LC-MS-MS Determination of (S,R)-Penehyclidine in Rat Plasma

A sensitive and selective method for determination of (S,R)-penehyclidine in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is described. The procedure employed the use of an internal standard (I.S.) and a simple protein precipitation step. The method developed was linear from 0.1 to 100 ng mL^?1, with a sensitivity of 0.1 ng mL^?1 as the lower limit of quantification. The intra- and inter-day assay accuracy (relative error) was within 8.27% and precision (RSD) was below 6.7%. It was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of (S,R)-penehyclidine in rat plasma.     

Simultaneous LC–MS Analysis and of Wogonin and Oroxylin A in Rat Plasma,and Pharmacokinetic Studies After Administration of the Active Fraction from Xiao-Xu-Ming Decoction

A rapid and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection has been developed and validated for identification and quantification of wogonin and oroxylin A in rat plasma. Wogonin, oroxylin A, and diazepam (internal standard) were extracted from plasma samples by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column with acetonitrile–0.6% aqueous formic acid 35:65 (v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹. Detection was performed with a single-quadrupole mass spectrometer in selected-ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. Linearity was good within the concentration range 14.4–360 ng mL⁻¹ for wogonin and 10.8–271 ng mL⁻¹ for oroxylin A; the correlation coefficients (r ²) were 0.9999. The intra-day and inter-day precision, as RSD, was below 12.4%, and accuracy ranged from 81.1 to 111.9%. The lower limit of quantification was 14.4 ng mL⁻¹ for wogonin and 10.8 ng mL⁻¹ for oroxylin A. This method was successfully used in the first pharmacokinetic study of wogonin and oroxylin A in rat plasma after oral administration of the active fraction from Xiao-xu-ming decoction.

     

LC Determination of Ketorolac in Human Plasma and Urine for Application to Pharmacokinetic Studies

A simple, specific and sensitive liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the assay of ketorolac in human plasma and urine. The clean-up of plasma and urine samples were carried out by protein precipitation procedure and liquid–liquid extraction, respectively. Separation was performed by a Waters sunfire C₁₈ reversed-phase column maintained at 35 °C. The mobile phase was a mixture of 0.02 M phosphate buffer (pH adjusted to 4.5 for plasma samples and to 3.5 for urine samples) and acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹. The UV detector was set at 315 nm. Nevirapine was used as an internal standard in the assay of urine sample. The method was validated over the concentration range of 0.05–8 and 0.1–10 μg mL⁻¹ for ketorolac in human plasma and urine, respectively. The limits of detection were 0.02 and 0.04 μg mL⁻¹ for plasma and urine estimation at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The limits of quantification were 0.05 and 0.1 μg mL⁻¹ for plasma and urine, respectively. The extraction recoveries were found to be 99.3 ± 4.2 and 80.3 ± 3.7% for plasma and urine, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day standard deviations were less than 0.5. The method indicated good performance in terms of specificity, linearity, detection and quantification limits, precision and accuracy. This assay demonstrated to be applicable for clinical pharmacokinetic studies.

     

Simultaneous Determination of Andrographolide and Dehydroandrographolide in Chicken Plasma for Application to Pharmacokinetic Studies

A simple, suitable reverse phase liquid chromatographic method was developed for simultaneous determination of andrographolide (1) and dehydroandrographolide (2) in chicken plasma after orally administrating the ultra-fine powder of Andrographis paniculata. Plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate. Analysis of the extract was performed on a reversed-phase C18 column with gradient eluent composed of acetonitrile and 0.5% acetic acid. The flow rate was kept at 1 mL min⁻¹ and the detection wavelength was set at 225 and 255 nm for 1 and 2, respectively. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (R ≥ 0.9991). The good precision and recoveries with intra-day and inter-day were 3.2–8.7% and 91.1–98.4%, respectively. The limit of detection was 0.016 µg mL⁻¹ and the limit of quantitation was 0.040 µg mL⁻¹ for the target analytes. This validated method has been successfully applied in the pharmacokinetics study of 1 and 2 after orally administrating the Andrographis paniculata ultra-fine powder to chicken.

     

Development and Validation of a Sensitive LC–Tandem-MS Method for the Quantitative Determination of Picroside II in Rat Plasma

A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitative determination of picroside II in rat plasma was developed and validated using liquid chromatographic separation with tandem mass spectrometric detection. The analytes of interest were extracted from rat plasma samples by ethyl acetate after acidification with 1.0% acetic acid solution. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Hypersil GOLD column (50 × 2.1 mm I.D., 5 μm) using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–0.1% formic acid solution (30:70, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode via electrospray ionization (ESI). The calibration curve was linear in the concentration range of 1.00–400 ng mL⁻¹ in rat plasma, with a 1.00 ng mL⁻¹ lower limit of quantification (LLOQ). Satisfactory results were achieved for intraday repeatability [relative standard deviation (RSD) = 6.4–12.4%] and inter-day precision (RSD = 6.8–14.7%). The accuracy in terms of relative error ranged from −2.1 to 10.0%. The extraction recoveries of picroside II and icariin (internal standard) were 80.0 and 89.3%, respectively. The developed method was successfully employed to determine picroside II plasma concentrations after oral administration to Wistar rats.

     

LC Determination and Pharmacokinetics Study of Mangiferin in Rat Plasma and Tissues

An LC method was developed for determination of mangiferin in rat plasma and tissues after oral administration of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract. Analysis was performed on a Gemini C₁₈ analytical column (250 × 4.6 mm, i.d.) with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–water (23:77, v/v) with 1% acetic acid and 1% tetrahydrofuran at a flow rate of 0.7 mL min⁻¹. Spinosin was used as internal standard and UV detector was set at 320 nm. The calibration curve of mangiferin in rat plasma and tissues showed excellent linear behaviors over the investigated concentration ranges with the value of R ² higher than 0.994. The within-day and between-day precisions for all samples were measured to be below 11.0%. The limit of quantitation was low enough for determination of mangiferin in all samples. After Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract was orally administered to rats, the main pharmacokinetic parameters of mangiferin T _max, C _max, T _0.5α , T _0.5β , AUC_0 − T and Vc were 4.20 h, 9.52 μg mL⁻¹, 1.21 h, 1.71 h, 29.9 mg h L⁻¹ and 0.18 L kg⁻¹, respectively. Mangiferin was extensively distributed in most of the main tissues of rats. This validated method has been successfully applied to preliminary pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of mangiferin in rats.

     

Simultaneous LC–UV Determination of 5-Methyl-1-(3-fluorophenyl)-2-(1H)- pyridone and Its Two Metabolites in Rat Plasma

A simple, rapid, and reproducible isocratic reverse-phase HPLC method was developed to simultaneously determine AKF-PD and its two oxidized metabolites in rat plasma. 5-Carboxyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H)-pyridone and phenacetin were used as internal standards to ensure the precision and accuracy of the method. The analytes were separated on a C₁₈ reversed-phase column with methanol—phosphate buffer (20 mM, pH 2.5) as mobile phase. The limits of detection for AKF-PD and its two oxidized metabolites was 0.1 μg mL⁻¹. The method is applicable for the pharmacokinetic studies of AKF-PD and its metabolites in rats.

     

Determination of Tectorigenin in Rat Plasma: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study After Oral Administration of Tectorigenin or Its Prodrug Tectoridin

A simple, sensitive, and validated liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of tectorigenin in rat plasma and application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of tectorigenin or its prodrug tectoridin. The analysis was performed on a Kromasil C₁₈ analytical column using gradient elution with acetonitrile 0.1% phosphonic acid water at 0.8 mL min⁻¹. The detection wavelength for UV detection was set at 264 nm. The established method was fully validated with parameters as follows: the intra- and inter-day assay precisions (CV) of three analytes were in the range of 4.2–13.3% and accuracies were between 98.0 and 107.5%; the calibration curve was linear with r ² > 0.99 over a concentration range of 0.02–2 μg mL⁻¹; the lower limit of quantification was 0.02 μg mL⁻¹; tectorigenin showed stable in rat plasma after 12 h incubation at room temperature, 15 days storage at −80 °C and three freeze/thaw cycles, as well as in reconstitute buffer for 24 h at 25 °C; and the mean recoveries of tectorigenin were 92.3 ± 3.2, 95.5 ± 2.9 and 94.5 ± 3.0% with quality control levels of 0.02, 0.2 and 2 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. In conclusion, this method is simple, economic, and sensitive enough for in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of tectorigenin.

     

RP-LC Determination and Pharmacokinetic Study of Ferulic Acid and Isoferulic Acid in Rat Plasma After Taking Traditional Chinese Medicinal-Preparation: Guanxinning Lyophilizer

A sensitive, simple, and accurate method for determination and pharmacokinetic study of ferulic acid and isoferulic acid in rat plasma was developed using a reversed-phase column liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) method with UV detection. Sample preparations were carried out by protein precipitation with the addition of methanol, followed by evaporation to dryness. The resultant residue was then reconstituted in mobile phase and injected into a Kromasil C₁₈ column (250 × 4.6 mm i.d. with 5 μm particle size). The mobile phase was methanol-1% formic acid (33:67, v/v). The calibration plots were linear over the range 5.780–5780 ng·mL⁻¹ for ferulic acid and 1.740–348.0 ng·mL⁻¹ for isoferulic acid. Mean recoveries were 85.1% and 91.1%, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of within-day and between-day precision were not above 15% for both of the analytes. The limits of quantification were 5.780 ng·mL⁻¹ for ferulic acid and 1.740 ng·mL⁻¹ for isoferulic acid. This RP-LC method was used successfully in pharmacokinetic studies of ferulic acid and isoferulic acid in rat plasma after intravenous injection of Guanxinning Lyophilizer.

     

Simultaneous Determination of Clopidogrel and Its Carboxylic Acid Metabolite (SR26334) in Human Plasma by LC–ESI–MS–MS: Application to the Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Clopidogrel

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-tandem-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of clopidogrel and its carboxylic acid metabolite (SR26334) in human plasma using nateglinide and pioglitazone as internal standards. Analytes were extracted from 0.50 mL of plasma using diethyl ether–n-hexane (4:1, v/v). Chromatographic separation was performed on a Teknokroma C₁₈ column with a mobile phase of methanol–water (containing 0.1% formic acid) (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.20 mL min⁻¹ within 5.6 min. Linearity was established over the concentration range of 0.005–5 ng mL⁻¹ for clopidogrel and 20–2,500 ng mL⁻¹ for SR26334. Intra- and inter-batch standard deviations were less than 9.2% and the accuracy of this assay was found to fall within an acceptable range ≤10.0%. The method was successfully applied to the therapeutic drug monitoring of clopidogrel.

     

LC−UV Analysis of N-{3-(2,4-Dioxo-1,4-dihydro-2H-quinazolin-3-yl)propyl}-N-[4-{3-(2,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydro-2H-quinazolin-3-yl)propyl-amino}butyl]acetamide (SP-8203) in Rat Plasma,Urine, and Gastrointestinal Tract Samples

A simple, rapid, and reproducible reversed-phase LC method with UV detection at 215 nm has been developed for analysis of SP-8203 in rat samples. A C₁₈ column was used with 3,000:1,050 (v/v) 0.01 m K₂HPO₄ buffer (pH 3)–acetonitrile as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.7 mL min⁻¹ at 50 °C. Samples were extracted with dichloromethane containing ondansetron (internal standard). Detection limits for SP-8203 in plasma, urine, and gastrointestinal tract samples were 0.05, 0.5, and 10 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. The method was suitable for pharmacokinetic study of SP-8203 in rats after intravenous administration.

     

Simultaneous Analysis of Zofenopril and Its Active Metabolite Zofenoprilat in Human Plasma by LC–ESI-MS Using Pre-Column Derivatization with p-Bromophenacyl Bromide

Zofenoprilat is an active metabolite of zofenopril, which is very unstable in plasma because of oxidative degradation of its thiol group. In this method, p-bromophenacyl bromide was used as derivatization reagent, immediately after plasma separation, to react with the free thiol group of zofenoprilat and form the derivative zofenoprilat-p-BPB. After acidification with 50% acetic acid, the derivatized plasma samples were extracted with methyl tert-butyl ether and separated on a C₁₈ column with 40:60 (v/v) 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer solution containing 0.1% formic acid–acetonitrile as mobile phase. Calibration plots were linear over the concentration range 1–500 ng mL⁻¹ for zofenopril and 2–1,800 ng mL⁻¹ for zofenoprilat. The method was successfully used to study the bioavailability of zofenopril calcium capsules relative to that of zofenopril calcium tablets in healthy Chinese volunteers.

     

Simultaneous Determination of Resibufogenin and Its Major Metabolite 3-epi-Resibufogenin in Rat Plasma by HPLC Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A rapid, sensitive and specific method for the simultaneous quantification of resibufogenin (RBG) and 3-epi-resibufogenin (3-ERBG) in rat plasma was developed by using a liquid–liquid extraction procedure and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometric (LC–ESI–MS/MS) analysis. The separation was performed by HPLC on a reversed phase C₁₈ HPLC column (150 × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) using a mobile phase of acetonitrilel-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (45:55, v/v). The determination was performed by a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer in the multiple reaction monitoring using positive mode of electrospray ionization (ESI). The calibration curves were both linear (R > 0.995) over the concentration range of 3.0–5,000 ng mL⁻¹, and the lower limits of quantification were 3.0 ng mL⁻¹ for both RBG and 3-ERBG. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (% RSD) were all less than 15%, and the accuracies (%RE) were within the range of ±15%. The mean recoveries of RBG, 3-ERBG and IS were over 82.7, 84.8 and 90.0% (n = 6), respectively. The method was proved to be rapid, sensitive and specific, and has been successfully applied to determine RBG and its major metabolite 3-ERBG in rat plasma after oral administration of RBG for pharmacokinetic study. Comparison of pharmacokinetic data with anti-tumor activities of RBG and ERBG suggested that 3-ERBG, as a major metabolite of RBG in rats, was perhaps also a bioactive form of RBG in vivo.

     

Accuracy Profile Theory for the Validation of an LC–MS-MS Method for the Determination of Risperidone and 9-Hydroxyrisperidone in Human Plasma

A sensitive and specific LC–MS-MS method is described for the simultaneous quantification of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone in human plasma. After extraction with tert-butyl methyl ether, plasma samples were separated on an Atlantis HILIC Silica C18 column (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 μm)with a mobile phase of ammonium formate buffer (10 mM, pH 4.0)/acetonitrile (40/60, v/v). Detection was by MS-MS. The method was fully validated according to the accuracy profile theory. It is based on β-expectation tolerance interval for the total measurement error which includes trueness and intermediate precision. The measurement uncertainty derived from β-expectation tolerance interval was estimated at each of the validation standards. The linearity fitted well over the range of 0.11–26.75 ng mL⁻¹ for risperidone with an LLOQ of 0.11 ng mL⁻¹, and for 9-hydroxyrisperidone, at a range of 0.15–37.8 ng mL⁻¹ with an LLOQ of 0.15 ng mL⁻¹. The intra- and inter-batch precision of risperidone were <5.71 and 8.22%, respectively. For 9-hydroxyrisperidone, the data were 5.78 and 6.48%. The recoveries were 88.78% (risperidone) and 70.35% (9-hydroxyrisperidone). The developed method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study of risperidone.

     

Determination of Sulfonamides in Pharmaceuticals and Rabbit Plasma by Microchip Electrophoresis with LED-IF Detection

In this paper, we describe a compact and low-cost light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence (LED-IF) detection coupled to microchip electrophoresis for the determination of sulfonamides in pharmaceutical formulations and rabbit plasma. Three fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled sulfonamides in rabbit plasma were separated in the running buffer of 40 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at the separation voltage of 2.0 kV, and detected by LED-IF detector in which the high-power blue LED was driven at the constant current of 150 mA and the emitted fluorescence over 510 nm was collected by a planar photodiode. The linear concentration ranged from 2.0 to 125.0 μg mL⁻¹, both for sulfadiazine and sulfamethazine with the correlation coefficients (r ²) of 0.995 and 0.997, respectively, and from 2.0 to 100.0 μg mL⁻¹ with the correlation coefficients (r ²) of 0.997 for sulfaguanidine. The limits of detection for the three sulfonamides were 0.36–0.50 μg mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). Intra-day and inter-day precision of migration time and peak area for the determination of sulfonamides were <4.5 %. This method has been successfully applied to the analysis of sulfonamides in pharmaceuticals, and could be used to study the pharmacokinetics of sulfonamides in rabbit.

     

LC Method for Analysis of Three Flavonols in Rat Plasma and Urine after Oral Administration of Polygonum aviculare Extract

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous analysis of the flavonols myricitrin (1), avicularin (2), and juglanin (3) in rat plasma and urine after oral administration of the total flavonoids from Polygonum aviculare. Samples were prepared by solid-phase extraction then separated on a C₁₈ reversed-phase column by use of a mobile-phase gradient prepared from methanol and aqueous formic acid solution. The flow rate was 1 mL min⁻¹. Detection was performed at 254 nm. The calibration range was 11–1,100 μg mL⁻¹ for both 2 and 3 in plasma; in urine the calibration ranges for 1, 2, and 3 were 32–1,600, 11–1,100, and 22–1,100 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day RSD were less than 4.33 and 3.62% for 2 and 3, respectively, in plasma, and no more than 4.03 and 2.22% for all the analytes in urine. The analytical sensitivity and selectivity of the assay enabled successful application to pharmacokinetic studies of flavonols 1–3 in rats.

     

Simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of giraldoid a,giraldoid B in rat plasma after oral administration of Daphne giraldii Nitsche extracts by LC–MS/MS

A simple sensitive LC–MS/MS method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of giraldoid A and giraldoid B in rat plasma. The method was applied to pharmacokinetics studies of the two compounds from Daphne giraldii Nitsche. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Acquity UPLC™ BEH C₁₈ column (100 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 mm) by gradient elution with a flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹_. The method was linear over the concentration range of 1.0–1000 ng mL⁻¹, and the lower limits of quantification were 1.04 ± 0.10 and 1.04 ± 0.09 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (RSD) were <10.14 and 9.96%. The extraction recovery of the analytes was acceptable. Stability studies demonstrated that the two compounds were stable in the preparation and analytical process. The maximum plasma concentration was 687.78 ± 243.62 ng mL⁻¹ for giraldoid A and 952.38 ± 131.99 ng mL⁻¹ for giraldoid B. The time to reach the maximum plasma concentration was 0.50 ± 0.37 h for giraldoid A and 0.50 ± 0.66 h for giraldoid B. The validated method was successfully applied to investigate the concentration–time profiles of giraldoid A and giraldoid B.     

LC–MS Method for the Quantification of Clonazepam in Rat Plasma

A sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for the determination of clonazepam in rat plasma. Clonazepam and internal standard diazepam were extracted from plasma samples by a single-step protein precipitation. The chromatographic separation was performed on a Dikma ODS-C18 reversed-phase column at 40 °C. The mobile phase composed of a premix of solvent A (0.1% formic acid–4 mM ammonium acetate–water)–solvent B (acetonitrile) (13:87, v/v) at a flow-rate of 0.7 mL min⁻¹. Positive electrospray ionization was utilized as the ionization source. Clonazepam and the internal standard were determined using multiple reaction monitoring of precursor → product ion transitions at m/z 316.0 → 270.0 and m/z 285.1 → 193.2, respectively. The lower limit of quantification was 0.25 ng mL⁻¹ using 50 μL plasma samples and the linear calibration range was from 0.25 to 128 ng mL⁻¹. The within- and between-batch RSDs were lower than 15% and the relative recoveries of clonazepam ranged from 97.4 to 104.7%. The mean extraction recoveries of clonazepam and IS were 79.7 and 77.6%, respectively. The method has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies in rat after oral administration of clonazepam.

     

LC Method for Determination of Ginkgolic Acids in Mice Plasma and Its Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

A sensitive and simple LC method for the quantification of ginkgolic acids in mice plasma has been developed. Following acetonitrile deproteinization, samples were separated on a SinoChrom ODS-AP C₁₈ column. The mobile phase was 3% (v/v) acetic acid water solution–methanol (8:92, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹. Detection was at 310 nm. Calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.25–50 μg mL⁻¹ with intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD%) of less than 9.5%. The extraction recovery ranged from 87.0 to 90.2% (RSD 2.4–6.4%) for ginkgolic acids. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of ginkgolic acids in mice after oral dosing of 1.0 g kg⁻¹.

     

Separation of L-DOPA and four metabolites in plasma using a porous graphitic carbon column in capillary liquid chromatography

Summary A sensitive HPLC method with marbofloxacin (MAR) as internal standard and fluorescence detection is described for the analysis of ofloxacin (OFL) enantiomers in plasma samples. Plasma samples were prepared by adding phosphate buffer (pH 7.4, 0.1m), then extracted with trichloromethane.S-OFL,R-OFL, and the internal standard were separated on a reversed-phase column with water-methanol, 85.5∶14.5, as mobile phase. The concentrations ofS-OFL andR-OFL eluting from the column (retention times 7.5 and 8.7 min, respectively) were monitored by fluorescence detection withλ _ex = 331 andλ _em = 488 nm. The detection and quantitation limits were 10 and 20 ng mL⁻¹, respectively, forS-OFL and 11 and 21 ng mL⁻¹ forR-OFL. Response was linearly related to concentration in the range 10 to 2500 ng mL⁻¹. Recovery was close to 93% for both compounds. The method was applied to determination of the enantiomers of OFL in plasma samples collected during pharmacokinetic studies.