Gas Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Caffeine in Breast Milk and Blood Plasma

Abstract

An improved procedure for the determination of caffeine in the presence of bupivicaine (internal standard) using gas liquid chromatography with nitrogen phosphorous detection is described. The method is based on the extraction of caffeine from plasma with a mixture of chloroform and isopropanol (95:5). The chloroform and isopropanol mixture is evaporated to dryness and the residue dissolved in 500 μl of ethyl acetate. One to 2 μl samples are injected directly into the gas chromatograph. This extraction process doesn't give rise to troublesome interfering peaks in the chromatogram. The recovery of caffeine from plasma and breast milk is approximately 99.7% and 94.1% respectively. The coefficient variation of the assay from plasma and breast milk is 2.90% and 1.18% respectively. The limit of quantitation is 0.05 mcg/ml of plasma or breast milk. Data are presented to illustrate the practicality of the method for bioavailability and pharmacokinetic evaluation of caffeine plasma and breast milk levels after oral administration of 100 mg of caffeine to lactating mothers.     

A Simple Electrochemical Method for the Quantitative Determination of Acetaminophen in Serum

Abstract

A simple electrochemical method for the determination of acetaminophen in serum is described. The eleotrode and associated electronics are simple, reliable, and inexpensive to build. The apparatus can be operated at a rate of 2–3 determinations per minute using only 10 μl serum per determination. The procedure includes extraction of acetaminophen in ethyl acetate and subsequent oxidative amperometric detection of the drug by a form of flow-injection analysis. The system parameters of buffer, pH, and redox potential have been optimized to permit measurement of less than 10 μg/ml of acetaminophen. The determination is linear over the range of 10–300 μg/ml with a C.V. of less than 3% for replicate analysis of the same sample.     

A Low-Resolution Separation of C14 -Glyburide and Its Metabolites from Plasma Extracts Using a High-Performance Liquid Chromatograph Guard Column

Abstract

A low-resolution method for simultaneous, rapid determination of radiolabeled glyburide and its metabolites in human plasma is described. Plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate. Extracts were redissolved in 300 μl of mobile phase, and injected into a 3 cm guard column, which was incorporated as a loop in a six-port switching valve. C¹⁴-glyburide was collected as a single 4-min fraction at a flow rate of 4 ml per min.

Following collection of a 1-ml fraction, the column was backflushed with methanol to allow collection of the metabolites of glyburide. The mean value of recovered radioactivity was 95.5 ± 5.7%. The validity of the separation was verified in a high-resolution HPLC system and no cross contamination of the fractions was observed.     

The Analysis of Air for Acetone Cyanohydrin Using Solid Sorbent Sampling and Gas Chromatography

Abstract

A method for sampling and analysis of airborne acetone cyanohydrin is described. The analyte is collected on Porapak QS, a silylated styrene-divinylbenzene porous polymer. Samples are desorbed with ethyl acetate and analyzed by gas chromatography using a nitrogen-specific detector and a teflon column packed with 5% OV-17 on Chromosorb T. The detection limit is estimated to be 0.1 μg/mL acetone cyanohydrin in ethyl acetate. The method was tested by evaporating from 1.0 to 50 μg of the analyte onto sorbent beds of Porapak QS and exposing the samples to a humidified airstream for 15 min. Quantitative recovery was obtained for samples stored for one day at ambient temperature or for seven days if the samples were refrigerated immediately after collection.     

HPLC Determination of Xylazine in Equine Plasma by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is described for the determination of xylazine in equine plasma. The drug and internal standard (pindolol) were separated on a 5 μm cyanopropyl-modified column (250 × 4.6 mm i.d.) using a buffer-acetonitrile mixture containing an ion pairing reagent. The drug and internal standard were isolated from plasma by liquid extraction into ethyl acetate. The method was validated over the concentration range 50–2000 ng/ml in plasma; the reproducibility, expressed as the mean co-efficient of variation was less than 5.0% for both between-day and within-day replicate determinations. The method was linear over the concentration range studied. No interferences were observed from endogenous plasma components and the limit of detection was 20 ng/ml. The method was successfully applied to the determination of xylazine in equine plasma in a crossover study design for pharmacokinetic measurements.     

Determination of Ritodrine in Plasma Using HPLC

Abstract

An HPLC instrument coupled with an electrochemical detector was used to determine ritodrine (erythro-p-hydroxy-α-[1-[(p-hydroxyphenethyl)-amino]ethyl] benzyl alcohol hydrochloride) at nanogram levels in serum. Extraction of ritodrine was accomplished using a multistep ethyl acetate procedure, and the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile, ammonium acetate, glacial acetic acid, and a counterion. The stationary phase was a Biophase ODS 5 μm column at ambient temperature. Nalbuphine hydrochloride (Nubain®) was used as an internal standard to quantitate the ritodrine levels of pregnant patients receiving ritodrine. The procedure's linearity for both ritodrine standards and spiked plasma samples was demonstrated. The precision of the assay was found to be 3.4% at 20 ng/ml ritodrine. The minimum detectable concentration, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 6, was determined to be 0.31 ng per 50 μl injected, corresponding to a concentration of 0.6 ng/ml plasma. The sensitivity, precision, and reproducibility of the assay were all found to be acceptable for determining ritodrine in patient serum.     

Highly Sensitive and Simple Method for Determination of Free 3-Methoxy-4-Hydroxyphenylglycol in Plasma by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Using a Sep-Pak Alumina B Cartridge

Abstract

A novel sample clean-up procedure for the determination of free 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) in plasma in described. MHPG was purified with Sep-Pak alumina B cartridge followed by ethyl acetate extraction from the cartridge. High-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection was used for separation and detection of MHPG and the internal standard 3-ethoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (EHPG). This method provided good, clean chromatograms with base-line separation of the appropriate peaks. This technique is sensitive, reliable and less time-consuming than other methods. Thus, only 0.5 ml of plasma is needed and the within-analysis and between-analysis coefficients of variation were 5.2% and 13% respectively. The plasma MHPG values in normal control were in good agreement with those using more complex methods.     

Comparison of Two Sample Preparation Methods for a HPLC-DAD Assay of Tolbutamide from Human Plasma

ABSTRACT

Two sample preparation methods were applied for the determination of Tolbutamide in the human plasma, at concentration levels ranging from 5 to 50 ppm. One method is based on the drug extraction into ethyl acetate. This solvent has never been used for Tolbutamide extraction from plasma matrix. The other method is a non-extraction one, based on the protein precipitation in presence of methanol. Both methods were successfully applied to in-vivo monitoring of plasma levels of Tolbutamide for a 24-hours period, as required for a pharmacokinetic study. The main parameters in both methods were optimized in order to achieve the acceptance criteria imposed by the bioavailability studies.     

A Sensitive High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for U-80, 278A,A Substituted Aminotetralin,in Rat Plasma,Whole Blood and Brain Tissue

Abstract

A sensitive analytical method for U-80, 278A, a substituted aminotetralin analogue in rat plasma, whole blood and brain tissue has been developed. The method involves solid phase extraction, efficient reversed phase HPLC and fluorescence detection, and can measure 1 ng/ml from 50 μl samples. During method development, many analogues were investigated and a wide range of extraction and HPLC conditions were explored. These experiments enabled rapid modification and revalidation of the method to support animal experiments with novel analogues.     

An Analytical Approach to Metabolic Profiling of Aromatic Compounds Using Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

An analytical approach to metabolic profiling of aromatic compounds is described for both conjugated and “free” metabolites in biological systems. Initially, an ethyl acetate extraction removes the less polar metabolites. A salting-out procedure using Sephadex G-10 is combined with reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyze the water-soluble conjugates directly using sequential uv and fluorescence detection. The “free” metabolites are also derived from individual conjugate peaks by enzymatic or hydrolytic procedures and then re-chromatographed by HPLC. Metabolites in the ethyl acetate fraction are similarly analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC. The utility of this method is demonstrated for 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF and 4-ethylsulfonyl-naphthalene-1-sulfonamide (ENS), two compounds of interest in the study of murine bladder carcinogenesis.     

Combined extraction/multiwavelength spectrophotometric method for quantification of gold in geological samples

The capabilities of a combined liquid-liquid extraction/spectrophotometric method for the trace determination of gold in geological samples are presented. After extraction with ethyl acetate, gold in the extracts is quantified as tetrachloroaurate with the multicomponent data-processing programs inherent in a diode-array u.v.-visible spectrophotometer. This method has an overall detection limit of 0.4 μg Au g^?1 sample and a combined extraction/measurement imprecision of less than ± 12%.     

Quantitation of SR 27417 in human plasma using electrospray liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: A study of ion suppression

The effect of coeluting matrix compounds on the quantitation of SR 27417 in human plasma using electrospray liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry has been examined. During the method development stage of this assay, plasma samples spiked with the analyte at 100 pg/mL were extracted using three different procedures: a hexane liquid-liquid extraction, an ethyl acetate back-extraction, and a solid phase extraction. Ion intensity of the analyte was found to be related inversely to the percent ionization of coeluting matrix components as evidenced by full scan spectra. The ethyl acetate back-extraction, which contained the fewest coeluting components, resulted in the highest ion intensity for the analyte. An assay comparison was done by using the liquid-liquid hexane and the ethyl acetate back-extractions for sample preparation. Replicate 1-mL samples (n=5) at 11 concentrations from 5 to 2000 pg/mL were extracted and analyzed. The results for the ethyl acetate back-extracted samples were acceptable from 2000 to 5 pg/mL with accuracy ranging from ?11.6 to 2.61% of the nominal concentrations. In contrast, the hexane liquid-liquid method had poor accuracy and precision below 20 pg/mL. The difference is explained by suppression of analyte ion intensity. These results are consistent with the current theory of electrospray ionization.     

Determination of Bumetanide in Human Plasma and Urine by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection

Abstract

This paper describes a new high-pressure liquid chromatographic method used for quantitation of bumetanide in urine and plasma. Compared to previously reported methods, this assay offers the advantages of increased sensitivity, shortened sample preparation time and decreased instrumentation requirements. After addition of the 4-benzyl derivative of bumetanide as the internal standard, both urine and plasma underwent a single extraction with ethyl acetate at an acidic pH. The organic extract was separated, evaporated to dryness, reconstituted with methanol, and chromatographed using a reversed-phase C-18 radial compression cartridge with fluorescence detection. Sensitivity limits are approximately 1 ng of bumetanide per mL of plasma, with a coefficient of variation for identical samples never exceeding 6%. The method lends itself to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of bumetanide in humans following single therapeutic doses.     

Optimization of a Sample Preparation Procedure for the Speciation of Organotin Compounds in Sediment Samples Using GC-AED

Abstract

Results of a comprehensive study of all analytical steps involved in the sample preparation procedure for the speciation of butyl- and phenyltin compounds in sediments are presented. The proposed method is based on acid leaching (using aqueous acetic acid) and simultaneous extraction of the ionic species into an organic solvent (n-hexane/ethyl acetate) with the addition of a complexing agent (diethyl dithiocarbamic acid). After evaporation to dryness, the residue is derivatized with sodium tetraethylborate in an aqueous buffer solution (acetate buffer, 0.1 M, pH 5) and extracted into n-hexane. Cleanup is performed over basic alumina and the ethylated organotin species are analyzed with a gas chromatograph coupled to a microwave-induced helium plasma atomic emission detector (GC-AED). The optimized method was validated within an interlaboratory study for the certification of tributyltin, triphenyltin and their degradation products in a freshwater sediment, the BCR candidate reference material 646.     

Simultaneous Determination of Six Anticonvulsants in Serum by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

The authors describe a simultaneous determination method of six anticonvulsants (ethosuximide, primidone, phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid) using 500 μl of serum.

After the addition of the internal standard (5-(p-methylphenyl)-5 phenylhydantoin), the anticonvulsants are extracted in an acid medium with ethyl acetate. They are separated by reverse phase chromatography on a μ Bondapack C18 column, eluted with a water/methanol mixture (36/64 V/V) at a flow rate of 0.7 ml/min.

The column effluent is first analyzed by monitoring the ultraviolet absorption at 197 nm and then at 425 nm after the addition of a color indicator: bromocresol purple. The analysis lasts 12 minutes at ambient temperature. The sensitivity obtained with the serum for the range of products investigated is of the order of 0.5 to 2 mg/l, the extraction recoveries varying from 75 to 100% depending on the drug. Reproducibility is good (cv ≤ 9%).     

Automated stopped-flow system in pharmaceutical and clinical analysis : Kinetic determination of acetaminophen in formulations and serum by using the iron(II)—2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-s-triazine

The development of automated stopped-flow spectrophotometric systems, their potential in automated routine determinations using kinetic and fast equilibrium techniques and several examples of applications are briefly reviewed. The use of a compact, inexpensive laboratory-made stopped-flow system for the measurement of reaction rates and a fast equilibrium method for the determination of acetaminophen in formulations and serum are described. The reaction-rate method is based on monitoring the oxidation of acetaminophen by iron(III) in the presence of the chelating agent 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-s-triazine to form a highly absorbing complex of iron(II). The calibration graph is linear in the range 20–200 μg ml^?1, with a precision of 0.8–2.6%, a detection limit of 5.5 μg ml^?1 and a measurement throughput of 120 per hour. Common excipients do not interfere and the analysis of commercial formulations gave results similar to those of a reference method. The optimization of the experimental conditions was done by a kinetic study of the reaction and some kinetic parameters are given.The method for the determination of acetaminophen in serum is based on a rapid measurement of the absorbance of the reaction mixture after a delay time of 15 s in the presence of chlorpromazine, which catalyses the reaction. Acetaminophen is isolated by extraction with ethyl acetate and the calibration graph is linear in the range 0.5–6 μg ml^?1 with a detection limit of 0.04 μg ml^?1 and a precision of 1.5%. The proposed method showed a decreased interference from drugs that also react with iron(III).     

Spectrophotometric Determination of Nitrite in Wastewater with 4,5-Dihydroxycoumarin

Abstract

A rapid and simple spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of nitrite in wastewater. The procedure was based on the extraction of nitrite with ethyl acetate solution of 4,5-dihydroxycoumarin. Beer's law obeyed up to 0.75 ppm of nitrite-nitrogen. Results obtained by using the proposed method on waste-water samples agreed well with those obtained by the diazotising-coupling method.     

Development and validation of a high performance liquid chromatography quantification method of levo‐tetrahydropalmatine and its metabolites in plasma and brain tissues: application to a pharmacokinetic study

Levo ‐tetrahydropalmatine (l‐ THP) is an alkaloid isolated from Chinese medicinal herbs of the Corydalis and Stephania genera. It has been used in China for more than 40 years mainly as an analgesic with sedative/hypnotic effects. Despite its extensive use, its metabolism has not been quantitatively studied, nor there a sensitive reliable bioanalytical method for its quantification simultaneously with its metabolites. As such, the objective of this study was to develop and validate a sensitive and selective HPLC method for simultaneous quantification of l‐ THP and its desmethyl metabolites l‐ corydalmine (l‐ CD) and l‐ corypalmine (l‐ CP) in rat plasma and brain tissues. Rat plasma and brain samples were processed by liquid–liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed‐phase Symmetry® C₁₈ column (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 μm) at 25°C. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile–methanol–10 mm ammonium phosphate (pH 3) (10:30:60, v /v) and was used at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The column eluent was monitored at excitation and emission wavelengths of 230 and 315 nm, respectively. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 1–10,000 ng/mL. The intra‐ and interday reproducibility studies demonstrated accuracy and precision within the acceptance criteria of bioanalytical guidelines. The validated HPLC method was successfully applied to analyze samples from a pharmacokinetic study of l‐ THP in rats. Taken together, the developed method can be applied for bioanalysis of l‐ THP and its metabolites in rodents and potentially can be transferred for bioanalysis of human samples.     

The impact of nitrogen fertilizers on degradation and leaching of chlorotoluron in soil

Abstract

This study presents the developed and applied methods for the determination of carbendazim in environmental samples originating from several field studies.

For water samples sample pretreatment consisted of a solid phase extraction (SPE) on cartridges packed with 200 mg SDB-1. In case of solid samples the performance of microwave assisted solvent extraction (MASE) and classical ultrasonic extraction with acetone-ethyl acetate were studied. The latter technique was selected because of the reduced time of manual operations. Instrumental analysis of extracts of water samples was performed on-line with coupled column reversed phase liquid chromatography (LC/LC) and UV detection (280 nm) allowing to assay carbendazim to a level of at least 0.1 μg/l. Improved column life time was obtained by performing the favorable LC separation of carbendazim at high pH on newly developed 5 μm Extend-pH bidentate C18 material.

The combination of a short column packed with 5 μm Inertsil ODS-5 and a mobile phase at low pH material was most adequate as the regards the robust and fast processing of extracts of solid samples and allowed in most cases the screening of carbendazim in soils and sediments to a level of 10μg/kg.

The developed procedures yield overall recoveries for carbendazim of 101, 80 and 71 % in water (levels, 0.1—1.2 μg/l: n=12), soil (levels, 10 and 100 μg/kg; n=22) and sediments (levels, 10 and 100 μg/kg; n=11), respectively, with a repeatability and reproducibility below 7 % for all method/matrix combinations. Soil samples with aged residues (level, 100 μg/kg; n=10) provided an overall recovery of 71% and no significant decrease of carbendazim was observed during nine weeks of storage in the refrigerator.     

Comparison of a GC Method and Two HPLC Methods for the Determination of p-Hydroxyphenytoin in Urine

Abstract

Three chromatographic methods for determining p-hydroxy-phenytoin (p-HPT) in urine were compared: (1) GC with derivatisation of the samples, (2) HPLC after extraction with ethyl acetate and (3) HPLC using a column switching system for direct injection of samples. In all three methods the p-HPT glucuronides were first hydrolysed using concentrated mineral acid at boiling point. For method (1) the acidic hydrolysate was adjusted to pH 7–8.5. Benzenetetrahydrofuran was used for extraction of p-HPT. The extract was evaporated to dryness, taken up in trimethyl-aniliniumhydroxide and injected. For method (2) the acidic hydrolysate was buffered with tri-sodium phosphate. An aliquot of the buffered solution was extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract was evaporated to dryness, taken up in methanol and injected. For method (3) the hydrolysate was diluted with water/acetonitrile (9:1), centrifuged and directly injected onto the pre-column for the sample washing step.