Development and validation of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous analysis of androgens,estrogens, glucocorticoids and progestagens in human serum

We present a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous analysis of 16 endogenous steroids (androgens, estrogens, glucocorticoids and progestogens) in human serum. Samples (250 μl of matrix) were extracted with t-butylmethyl ether prior to LC–MS/MS analysis. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase column using a methanol–water gradient. The HPLC was coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source with acquisition in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method was validated using surrogate matrices and human serum samples. The specificity of the method was confirmed for all of the considered steroids; linearity was also assessed (R² > 0.99, lack-of-fit test) in the ranges of concentrations investigated. The lower limits of quantification were in the range 10–400 pg/ml depending on the target steroid. Accuracy was in the range 85–115% for all target steroids except for the lower limit of quantitation levels where it was 80–120%. The extraction recovery was always >65%. No significant matrix effects were observed. To test the reliability of the method, the analysis of serum samples collected from 10 healthy subjects (5 M/5F) was performed. The present method can be used to identify the trajectories of deviation from the concentration normality ranges applied to disorders of the gonadal and adrenal axes.     

A Novel N-Tert-Butyl Derivatives of Pseudothiohydantoin as Potential Target in Anti-Cancer Therapy

Tumors are currently more and more common all over the world; hence, attempts are being made to explain the biochemical processes underlying their development. The search for new therapeutic pathways, with particular emphasis on enzymatic activity and its modulation regulating the level of glucocorticosteroids, may contribute to the development and implementation of new therapeutic options in the treatment process. Our research focuses on understanding the role of 11β-HSD1 and 11β-HSD2 as factors involved in the differentiation and proliferation of neoplastic cells. In this work, we obtained the 9 novel N-tert-butyl substituted 2-aminothiazol-4(5H)-one (pseudothiohydantoin) derivatives, differing in the substituents at C-5 of the thiazole ring. The inhibitory activity and selectivity of the obtained derivatives in relation to two isoforms of 11β-HSD were evaluated. The highest inhibitory activity for 11β-HSD1 showed compound 3h, containing the cyclohexane substituent at the 5-position of the thiazole ring in the spiro system (82.5% at a conc. 10 µM). On the other hand, the derivative 3f with the phenyl substituent at C-5 showed the highest inhibition of 11β-HSD2 (53.57% at a conc. of 10 µM). A low selectivity in the inhibition of 11β-HSD2 was observed but, unlike 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid, these compounds were found to inhibit the activity of 11β-HSD2 to a greater extent than 11β-HSD1, which makes them attractive for further research on their anti-cancer activity.     

QuEChERS/液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定鱼肉中30种激素类及氯霉素类药物残留

建立了鱼肉中8种雌激素、5种雄激素、6种孕激素、8种糖皮质激素及3种氯霉素类药物多残留的QuEChERS/液相色谱-串联质谱(LC - MS/MS)同时测定方法.均质样品用水分散后加乙腈提取,经分散固相萃取净化后,采用ZORBAX Extend-C18色谱柱(100 mm ×2.1 mm,3.5 μm)分离,分别在电喷...     

In‐situ preparation of porous monolithic polymer inside hollow fiber as a micro‐solid phase extraction device for glucocorticoids in cosmetics

Glucocorticoids have a certain whitening effect on the skin. However, frequent and long‐term use of cosmetics including glucocorticoids is harmful to health. Herein, we proposed a novel micro‐solid phase extraction method for the detection of prednisolone acetate, prednisone, and prednisolone in cosmetics coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography. In this method, porous monolithic polymer micro‐extraction bars were prepared by “one‐step, one‐pot” in situ photopolymerization combined with sacrificial support in hollow fiber under water atmosphere. The crucial factors such as pH of sample solution, extraction, and elution times that influence micro‐extraction were optimized and found to be 9.0, 2 h, and 32 min, respectively. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the linear range of the calibration curves were from 5.0 to 2000 µg/L with correlation coefficients (R²) between 0.9922 and 0.9996. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 1.5 µg/L and 5.0 µg/L, respectively, and the recoveries were found to be in range of 69.0–113.3%. The analysis of precision for intraday and interday were less than 10.40 and 10.59%. The device has been successfully achieved photopolymerization under water atmosphere. The results indicated that this method is simple, accurate, and satisfactory for the pretreatment and determination of glucocorticoids in complex cosmetics samples.     

Comparison of triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and Orbitrap high‐resolution mass spectrometry in ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography for the determination of veterinary drugs in sewage: benefits and drawbacks

This paper presents a comparison of triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and Orbitrap high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) combined to ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography for the determination of glucocorticoids and polyether ionophores in sewage, in order to show the major benefits and drawbacks for each mass spectrometry analyser. Overall, HRMS measurements have enhanced performance in terms of confirmatory capabilities than MS/MS measurements. Moreover, similar limits of quantification, limits of detection, linear range and repeatability for glucocorticoids with both the MS/MS and HRMS methods were compared, but in the case of polyether ionophores, slightly better limits of detection and limits of quantification were obtained with the HRMS method because of the high sensitivity obtained when diagnostic ions are used for quantification instead of selected reaction monitoring transitions for these compounds. The two methods have been applied to the analysis of several influent and effluent sewage samples from sewage treatment plants located in the Tarragona region (Catalonia, Spain), showing an excellent correlation between the two methods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

分散固相萃取-液相色谱-串联质谱法同时快速测定化妆品中81种糖皮质激素

建立了分散固相萃取-液相色谱-串联质谱同时快速测定化妆品中81种非法添加糖皮质激素(GCs)的分析方法。样品用水分散后加乙腈超声提取,经十八烷基键合硅胶(C18)和N-丙基乙二胺(PSA)净化,待测物选用具有多重色谱保留模式的Poroshell 120 PFP色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm,2.7μm)分离,以0.2%(v/v)乙酸水溶液-乙腈为流动相梯度洗脱,在电喷雾正离子模式下以动态多反应监测方式测定,内标法定量。81种待测物在各自的浓度范围内线性关系良好,相关系数均大于0.99,在3个不同的添加水平下,平均回收率为68.8%~105.3%,RSD为2.9%~13.1%(n=6),方法的检出限(S/N≥3)和定量限(S/N≥10)分别为0.002~0.006μg/g和0.005~0.020μg/g。筛查了137个化妆品样品,发现16个阳性样品,含量为16.9~158μg/g。结果表明,该法简便快速,灵敏可靠,适用于化妆品中81种GCs的同时快速定性定量筛查分析。     

Multiresidue analysis of glucocorticoids in milk by LC–MS/MS with low‐temperature purification and dispersive solid‐phase extraction

A multiresidue method for the determination of 12 glucocorticoids (clobetasol propionate, budesonide, triamcinolone, triamcinolone acetonide, fludrocortisone acetate, flumethasone, beclomethasone, prednisone acetate, 6‐α‐methylprednisolone, hydrocortisone, cortisone, and prednisone) in bovine milk was developed using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Isoflupredone was used as an internal standard. Milk samples were treated with ethyl acetate to extract glucocorticoids and were frozen at −20°C for 6 h to precipitate fat. The extract was dried under nitrogen, and residues were dissolved in an acetonitrile/water solution. A further clean‐up step was used by dispersive solid‐phase extraction, with octadecyl silica and primary secondary amine as the absorbents. The recoveries of glucocorticoids spiked at 0.5, 1.0, 10.0 μg/kg ranged from 75.7 to 117.3%, except for clobetasol propionate and budesonide (16.1–49.5%). The limits of quantification were 0.01–0.5 μg/kg in milk. This method has been successfully applied in real samples. The results demonstrated that this method is simple, robust, and suitable for identification of glucocorticoid residues in milk.     

Glucocorticoid-loaded core-cross-linked polymeric micelles with tailorable release kinetics for targeted therapy of rheumatoid arthritis

Polymerizable and hydrolytically cleavable dexamethasone (DEX, red dot in picture) derivatives were covalently entrapped in core-cross-linked polymeric micelles that were prepared from a thermosensitive block copolymer (yellow and gray building block). By varying the oxidation degree of the thioether in the drug linker, the release rate of DEX could be controlled. The DEX-loaded micelles were used for efficient treatment of inflammatory arthritis in two animal models.     

Chemometrics‐assisted liquid chromatography with full scan mass spectrometry for the interference‐free determination of glucocorticoids illegally added to face masks

A smart chemometrics‐assisted strategy that combines the full scan mode of liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry with second‐order calibration method based on alternating trilinear decomposition algorithm was developed for the rapid determination of 15 glucocorticoids including the epimers betamethasone and dexamethasone illegally added into face masks. Fifteen glucocorticoids were rapidly eluted (11 min) under a simple elution program. By means of the second‐order calibration method, 15 target analytes were successfully quantified in the presence of peak overlaps, unknown interferences and baseline drifts. Notably, the epimers, namely, betamethasone and dexamethasone, were simultaneously quantified by the proposed method under a simple elution program. The average spiked recoveries for all target analytes ranged from 87.3 ± 2.2 to 119.4 ± 5.8%. The validation parameters including sensitivity, selectivity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and precision were calculated to validate the accuracy of the proposed method, and the quantitative analysis results were further confirmed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. All results proved that the proposed chemometrics‐assisted liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry strategy was an accurate and fast method to determine epimers and multiple glucocorticoids in complex face mask samples.     

UHPLC-LTQ Orbitrap MS测定鸡肉组织中5种糖皮质激素残留

建立了鸡肉组织中地塞米松、泼尼松、氢化可的松、甲基氢化泼尼松、曲安那德5种糖皮质激素的QuEChERS前处理方法以及超高效液相色谱-高分辨质谱(UHPLC-LTQ Orbitrap MS)检测方法。对QuECh-ERS前处理条件进行优化,结果表明,以乙酸乙酯为提取溶剂,乙二胺-N-丙基(PSA)为净化吸附剂,可达到最佳提取和净化效果。采用Waters AQUITY UPLC HSS T3(2.1 mm×150 mm,1.8μm)色谱柱进行分离,以乙腈-0.1%甲酸水溶液为流动相,梯度洗脱,流速为250μL/min。通过LTQ Orbitrap MS质谱检测器进行检测,以保留时间和精确质量数进行定性,母离子的峰面积进行定量。5种糖皮质激素的线性范围为1～100μg/L,相关系数均大于0.99,在5、10、20μg/kg 3个加标水平下的回收率为87.5%～119.7%,相对标准偏差(RSDs)为2.0%～11.0%。5种糖皮质激素的检出限(LODs)为0.49～0.78μg/kg,定量下限(LOQs)为1.62～2.57μg/kg。该方法稳定、可靠,可满足鸡肉中地塞米松等糖皮质激素残留的检测与确证要求。