Direct determination of codeine, norcodeine, morphine and normorphine with their corresponding O-glucuronide conjugates by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the detection, separation and measurement of codeine and its metabolites norcodeine, morphine and normorphine, with their glucuronide conjugates. The glucuronidase Escherichia coli type VIIA hydrolyses codeine-6-glucuronide completely and is used for the construction of the calibration curves of codeine-6-glucuronide. Enzymic hydrolysis of codeine-6-glucuronide depends on the specific activity of the glucuronidase applied. Examples are shown of a volunteer who is able to form morphine from codeine and one who is unable to do so.     

Simultaneous determination of thiols and disulfides by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

The proposed simultaneous determination of thiols and disulfides requires 4- (aminosulfonyl)- 7-fluor-2,1,3,-benzoxadiazole (ABD-F) as the pre-column derivatization reagent for thiols and ammonium 7-fluoro-2,1,3,-benzoxadiazole-4-sulfonate (SBD-F) for disulfides followed by chromatography. The thiols and disulfides in solution are treated with ABD-F at 60°C for 5 min in pH 9.3 borate buffer containing 1 nM disodium-EDTA. After removal of excess of ABD-F with ethyl acetate, the remaining disulfides in the aqueous phase are treated with SBD-F at 60°C for 20 min in the presence of tri-n-butylphosphine, a reducing agent. The ABD-thiols and SBD-thiols thus produced are separated by reversed-phase chromatography and detected by fluorimetry (380- nm excitation, 510 - nm emission). SBD-cystein, SBD-homocystein, ABD-homocysteine, ABD-cysteine, SBD-glu- tathione, ABD-homocystein, SBD-N-acetylcystein, ABD-glutatione and ABD-N-acetylcysteine are well separated by linear gradient elution from 0.15 M H₃PO₄/CH₃CN (96:4) to 0.15 M H₃PO₄/CH₃CN (85:15) over 30 min followed by isocratic elution with 0.15 M H₃PO₄/CH₃CN (85:15) fro 10 min. The detection limits for the derivatives are in the range 0.09–0.9 pmol. When the method was applied to the determination of thiols and disulfides in rat tissues, cystein (0.75 μmol g^-1) and cystine (0.62 μmol g^-1) were obtained in kidney and reduced glutathione (1.4–3.4 μmol g^-1) was observed in liver, spleen, heart and testicle.     

Determination of camptothecin in biological fluids using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Camptothecin, a plant alkaloid with antitumor activity, is a potent and rapidly acting inhibitor of DNA synthesis. The objective of this study was to develop a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the detection and estimation of the camptothecin concentration in biological fluids. Using HPLC coupled with fluorescence detection, at an excitation wavelength of 370 nm and an emission wavelength of 434 nm, we found that the lower limits of detection for camptothecin in aqueous, plasma and urine samples were 0.5, 1 and 10 ng/ml, respectively. The ideal mobile phase used was methanol-10 mM potassium phosphate (75:25, v/v, pH 4.0). To determine the utilization of the method in a biological system, we studied the pharmacokinetics of camptothecin in mice. Elimination of camptothecin from mice blood was triphasic and followed first-order kinetics. The half-life of camptothecin in mouse blood was 25.7 min. Our studies indicate that HPLC with fluorescence detection for the determination of camptothecin in different media is a simple, rapid, sensitive and reproducible method.     

Simultaneous determination of phenolic xenoestrogens by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A highly sensitive and selective method for simultaneous determination of some hydroxyl group-containing endocrine disruptors, including bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol F (BPF) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), was developed. The method consists of precolumn derivatization of the analytes, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and subsequent chromatographic analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. 4,4'-Cyclohexylidenebisphenol (BPZ) was used as an internal standard. Derivatization was carried out using 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzoyl chloride (DIB-Cl) as a label. Parameters of the derivatization reaction (temperature, time, concentration of reagent, stability, etc.) and of the solid-phase extraction (recovery, solvent, etc.) were studied in detail. Detection limits of compounds studied in standard solutions ranged from 0.08-1.3 ppb (ng/ml). The proposed method was successfully applied to plastic samples; BPA was found in both polycarbonate and polyvinyl chloride plastics, while 4-NP was found in plastics made of polyvinyl chloride and another polymer.     

Analysis of erythromycin in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic assay was developed for the quantitative determination of major erythromycin components and their potential metabolites or degradation products in plasma and urine. An ether extract of alkalized plasma sample was chromatographed on a reversed-phase column and the components in the column effluent were monitored by an electrochemical detector. The recovery of the drug from extraction was virtually 100%. The detection limits for erythromycin A in plasma were 5-10 ng/ml and 30 ng/ml using 1 and 0.2 ml of sample, respectively. For urine samples, a simple one-step deproteinization with two volumes of acetonitrile was satisfactory for analysis. The method has been evaluated in plasma and urine from dogs receiving oral or intravenous erythromycin A. The standard curves for potential metabolites or degradation products were not constructed due to the lack of sufficient samples.     

Simultaneous determination of uric acid and creatinine in biological fluids by column-switching liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A column-switching liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of uric acid and creatinine in human serum and urine was developed. Creatinine and uric acid were separated by size-exclusion chromatography on a hydrophilic gel column (C1) and creatinine eluted from Cl was separated from proteins by filtration through a longer hydrophilic gel column (C2). The creatinine fraction eluted from C2 was transferred to a weakly acidic cation-exchange column (C3) and then to a strongly acidic cation-exchange column (C4). Uric acid eluted from Cl after creatinine was transferred to an anion-exchange column (C5) and then to a hydrophilic gel column (C6). The mobile phase was a mixed buffer of pH 5.1 (propionic acid-succinic acid-NaOH, 60:15:60 mmol/1 in water). Diluted serum and urine could be injected onto C1, and Cl was backflushed after the transfer of uric acid from Cl to C5.

Creatinine and uric acid in the eluate were determined by measuring their ultraviolet absorption at 234 and 290 nm, respectively. The recovery of uric acid and creatinine added to diluted serum (20-fold dilution, concentration 20 and 5 μmol/1, respectively) was 98.9±0.56% and 100.9±1.29%, respectively. The recovery of uric acid and creatinine added to diluted urine (100-fold dilution, concentration 50 and 100 μmol/l, respectively) was 99.4±0.72% and 98.7±1.45%, respectively (mean±R.S.D., n=6).     

Application of high-performance liquid chromatography for the simultaneous determination of morphine,codeine, and caffeine

A procedure is described for the simple and rapid simultaneous determination of morphine, codeine, and caffeine in biological fluids. The detection limits were 0.4 ng for caffeine, 0.9 ng for morphine, and 0.6 ng for codeine with an analysis time of under 6 min. The preferred system employs a column packed with octacylsilate bonded onto 10-μm porous silica gel, reverse phase, and a RP-8 Spheri-5 guard column. An eluting system of methanol: 0.25% (w/v) aqueous ammonium acetate (70:30) was found to be best. The standard deviation was not more than 0.5 for caffeine, one for morphine, and 1.2 for codeine. Drug recovery from 50 μl urine and blood samples was better than 90.0%.     

Determination of morphine and 6-acetylmorphine in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A method is described for the simultaneous determination of morphine and 6-acetylmorphine in small volumes of human plasma by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using solid-phase extraction, dansyl derivatisation and fluorescence detection. The lower limits of quantitation in a 0.1-ml plasma sample are 10 ng/ml for morphine and 25 ng/ml for 6-acetylmorphine. The method has been applied to determine concentrations of morphine and 6-acetylmorphine in plasma samples from premature babies administered an intravenous infusion of diamorphine.     

Simultaneous determination of biogenic amines and morphine in discrete rat brain regions by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A simple and sensitive method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and morphine in discrete rat brain regions by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Perchloric acid extracts of the tissue were directly injected into the chromatographic system. Each of these compounds gave a linear response over the range of 20-160 ng/ml cerebellar homogenate (0.4-3.2 ng on column). Recoveries of these compounds, added to the homogenates, were complete when compared with standards dissolved in perchloric acid. The average between-run coefficients of variation for all these compounds were lower than 7.4% over the range of 20-160 ng/ml, and the within-run coefficients of variation at 20 ng/ml were lower than 8.7%. The present method has been applied to a study of the effects of intraperitoneal administration of morphine on biogenic amines in several discrete rat brain regions.     

Simultaneous determination of mycophenolic acid and valproic acid based on derivatization by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A reliable and validated reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using fluorescence detection is reported for the simultaneous quantitation of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and valproic acid (VPA) in human plasma. The method is based on the pre-column derivatization of valproic acid with 4-bromomethyl-6, 7-dimethoxycoumarin (BrMMC) and online solvatochromism of MPA by pH adjustment. The linear calibration range was 0.50-30 microg/mL for MPA and 5.00-150 microg/mL for VPA. The relative standard deviations of the method of intra- and inter-day analyses (n = 6) were below 6.5 and 6.7% for MPA, and 5.8 and 6.3% for VPA, respectively. Dichloromethane was used for the simultaneous extraction of MPA and VPA from acidified plasma. This reliable method can be applied in the analysis of MPA and VPA in human plasma using only a small volume (100 microL).