Metabolism of levamisole and kinetics of levamisole and aminorex in urine by means of LC-QTOF-HRMS and LC-QqQ-MS

The antihelminthic drug Levamisole can enhance cocaine effects by conversion into the amphetamine-like drug aminorex. We describe an LC-MS method for the determination of levamisole and its metabolite aminorex in human urine. Selectivity is given, calibration curves were linear within the calibration range 2.5–250 ng/mL; limits of the method were LoD 0.51 ng/mL, LoQ 1.02 ng/mL for levamisole and LoD 0.65 ng/mL, LoQ 0.76 ng/mL for aminorex. Precision data was in accordance with the guidelines (intraday precision for aminorex ranged between 5.75 and 11.0 % for levamisole between 8.36 and 10.9 %; interday precision for levamisole 10.9–16.9 % and for aminorex 7.64–12.7 %; accuracy data for levamisole ?1.96 to –14.3 % and for aminorex?11.9 to–18.5 %). The validated method was successfully applied to study the urinary excretion of levamisole after the administration of 100 mg of levamisole orally. Levamisole and aminorex could be detected in post-administration urine samples. Levamisole could be detected up to 39 h after ingestion, while aminorex was detectable up to 54 h. Maximum aminorex concentrations were 45 ng/mL urine. Further metabolites of levamisole after oral ingestion by means of liquid chromatography hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-HRMS) were identified. Only 0.5 % of the ingested drug was quantified as unchanged levamisole in urine. Besides aminorex, five isomers of aminorex and 4 hydroxy-metabolites of aminorex or its isomers were found. Furthermore, levamisole is also hydroxylated and eliminated free or conjugated with sulfate or glucuronide into urine.     

Selenium-Sulfur analogs. 6. Selenoisosteres of levamisole

A series of three new isosteres of levamisole was prepared by the substitution of the phenyl ring by the thienyl and selenienyl moieties and of the thiazole group by selenazole. The physiochemical properties and infrared spectra of the sulfur- and selenium-containing analogs were very similar. Differentiation was mostapparent in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra where the α- and β-protons of the selenienyl compounds were shifted downfield relative to those of the corresponding thienyl compounds. With deuterated thiofluoroacetic acid as the solvent, a more rapid exchange was observed for the α-proton of the selenienyl ring of compounds 17 and 18 compared to that observed for compound 16 .     

Electromembrane extraction of levamisole from human biological fluids

Electromembrane extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet (UV) detection was developed for the determination of levamisole in some human biological fluids. Levamisole migrated from 4 mL of different acidized biological matrices, through a thin layer of 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether containing 5% tris-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate immobilized in the pores of a porous hollow fiber, into a 20-μL acidic aqueous acceptor solution present inside the lumen of the fiber. The parameters influencing electromigration were investigated and optimized. Within 15 min of operation at 200 V, levamisole was extracted from different biological fluid samples with recoveries in the range of 59-65%, which corresponded to preconcentration factors in the range of 118-130. The calibration curves showed linearity in the range of 0.5-10, 0.2-10 and 0.1-10 μg/mL for plasma, urine and saliva, respectively. Limits of detection of 0.1, 0.07 and 0.05 μg/mL and limits of quantification of 0.5, 0.2 and 0.1 μg/mL were obtained for plasma, urine and saliva, respectively. The relative standard deviations of the analysis were found to be in the range of 5.6-9.7% (n = 3). Electromembrane extraction was successfully processed for determination of levamisole in plasma, urine and saliva samples.     

沉淀双点滴定法测定盐酸左旋咪唑

以Ag^＋作滴定剂,分别用双点滴定法和传统电位滴定法对盐酸左旋咪唑片进行了测定。试液的配制采用了过滤和不过滤两种方法。测定结果表明：所有方法测得的结果均在《药典》允许的范围之内;本法测定结果与《药典》规定方法的对照偏差约为2%-3%;采用过滤和不过滤两种方法配制试液的测定结果之间的偏差约为1%。     

A new pharmacological testing method--different effects of levamisole and the serum of mice orally treated with levamisole on mitogenic activity of lipopolysaccharide

The direct addition of levamisole to murine splenic lymphocytes had no effect on the mitogenic activity of lipopolysaccharide. However, the addition of serum of mice orally treated with levamisole increased the mitogenic activity, and this increased activity using serum was similar to the result obtained in an in vivo experiment. These results suggest that the new in vitro experimental method using serum may be able to reproduce the in vivo effect of drugs.     

Aminorex and rexamino as metabolites of levamisole in the horse

Administration studies of levamisole in horses were carried out using two different levamisole preparations, namely, levamisole hydrochloride oral bolus and levamisole phosphate injectable solution. These preparations were analysed in detail for the presence of aminorex-like impurities. Both levamisole preparations were found to contain 1-(2-mercaptoethyl)-4-phenyl-2-imidazolidinone (I) and 4-phenyl-2-imidazolidinone (II) as degradation impurities, but neither aminorex nor rexamino was detected in these preparations. After the administration of these preparations to horses, aminorex, rexamino, in addition to levamisole and compound II, were detected in post-administration urine and plasma samples, among which compound II was found to have the longest detection time. Administration study of compound II was then performed on another horse to investigate whether it could be a metabolic precursor of aminorex and/or rexamino. However, no aminorex and rexamino was detected in the post-administration samples, suggesting that compound II was not a metabolic precursor of aminorex or rexamino. A metabolite (III) of compound II, tentatively identified to be a hydrolysis product of compound II, was observed instead.It has been established unequivocally that the normal use of levamisole products in horses can lead to the presence of aminorex, rexamino and 4-phenyl-2-imidazolidinone (II) in their urine and blood samples. As compound II has the longest detection time, the detection of aminorex (and in some cases rexamino) in some of the official samples from racehorses can be ascribed to the use of levamisole products as long as compound II is also present as a marker. These findings should be of direct relevance to the investigation of some of the cases of aminorex detection in official doping control samples from racehorses.     

Triruthenium and triosmium carbonyl clusters containing chiral bidentate NHC-thiolate ligands derived from levamisole

The trinuclear complexes [M3(mu-Cl)(mu-S approximately CH)(CO)9] (M=Ru, Os; S approximately CH=1-ethylenethiolate-3-H-4-(S)-phenylimidazolin-2-ylidene) and [M3(mu-H)(mu-S approximately CMe)(CO)9] (M=Ru, Os; S approximately CMe=1-ethylenethiolate-3-methyl-4-(S)-phenylimidazolin-2-ylidene) have been prepared by treating [Ru3(CO)12] and [Os3(CO)10(MeCN)2] with levamisolium chloride or [M3(mu-H)(CO)11]- with methyl levamisolium triflate, respectively. The chiral N-heterocyclic carbene-thiolate ligands S approximately CH and S approximately CMe arise from the oxidative addition of the C-S bond of levamisolium or methyl levamisolium cations to anionic trinuclear clusters.     

两次液液萃取-气相色谱-质谱联用法测定动物肝脏中左旋咪唑残留

建立了液液萃取-气相色谱-质谱联用法测定动物组织中残留左旋咪唑的方法。在碱性溶液中将左旋咪唑盐酸盐转化为左旋咪唑,以乙酸乙酯进行提取;分别以HCl水溶液、氢氧化钾-二氯甲烷体系进行两次液液萃取净化,依次消除提取液中的脂溶性杂质和水溶性杂质,最后进入气相色谱-质谱系统,在选择离子监测模式下,以m/z 148、176、204为定性离子,m/z 204为定量离子进行结构确证和定量检测。结果表明: 左旋咪唑含量在0.25～3.0 mg/L范围内方法的线性关系良好(相关系数为0.999);定量限为5 μg/kg,低于当前国际最低限量标准;在鸡肝、鸭肝、兔肝和猪肝样品中的加标回收率在76%～106%范围内,相对标准偏差(RSD)小于9%。该法简便、稳定性好,无需对样品进行复杂的预处理即可实现对动物肝脏中左旋咪唑残留的快速准确测定。     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定牛奶和奶粉中残留的左旋咪唑

建立了一种专属、灵敏的超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UPLC-MS/MS)测定牛奶和奶粉中左旋咪唑残留量的方法。在碱性环境下用乙酸乙酯超声波提取试样中的左旋咪唑,再经稀盐酸反提取、强阳离子交换(SCX)固相萃取柱净化,采用BEHC18超高效液相色谱柱、乙腈-0.1%甲酸(体积比为15∶85)流动相分离,以电喷雾离子源正离子检测方式进行质谱分析。实验结果表明,在2.0～100.0 μg/L浓度范围内左旋咪唑呈良好的线性关系,其相关系数r=0.997。在低、中、高3个浓度添加水平下,左旋咪唑的回收率为64.5%～102.0%,相对标准偏差小于13.1%。牛奶中左旋咪唑检出限为0.4 μg/kg,奶粉中左旋咪唑检出限为2.0 μg/kg。     

Determination of levamisole in feeds by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry on an ion trap

Test methods have to be developed by laboratories for official control to monitor possible misuse of veterinary drugs in animal productions, also through feeding stuff. A novel method for identification and quantification of levamisole in feeds by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry in an ion trap (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) is herein described; after a single‐step cleanup by liquid‐liquid extraction from the feed and separation by reversed‐phase liquid chromatography, levamisole was determined and unambiguously confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry, on the basis of two product ions. The method was in‐house validated, according to the Regulation 882/2004/EC, evaluating trueness, repeatability, within‐laboratory reproducibility, ruggedness, specificity, and the limit of quantification (LOQ). The method is reliable and specific for complete and complementary feeds for pigs, cattle, rabbits and poultry; very good mean recoveries (higher than 92 %) and precision (RSD values < 15.2%) were attained. The LOQ at 2.0 mg/kg was verified. Moreover, we describe how the method was developed to support Italian Police investigations regarding illegal treatments of pigs; in this case, since the drug(s) added to the feed were unknown, a preliminary untargeted analysis was performed by full scan mass spectrometry on an ion trap, from 50 up to 2000 m/z; the presence of levamisole was hypothesised, on the basis of the most abundant ion and its fragmentation pattern. Then, levamisole was unambiguously confirmed by the ion trap LC/ESI‐MS/MS method. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of levamisole hydrochloride with HgI(2-)4 by a turbidimetric method and flow-injection analysis

This paper is concerned with the use of ion-association compounds in the analysis of pharmaceutical samples by FIA. The usual extraction into an organic phase is avoided by using turbidimetric detection. Determination of levamisole with HgI(2-)(4) has been developed as a practical example: the experimental variables were optimized by the modified simplex method. The calibration graph is linear over the levamisole concentration range 7-32 microg ml . The reproducibility (rsd) and injection sample rate are 0.9% and 80/hr, respectively.     

Spectrophotometric determination of benzydamine HCl, levamisole HCl and mebeverine HCl through ion-pair complex formation with methyl orange

A simple, rapid and sensitive spectrophotometric method has been proposed for the assay of benzydamine HCl (BENZ), levamisole HCl (LEV) and mebeverine HCl (MBV) in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations. The method based on the reaction of the selected drugs with methyl orange (MO) in buffered aqueous solution at pH 3.6. The formed yellow ion-pair complexes were extracted with dichloromethane and measured quantitatively with maximum absorption at 422 nm. The analytical parameters and their effects on the reported systems are investigated. The extracts are intensely colored and very stable at room temperature. The calibration graphs were linear over the concentration range of 2-10 microg ml(-1) for BENZ, 6-24 microg ml(-1) for LEV and 4-14 microg ml(-1) for MBV. The stoichiometry of the reaction was found to be 1:1 in all cases and the conditional stability constant (K(f)) of the complexes have been calculated. The proposed method was successfully extended to pharmaceutical preparations-tablets. Excipients used as additive in commercial formulations did not interfere in the analysis. The proposed method can be recommended for quality control and routine analysis where time, cost effectiveness and high specificity of analytical technique are of great importance.     

Determination of benzimidazoles and levamisole residues in milk by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry: Screening method development and validation

The screening method for the determination of residues of 19 benzimidazoles (parent drugs and their metabolites) and levamisole in bovine milk has been developed and validated. Milk samples were extracted with ethyl acetate, sample extracts were cleaned up by liquid–liquid partitioning with hexane and acidic ethanol. Liquid chromatography–single-quadrupole mass spectrometry was used for the separation and determination of analytes. The method was validated in bovine milk, according to the CD 2002/657/EC criteria. An alternative approach to the validation of the method was applied (“sum MRL” substances). The method was successfully verified in CRL proficiency test.