,同时结合模式识别和人工智能方法拓展物理指纹图的应用场景,支持中药质量一致性评价、产品和工艺的设计与持续改进,将是中药粉体物理指纹图谱未来的研究方向。     

Synthesis of chiral building blocks for use in drug discovery

In the past decade there has been a significant growth in the sales of pharmaceutical drugs worldwide, but more importantly there has been a dramatic growth in the sales of single enantiomer drugs. The pharmaceutical industry has a rising demand for chiral intermediates and research reagents because of the continuing imperative to improve drug efficacy. This in turn impacts on researchers involved in preclinical discovery work. Besides traditional chiral pool and resolution of racemates as sources of chiral building blocks, many new synthetic methods including a great variety of catalytic reactions have been developed which facilitate the production of complex chiral drug candidates for clinical trials. The most ambitious technique is to synthesise homochiral compounds from non-chiral starting materials using chiral metal catalysts and related chemistry. Examples of the synthesis of chiral building blocks from achiral materials utilizing asymmetric hydrogenation and asymmetric epoxidation are presented.     

Chiral Analysis of Ibuprofen Residues in Water and Sediment

Abstract

Thousands of organic compounds are present in our water resources and exist in dynamic equilibrium with sediment. Among them are drug and pharmaceutical residues. Many of these residues are chiral, and their metabolites or degradation products may also be chiral in nature. Therefore, the determination of chiral ratio of these chiral compounds is required to predict the exact toxicities. The present article describes the presence of ibuprofen, the third most popular clinically used drug in the world, in water resources, its enantiomeric degradation, and the monitoring of chiral ratio of ibuprofen enantiomers and its degradation products. Attempts have also been made to describe the future scope of chiral analyses of drug and pharmaceutical residues in the environment.     

On-Line Sample Treatment LC System for MS Compatibility

In the present work, a new liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) system with on-line pretreatment using column switching and a dilution function was developed. This system can be used under conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) separation conditions, including mobile phases containing phosphate buffer. The built-in autodilution function greatly improves the trapping efficiency for target compounds, followed by desaltation that optimizes the ionization conditions for MS analysis. This fully automated two-dimensional LC system interfaced with mass spectrometry provided a powerful tool for the determination of impurity profiles in pharmaceutical research and the identification of traditional Chinese medicine in natural products.     

Reversed-phase chiral HPLC and LC/MS analysis with tris(chloromethylphenylcarbamate) derivatives of cellulose and amylose as chiral stationary phases

Three polysaccharide-derived chiral stationary phases (CSP) were evaluated for the resolution of more than 200 racemic compounds of pharmaceutical interest in the reversed-phase (RP) separation mode. The population of test probes was carefully evaluated in order to insure that it covers as completely as possible all structural diversity of chiral pharmaceuticals. RP showed the highest potential for successful chiral resolution in HPLC and LC/MS analysis when compared to normal phase and polar organic separation modes. Method development consisted of optimizing mobile phase eluting strength, nature of organic modifier, nature of additive and column temperature. The newer CSPs, cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) and amylose tris(2-chloro-5-methylphenylcarbamate), were compared to the commonly used cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) in regards to their ability to provide baseline resolution. Comparable success rates were observed for these three CSPs of quite complimentary chiral recognition ability. The same method development strategy was evaluated for LC/MS analysis. Diethylamine as additive had a negative effect on analyte response with positive ion mode electrospray (ESI⁺) MS(/MS) detection, even at very low concentration levels (e.g., 0.025%). Decreasing the organic modifier (acetonitrile or methanol) content in the mobile phase often improved enantioselectivity. The column temperature had only a limited effect on chiral resolution, and this effect was compound dependent. Ammonium hydrogencarbonate was the preferred buffer salt for chiral LC with ESI⁺ MS detection for the successful separation and detection of most basic pharmaceutical racemic compounds. Ammonium acetate is a viable alternative to ammonium hydrogencarbonate. Aqueous formic acid with acetonitrile or methanol can be successfully used in the separation of acidic and neutral racemates. Cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) and amylose tris(2-chloro-5-methylphenylcarbamate) emerge as CSPs of wide applicability in either commonly used separation modes rivaling such well established CSPs as cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate). Screening protocols including these two new CSPs in the preferentially screened set of chiral columns have higher success rates in achieving baseline resolution in shorter screening time.     

大孔网状聚合物吸附剂在中药、天然药物分离纯化上的应用

随着科学技术的高速发展和中药现代化发展战略的提出,传统的水提醇沉淀等方法已远远满足不了工业生产需求。新的分离纯化方法中以大孔吸附树脂最受中药开发者青睐,它具有效果显著、工艺简单、再生方便、生产成本低等优点。本文就中药及天然药物中生物碱、黄酮、萜类、皂苷、内酯、蒽醌、醌类及有机酸类等活性成分的富集、分离、纯化等方面的应用研究进行了概述。