Study of the ESI and APCI interfaces for the UPLC–MS/MS analysis of pesticides in traditional Chinese herbal medicine

In this work, 53 selected pesticides of different chemical groups were extracted from Chinese herbal medicines and determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using both electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI). Extracts were obtained using the acetonitrile-based quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) sample preparation technique. Cleanup was performed by dispersive solid-phase extraction using primary secondary amine, graphitized carbon black, and octadecylsilane. Two atmospheric-pressure interfaces, ESI and APCI, were checked and compared. The validation study, including detection limits, linearity, and matrix effects, was conducted on fritillaria, radix ginseng, folium isatidis, semen persicae, and flos lonicerae in multiple reaction monitoring mode. These matrices represent a variety of plants used in traditional Chinese medicine. Fritillaria and radix ginseng were chosen as representatives for roots, folium isatidis was chosen as a representative for leaves, semen persicae was chosen as a representative for seeds, and flos lonicerae was chosen as a representative for flowers. The limits of detection for pesticides were lower in the UHPLC–ESI-MS/MS method than in the UHPLC–APCI-MS/MS method. Matrix effects on the two ionizations were evaluated for the five matrices. Soft signal enhancement in UHPLC–APCI-MS/MS and signal suppression in UHPLC–ESI-MS/MS were observed.

Investigation of electrochemical behavior of anisomycin on gold electrode followed by HPLC–MS/MS analysis

Anisomycin is an immunosuppressant in low doses (< 0.1 μM) with possible application in treatment of some autoimmune diseases and in inhibiting transplantation rejection. Anisomycin suppresses malignant tumor cell growth and affects memory. For the first time it was the subject of the electrochemical investigations by cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry on gold electrode in 0.05 M NaHCO₃ using its electrochemical activity. The cyclic voltammetry experiments at different sweep rates show that electrochemical process is irreversible and diffusion controlled. Based on square wave voltammetry measurements, the calculated values of LOD and LOQ were 1 and 4 nM (in the absence of biological fluid), as well as 2 and 6 nM (in the presence of spiked urine) indicating the high sensitivity of the proposed electroanalytical method. High performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was a reference method for quantification of anisomycin and served for structural identification of its hydrolysis product (deacetylanisomycin).     

Recent progress in the LC–MS/MS analysis of oxidative stress biomarkers

The presence of a dynamic and balanced equilibrium between the production of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species and the in-house antioxidant defense mechanisms is characteristic for a healthy body. During oxidative stress (OS), this balance is switched to increased production of ROS and RNS, exceeding the capacity of physiological antioxidant systems. This can cause damage to biological molecules, leading to loss of function and even cell death. Nowadays, there is increasing scientific and clinical interest in OS and the associated parameters to measure the degree of OS in biofluids. An increasing number of reports using LC–MS/MS methods for the analysis of OS biomarkers can be found. Since bioanalysis is usually complicated by matrix effects, various types of cleanup procedures are used to effectively separate the biomarkers from the matrix. This is an essential part of the analysis to prepare a reproducible and homogenous solution suitable for injection onto the column. The present review gives a summary of the chromatographic methods used for the determination of OS biomarkers in both urine and plasma, serum, and whole blood samples. The first part mainly describes the biological background of the different OS biomarkers, while the second part reports examples of chromatographic methods for the analysis of different metabolites connected with OS in biofluids, covering a period from 2015 till early 2020. The selected examples mainly include LC–MS/MS methods for isoprostanes, oxidized proteins, oxidized lipoproteins, and DNA/RNA biomarkers. The last part explains the clinical relevance of this review.     

UPLC–MS–MS Analysis of Baicalin in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Rabbits: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

A sensitive and selective ultra-performance liquid chromatographic–tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed for analysis of baicalin in the cerebrospinal fluid of rabbits. Samples were separated on a C₁₈ column with a gradient prepared from acetonitrile and 0.3% aqueous formic acid solution as mobile phase. The target compounds were quantified by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using electrospray ionization (ESI). Intra-and inter-day accuracy, precision, and linear range were investigated in detail. The lower limit quantification (LOQ) was 0.108 ng mL^?1. The method has been successfully used for evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of baicalin in 12 rabbits.     

Investigation of Matrix Effects on the Determination of Carbadox and Olaquindox in Feed by LC–MS/MS

A comprehensive survey of matrix effects on the LC–MS/MS analysis of the banned antibiotic growth promoters carbadox and olaquindox in feed was carried out. Various factors of sample preparation procedure and measurement were systematically investigated by pre- and post-extraction addition and postcolumn infusion experiments. In general, strong signal suppression up to 70 % for carbadox and up to 90 % for olaquindox was observed when using different extraction solvents and techniques as well as different chromatographic conditions. Reduction of matrix effects was achieved by SPE clean-up and dilution of sample extracts. Nevertheless, matrix effect profiles determined by postcolumn infusion revealed, that reduction of signal suppression at a respective retention time cannot guarantee improvement of the methods performance. If high variability of matrix effects is present along the chromatographic run, accuracy might decrease despite reduced signal suppression. Besides method parameters, different feedingstuffs were investigated and showed similar matrix effects.     

Determination of lesinurad in rat plasma by a UHPLC–MS/MS assay

Lesinurad is an oral inhibitor of urate-anion exchanger transporter 1 and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for combination therapy with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with refractory gout. In the present study, a sensitive and specific ultra high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry assay was established and verified for the determination of lesinurad in rat plasma and was described in details for the first time. Chromatographic separation of lesinurad and diazepam (internal standard, IS) was performed on a Rapid Resolution HT C18 column (3.0 × 100 mm, 1.8 µm) using methanol–water (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Lesinurad and IS were extracted from plasma by liquid–liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. The mass spectrometric detection was carried out using an electrospray ionization source in positive mode. Multiple reaction monitoring was used for quantification of the precursor to product ion at m/z 405.6 → 220.9 for lesinurad and m/z 285.1 → 192.8 for IS. The assay was well validated for selectivity, accuracy, precision, recovery, linearity, matrix effects, and stability. The verified method was applied to obtain the pharmacokinetic parameters and concentration–time profiles for lesinurad after oral/intravenous administration in rats. The study might provide an important reference and a necessary complement for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of lesinurad.     

Studies of the intestinal absorption of the alkaloids in the Wu-tou decoction combined with different incompatible medicinal herbs in a Caco-2 cell culture system using UPLC-MS/MS

In this study, seven alkaloids were detected in Wu-tou decoction using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MSn). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus, Pinelliae Rhizoma in different ratios with Wu-tou decoction (2:1, 1:1, 1:2) by measuring the therapeutic effects in Wu-tou decoction of main seven alkaloids including benzoylaconitine (BA), benzoylmesaconitine (BM), benzoylhypaconitine (BH), hypaconitine (HA), fuziline (FU), niaolin (NE) and deoxyaconitine (DA). The permeability of aconitum alkaloids extract through a Caco-2 cell monolayer was analyzed in the absence and presence of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus, and Pinelliae Rhizoma, respectively. The results showed that Pinelliae Rhizoma could reduce the absorption of the alkaloids and increase the excretion of the alkaloids, which would attenuate the therapeutic effects of Wu-tou decoction. Therefore, Pinelliae Rhizoma is an incompatible herb of Wu-tou decoction because of the inhibition of the absorption of alkaloids in the intestine. And that Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus and Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus showed the effects to improve the permeability of the alkaloids in Wu-tou decoction. These effects of these two herbs were similar, but the former was stronger than the latter, which most likely is due to the fact that the compositions of these two traditional Chinese medicines are similar. The in vitro data suggests that the compounds such as fritillary presented in alkaloids in the formula maybe improve the therapeutic function caused by the increased bioavailability of alkaloids in intestine.     

UPLC-MS/MS法测定中药材中齐墩果酸与熊果酸的含量

建立了一种同时检测中药材中齐墩果酸(OA)和熊果酸(UA)含量的超高效液相色谱串联质谱方法。采用超高效液相色谱-三级四极杆质谱(UPLC-TQMS)法对样品进行测定,Waters Acquity UPLC BEH C_(18)色谱柱(50 mm×2.1 mm,1.7μm)进行分离,以乙腈-5 mmol/L乙酸铵水溶液(氨水调至pH 9.24)为流动相,梯度洗脱;负离子模式下检测。结果表明,齐墩果酸和熊果酸在0.5~50.0 ng/mL浓度范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r~2)分别为0.999 8和0.999 7;检出限(S/N=3)分别为0.006 6,0.012 8 ng/mL,定量下限(S/N=10)分别为0.002 0,0.003 8 ng/mL;对OA和UA进行加标回收实验,平均回收率分别为101.1%和100.8%,相对标准偏差(RSD,n=9)分别为1.8%和0.04%。对10种不同中药材中齐墩果酸和熊果酸含量进行检测,结果表明该方法快速简便、准确度高、重现性好,可用于含有齐墩果酸和熊果酸的中药材含量测定。     

Development and validation of a sensitive assay for the quantification of imatinib using LC/LC‐MS/MS in human whole blood and cell culture

We developed and validated a semi‐automated LC/LC‐MS/MS assay for the quantification of imatinib in human whole blood and leukemia cells. After protein precipitation, samples were injected into the HPLC system and trapped onto the enrichment column (flow 5 mL/min); extracts were back‐flushed onto the analytical column. Ion transitions [M + H]⁺ of imatinib (m/z = 494.3 → 394.3) and its internal standard trazodone (372.5 → 176.3) were monitored. The range of reliable response was 0.03–75 ng/mL. The inter‐day precisions were: 8.4% (0.03 ng/mL), 7.2% (0.1 ng/mL), 6.5% (1 ng/mL), 8.2% (10 ng/mL) and 4.3% (75 ng/mL) with no interference from ion suppression. Autosampler stability was 24 hs and samples were stable over three freeze–thaw cycles. This semi‐automated method is simple with only one manual step, uses a commercially available internal standard, and has proven to be robust in larger studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Toxaphene analysis in Great Lakes fish: a comparison of GC-EI/MS/MS and GC-ECNI-MS, individual congener standard and technical mixture for quantification of toxaphene

Toxaphene is considered to be a problematic organochlorine pollutant because of its bioaccumulation potential and persistence in aquatic environments. In this study, whole lake trout and walleye composites were used to evaluate two analytical techniques for total toxaphene and selected congener analysis. The efficacy of using gas chromatography electron ionization tandem mass spectrometry (GC-EI/MS/MS) and electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry (GC-ECNI-MS) were compared. Although the sensitivity using GC-ECNI-MS was approximately five times greater than GC-EI/MS/MS, the latter provided more consistent inter-Parlar relative response factors (RRF). When using technical calibration mixtures, these results suggest a more accurate total toxaphene measurement was obtained using the GC-EI/MS/MS method. Total toxaphene concentrations in lake trout composites from both methods were highly correlated (R ² = 0.985) with the MS/MS concentrations approximately half of those determined by ECNI, suggesting systematic high bias in toxaphene concentrations when measured using GC-ECNI.     

高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱法同时测定新型“香料”毒品中的10种合成大麻素

为测定新型"香料"毒品中常见的合成大麻素成分,研究开发了高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱联用分析方法。采用安捷伦Poroshell 120 EC-C18(3.0 mm×50 mm,2.7μm)色谱柱,以高纯水-甲醇作流动相进行梯度洗脱,柱温30℃,流速0.3 m L/min。采用电喷雾电离-正离子(ESI+)、负离子(ESI-)分段检测模式,并对合成大麻素的质谱特征和离子碎裂规律进行研究。结果表明,采用该方法可以实现对常见10种合成大麻素的定性和定量分析,正、负离子模式下检测的目标物分别在1~100,10~1 000 ng/m L范围内呈良好线性,日内相对标准偏差(RSD)均不大于3.2%,日间RSD均不大于6.3%。经加标回收率测定和实际样本检验,该方法快速、准确、灵敏、可靠,适用于新型"香料"毒品中常见合成大麻素成分的定性定量检测。     

超声辅助分散液液微萃取/超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法检测水中多种磺胺类抗生素残留

建立了水中13种磺胺类抗生素的超声辅助分散液液微萃取/超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UADLLME/UPLC-MS/MS)测定方法。以乙腈为分散剂,四氯乙烷为萃取剂,通过超声分散方式协同萃取水样中的目标化合物,采用C_(18)(色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm,1.7μm)分离,以乙腈-0.1%甲酸溶液为流动相,采用UPLC-MS/MS多反应监测模式(MRM)测定。优化了萃取剂和分散剂的类型和用量、萃取时间、氯化钠浓度和p H值等条件。在优化条件下,13种磺胺类抗生素在一定质量浓度范围内线性关系良好,相关系数均大于0.998,方法检出限(S/N=3)为0.6~2.4 ng/L;3个加标水平的平均回收率为80.3%~101.8%,相对标准偏差(RSD,n=5)为0.7%~4.5%。该方法前处理简单、环保、灵敏,适用于水样中多种磺胺类抗生素的测定。     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定食品包装材料中全氟辛烷磺酰基化合物(PFOS)

建立了用高效液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC/MS/MS)结合快速溶剂萃取测定食品包装材料中全氟辛烷磺酰基化合物(PFOS)的方法。采用乙腈溶剂,快速溶剂提取食品包装材料中的PFOS,提取液经0.2μm有机滤膜过滤后,以V(乙腈)∶V(10 mmol/L乙酸铵溶液)=80∶20为流动相,经HPLC分离后用多级反应监测(MRM)方式测定。用两个子离子的相对丰度定性,外标法定量。PFOS在0.002~0.1μg/mL范围内线性良好(R2=0.998),回收率为93.8%~101%,精密度RSD为1.6%~3.1%,方法检出限为0.4μg/m2(S/N≥10),满足欧盟法规对食品包装材料中PFOS的限量检测要求。方法可用于食品包装材料中PFOS的检测。     

Analysis of Low-polar Ginsenosides in Steamed Panax Ginseng at High-temperature by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS

A high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry( HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the analysis and identification of ginsenosides in the extracts of raw Panax ginseng(RPG) and steamed Panax ginseng at high temperatures(SPGHT). A total of 25 ginsenosides were extracted include of which 10 low-polar ginsenosides, such as ginsenosides F4, Rk3, Rh4, 20S-Rg3, 20R-Rg3 and so on, were identified according to their HPLC retention time and MS/MS data. The results indicated that the low polar ginsenosides were seldom found in RPG. For the exploration of the transformation pattern of the ginsenosides in steam processing, the standards of ginsenosides Re, Rg1, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3 and Rd were selected and hydrolyzed at a temperature of 120 ℃. The results show that these polar ginsenosides can be converted to low-polar ginsenosides such as Rg2, Rg6, F4, Rk3 and Rg5 by hydrolyzing the sugar chains.     

超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱法测定饲料中残留的三聚氰胺

饲料样品经1%三氯乙酸-二甲基亚砜提取,Waters Oasis MCX柱净化,超高效液相色谱分离,最终采用电喷雾串联四极杆质谱进行检测。结果表明,三聚氰胺在饲料中的含量范围为10～5000 μg/kg时,线性关系良好(r＞0.99)。在10～100 μg/kg 的添加水平范围内的平均回收率为83%～94%,相对标准偏差为4.2%～6.5%。该方法的检出限为10 μg/kg。     

Rapid Determination of Tetrodotoxin in Human Plasma by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A sensitive analytical method was developed to determine tetrodotoxin(TTX) in human plasma samples using protein precipitation, followed by ultra performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) analysis coupled with tandem mass spectrometry(MS/MS) using 11-deoxytetrodotoxin(11-deoxyTTX) as an internal standard. The plasma samples were prepared using protein precipitation prior to being analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS to identify TTX over a zwitterionic-hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography column. The retention time values of TTX and 11-deoxyTTX were 4.12 and 3.67 min, respectively. TTX and 11-deoxyTTX were monitored and quantitated on the basis of their ion transitions for their respective precursor ions to their product ions(i.e., m/z 320.0→162.1 for TTX and m/z 304.0→176.0 for 11-deoxyTTX) in the multiple reaction-monitoring mode. The lower limit of quantification of this method was determined to be 0.0199 ng/mL. This method showed good linearity for plasma samples that contained TTX concentrations in the range of 0.0199-1.99 ng/mL. The specificity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, and stability characteristics of this method were also examined. The intra-assay precision and accuracy ranged from 1.89% to 6.00% and from 92.21% to 100.00%, whereas the inter-assay precision and accuracy ranged from 0.64% to 7.75% and from 99.38% to 101.26%, respectively. This new method therefore represents a rapid, accurate, reliable, and highly sensitive method for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of a trace amount of TTX in human plasma samples.