Simple determination of betaine,l‐carnitine and choline in human urine using self‐packed column and column‐switching ion chromatography with nonsuppressed conductivity detection

A sequential online extraction, clean‐up and separation system for the determination of betaine, l ‐carnitine and choline in human urine using column‐switching ion chromatography with nonsuppressed conductivity detection was developed in this work. A self‐packed pretreatment column (50 × 4.6 mm, i.d.) was used for the extraction and clean‐up of betaine, l ‐carnitine and choline. The separation was achieved using self‐packed cationic exchange column (150 × 4.6 mm, i.d.), followed by nonsuppressed conductivity detection. Under optimized experimental conditions, the developed method presented good analytical performance, with excellent linearity in the range of 0.60–100 μg mL⁻¹ for betaine, 0.75–100 μg mL⁻¹ for l ‐carnitine and 0.50–100 μg mL⁻¹ for choline, with all correlation coefficients (R²) >0.99 in urine. The limits of detection were 0.15 μg mL⁻¹ for betaine, 0.20 μg mL⁻¹ for l ‐carnitine and 0.09 μg mL⁻¹ for choline. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision for all quality controls were within ±10.32 and ±9.05%, respectively. Satisfactory recovery was observed between 92.8 and 102.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to the detection of urinary samples from 10 healthy people. The values detected in human urine using the proposed method showed good agreement with the measurement reported previously.     

A validated LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of senkyunolide I in dog plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies

Senkyunolide I is one of the major bioactive components in the herbal medicine Ligusticum chuanxiong. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a fast, simple and sensitive LC‐MS/MS method for the determination of senkyunolide I in dog plasma. The plasma samples were processed with acetonitrile and separated on a Waters Acquity UPLC BEH C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid aqueous and acetonitrile was delivered at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min⁻¹. The detection was achieved in the positive selected reaction monitoring mode with precursor‐to‐product transitions at m/z 225.1 → 161.1 for senkyunolide I and at m/z 349.1 → 305.1 for an internal standard. The assay was linear over the tested concentration range, from 0.5 ng mL⁻¹ to 1000 ng mL⁻¹, with a correlation coefficient >0.9992. The mean extraction recovery from dog plasma was within the range of 85.78–93.25%, while the matrix effect of the analyte was within the range of 98.23–108.89%. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (RSD) were <12.12% and the accuracy (RR) ranged from 98.89% to 104.24%. The validated assay was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies of senkyunolide I in dogs. The results demonstrated that (a) senkyunolide I showed short elimination half‐life (<1 h) in dog, (b) its oral bioavailability was >40% and (c) senkyunolide I showed dose‐independent pharmacokinetic profiles in dog plasma over the dose range of 1–50 mg kg⁻¹.     

Development of a Rapid and Simultaneous Detection Method for Buprenorphine,Norbuprenorphine and Naloxone in Human Plasma Using Ultra‐high Performance Liquid Chromatography‐tandem Mass Spectrometer with Solid‐phase Extraction

A simultaneous method was successfully established and validated for the separation and determination of buprenorphine (BP), its primary metabolite, nor‐buprenorphine (NBP) and a proposed co‐formulate, naloxone (NLX) in human plasma. The method used buprenorphine‐d₄ (BP‐D₄), nor‐buprenorphine‐d₃ (NBP‐D₃), naltrexone (NTX) as internal standards (ISs). 100 μL of plasma sample fortified with the ISs was cleaned up by solid‐phase extraction (SPE), and was then separated on a Waters Acquity^TM BEH C₁₈ column with gradient elution using methanol and water (containing 0.2% formic) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL·min⁻¹. The mass spectrometer was used for detection and was operated in the positive electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The three compounds were effectively separated in 5 min. The linear ranges of the compounds were 0.1–25, 0.25–25 and 0.05–25 ng·mL⁻¹ for BP, NBP and NLX, respectively, with r≧0.9935. The method had high sensitivity (the limits of detection were 0.02, 0.1 and 0.01 ng·mL⁻¹ for BP, NBP and NLX, respectively) and high recoveries (≧97.6%). The result was shown to be linear and satisfactorily met current acceptance criteria for validation of bioanalytical method: intra and inter assay precisions within the required limits of ≦25% RSD. The LOQs fulfilled the LOQ requirements: precision≦25% RSD, and was fully validated according to the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) regulations. The results demonstrated that ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC‐MS/MS) with SPE was a powerful detection tool and contributed to pharmaceutical analysis in biological matrices.     

An LC–MS/MS method for rapid and sensitive high‐throughput simultaneous determination of various protein kinase inhibitors in human plasma

A reliable, high‐throughput and sensitive LC–MS/MS procedure was developed and validated for the determination of five tyrosine kinase inhibitors in human plasma. Following their extraction from human plasma, samples were eluted on a RP Luna®‐PFP 100 Å column using a mobile phase system composed of acetonitrile and 0.01 m ammonium formate in water (pH ~4.1) with a ratio of (50:50, v /v) flowing at 0.3 mL min⁻¹. The mass spectrometer was operating with electrospray ionization in the positive ion multiple reaction monitoring mode. The proposed methodology resulted in linear calibration plots with correlation coefficients values of r ² = 0.9995–0.9999 from concentration ranges of 2.5–100 ng mL⁻¹ for imatinib, 5.0–100 ng mL⁻¹ for sorafenib, tofacitinib and afatinib, and 1.0–100 ng mL⁻¹ for cabozantinib. The procedure was validated in terms of its specificity, limit of detection (0.32–1.71 ng mL⁻¹), lower limit of quantification (0.97–5.07 ng mL⁻¹), intra‐ and inter assay accuracy (−3.83 to +2.40%) and precision (<3.37%), matrix effect and recovery and stability. Our results demonstrated that the proposed method is highly reliable for routine quantification of the investigated tyrosine kinase inhibitors in human plasma and can be efficiently applied in the rapid and sensitive analysis of their clinical samples.     

Tributyltin(IV) Schiff base complexes with amino acid derivatives: synthesis,characterization and biological activity

The synthesis in one‐pot reactions and structural characterization of six new tri‐n‐butyltin(IV) derivatives of Schiff bases are reported. The compounds are derived from a condensation reaction between l ‐alanine, l ‐valine, l ‐isoleucine, l ‐methionine, l ‐phenylalanine or l ‐tryptophan and 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde. Characterization was completed using elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, one‐ and two‐dimensional solution NMR (¹H, ¹³C and ¹¹⁹Sn) as well as solid‐state ¹¹⁹Sn NMR. In addition, the crystal structures of three of the compounds were confirmed using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Although five‐coordinated and polymeric in the solid state, the tin compounds are four‐coordinated and monomeric in solution. The coordination environment around the triorganotin units comprises three carbon atoms and two oxygen atoms from two ligands in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry. The anti‐proliferative effect of these compounds on the cervical carcinoma cell lines HeLa, CaSki and ViBo was screened in vitro, the compounds showing cytotoxic activity against all three strains and null or low cytotoxic activity (necrotic) as well. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of l‐tetrahydropalmatine and its active metabolites in rat plasma by a sensitive ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive and reliable ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of l ‐tetrahydropalmatine (l ‐THP) and its active metabolites l ‐isocorypalmine (l ‐ICP) and L ‐corydalmine (l ‐CD) in rat plasma. The analytes were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction and separated on a Bonshell ASB C₁₈ column (2.1 × 100 mm; 2.7 μm; Agela) using acetonitrile–formic acid aqueous as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min in gradient mode. The method was validated over the concentration range of 4.00–2500 ng/mL for l ‐THP, 0.400–250 ng/mL for l ‐ICP and 1.00–625 ng/mL for l ‐CD. Intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision were within the acceptable limits of <15% at all concentrations. Correlation coefficients (r ) for the calibration curves were >0.99 for all analytes. The quantitative method was successfully applied for simultaneous determination of l ‐THP and its active metabolites in a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration with l ‐THP at a dose of 15 mg/kg to rats.     

Bioanalysis of acetylcarnitine in cerebrospinal fluid by HILIC–mass spectrometry

Acetyl‐l ‐carnitine (ALCAR) is a potential biomarker for the modulation of brain neurotransmitter activity, but is also present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Recent studies have utilized hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC‐MS/MS) based assays to detect and quantify ALCAR within biofluids such as urine, plasma and serum, using various sample pretreatment procedures. In order to address the need to quantify ALCAR in CSF on a high‐throughput scale, a new and simple HILIC‐MS/MS assay has been successfully developed and validated. For rapid analysis, CSF sample pretreatment was performed via ‘dilute and shoot’ directly onto an advanced HILIC column prior to MS/MS detection. This newly developed HILIC‐MS/MS assay shows good recoveries of ALCAR without the need for chemical derivatization and multistep sample extraction procedures. The employment of this assay is suitable for the high‐throughput bioanalysis and quantification of ALCAR within the CSF of various animal models and human clinical studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous detection of stable isotope‐labeled and unlabeled l‐tryptophan and of its main metabolites,l‐kynurenine,serotonin and quinolinic acid,by gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry

A method for the detection of unlabeled and ¹⁵N₂‐labeled l ‐tryptophan (l ‐Trp), l ‐kynurenine (l ‐Kyn), serotonin (5‐HT) and quinolinic acid (QA) in human and rat plasma by GC/MS is described. Labeled and unlabeled versions of these four products were analyzed as their acyl substitution derivatives using pentafluoropropionic anhydride and 2,2,3,3,3‐pentafluoro‐1‐propanol. Products were then separated by GC and analyzed by selected ion monitoring using negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. l ‐[¹³C₁₁, ¹⁵N₂]‐Trp, methyl‐serotonin and 3,5‐pyridinedicarboxylic acid were used as internal standards for this method. The coefficients of variation for inter‐assay repeatability were found to be approximately 5.2% for l ‐Trp and ¹⁵N₂‐Trp, 17.1% for l ‐Kyn, 16.9% for 5‐HT and 5.8% for QA (n = 2). We used this method to determine isotope enrichments in plasma l ‐Trp over the course of a continuous, intravenous infusion of l ‐[¹⁵N₂]Trp in pregnant rat in the fasting state. Plasma ¹⁵N₂‐Trp enrichment reached a plateau at 120 min. The free Trp appearance rate (Ra) into plasma was 49.5 ± 3.35 µmol/kg/h. The GC/MS method was applied to determine the enrichment of ¹⁵N‐labeled l ‐Trp, l ‐Kyn, 5‐HT and QA concurrently with the concentration of non‐labeled l ‐Trp, l ‐Kyn, 5‐HT and QA in plasma. This method may help improve our understanding on l ‐Trp metabolism in vivo in animals and humans and potentially reveal the relative contribution of the four pathways of l ‐Trp metabolism. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Development of an LC–MS/MS method for quantification of two pairs of isomeric flavonoid glycosides and other ones in rat plasma: Application to pharmacokinetic studies

A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of six flavonoid glycosides – isoorientin ( 1 ), orientin ( 2 ), 2″‐O‐β ‐d ‐xylopyranosyl isoorientin ( 3 ), 2″‐O‐β ‐d ‐xylopyranosyl isovitexin ( 4 ), 6‐C‐l ‐α ‐arabipyranosyl vitexin ( 5 ) and vitexin ( 6 ) – in rat plasma using isoquercitrin as the internal standard (IS). Plasma samples were prepared by a one‐step protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Chromatographic analysis was carried out on a 25 cm C₁₈ column with a gradient mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.1% aqueous formic acid. Six analytes and IS were detected through electrospray ionization in negative‐ion selection reaction monitoring mode. The mass transitions were as follows: m/z 447.2 → 327.0 for 1 , m/z 447.2 → 327.0 for 2 , m/z 579.3 → 458.9 for 3 , m/z 563.0 → 293.1 for 4 , m/z 563.0 → 353.0 for 5 , m/z 431.1 → 311.1 for 6 , and m/z 463.1 → 300.2 for IS. Calibration curves exhibited good linearity (r ² > 0.9908) over a wide concentration range for all compounds. Intra‐ and inter‐day precision (RSD, %) at four different levels were both <14.2% and the accuracy (RE, %) ranged from −11.9 to 12.0%. The extraction recoveries of the six components ranged from 88.2 to 103.6%. The validated assay was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies of the six components in male rat plasma after intravenous administration of total flavonoids of Scorzonera austriaca Wild.     

Development and validation of HPLC‐MS/MS method for the determination of lixivaptan in mouse plasma and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

The aim of the present study was to develop a simple, sensitive and accurate liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS/MS) method for the determination of lixivaptan (LIX) in mouse plasma using vildagliptin as the internal standard (IS). A precipitation procedure was used for the extraction of LIX and vildagliptin from mouse plasma. Chromatographic separation of LIX was achieved using a C₁₈ analytical column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) at 25°C. The mobile phase comprised acetonitrile and ammonium formate (10 mm , pH 3.1; 40:60, v /v) pumped at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min⁻¹. A tandem mass spectrometer with an electrospray ionization source was used to perform the assay. Quantification of LIX at m/z 290 → 137 and IS at 154 → 97 was attained through multiple reaction monitoring. The investigated method was authenticated following the bio‐analytical method of validation guidelines of the US Food and Drug Administration. The developed method showed a good linearity over the concentration range from 5 to 500 ng mL⁻¹, and the calibration curve was linear (r = 0.9998). The mean recovery of LIX from mouse plasma was 99.2 ± 0.68%. All validation parameters for LIX were within the levels required for acceptance. The proposed method was effectively used for a pharmacokinetic study of LIX in mouse plasma.     

Determination of trimethylamine‐N‐oxide in combination with l‐carnitine and γ‐butyrobetaine in human plasma by UPLC/MS/MS

An ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of trimethylamine‐N‐oxide (TMAO) simultaneously with TMAO‐related molecules l ‐carnitine and γ‐butyrobetaine (GBB) in human blood plasma. The separation of analytes was achieved using a Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)‐type column with ammonium acetate–acetonitrile as the mobile phase. TMAO determination was validated according to valid US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The developed method was successfully applied to plasma samples from healthy volunteers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous Electrochemical Detection of Co(II) and Cu(II) by 1‐Diazo‐2‐Naphthol‐4‐Sulfonic Acid/MWCNTs Modified Electrode

This work describes a simple preparation of 1‐diazo‐2‐naphthol‐4‐sulfonic acid (1,2,4‐acid) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the simultaneous detection of Co(II) and Cu(II). MWCNTs, with their good conductivity and large surface area, were drop‐casted onto the surface of the GCE prior to the electrodeposition of 1,2,4‐acid, a metal chelating agent. Co(II) and Cu(II) were simultaneously measured by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) in a batch system. Under optimum conditions, the linear range of Co(II) was between 0.10 and 2.5 μg mL⁻¹ with an LOD of 80 ng mL⁻¹. Two linear ranges were obtained for Cu(II), 0.0050 to 0.030 μg mL⁻¹ and 0.040 to 0.25 μg mL⁻¹,with an LOD of 2.4 ng mL⁻¹. The method offered a high operational stability for up to 52 measurements (RSD=3.4 % for Co(II) and 2.6 % for Cu(II)) and good reproducibility (RSD=1.2 % for Co(II) and 1.7 % for Cu(II)). In the simultaneous detection of Co(II) and Cu(II), there was no effect from common interferences found in wastewater. The method was successfully applied in real water samples with good recoveries (88.2±0.8 to 102.0±0.8 % for Co(II) and 96.5±0.4 to 103.8±0.9 % for Cu(II)) and the results were in good agreement with those obtained from inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES) (P >0.05).     

l‐Methioninium chloride and l‐seleno­methioninium chloride at 103 K

The crystal structures of the title compounds, (S)‐1‐carboxy‐3‐(methyl­sulfanyl)­propanaminium chloride, C₅H₁₂NO₂S⁺·Cl⁻, and (S)‐1‐carboxy‐3‐(methyl­selanyl)­propanaminium chloride, C₅H₁₂NO₂Se⁺·Cl⁻, are isomorphous. The proton­ated l ‐methionine and l ‐seleno­methionine mol­ecules have almost identical conformations and create very similar contacts with the Cl⁻ anions in the crystal structures of both compounds. The amino acid cations and the Cl⁻ anions are linked viaN—H⋯Cl⁻ and O—H⋯Cl⁻ hydrogen bonds.     

Determination of eurycomanone in rat plasma using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for pharmacokinetic study

In this study, a rapid, sensitive, and reliable hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC‐MS/MS) method for the determination of eurycomanone in rat plasma was developed and validated. Plasma samples were pretreated with a protein precipitation method and quercitrin was used as an internal standard (IS). A HILIC silica column (2.1 × 100 mm, 3 μm) was used for hydrophilic‐based chromatographic separation, using the mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid with acetonitrile in gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. Precursor–product ion pairs for multiple‐reaction monitoring were m /z 409.1 → 391.0 for eurycomanone and m /z 449.1 → 303.0 for IS. The linear range was 2–120 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracies were between 95.5 and 103.4% with a precision of <4.2%. The developed method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic analysis of eurycomanone in rat plasma after oral dosing with pure compound and E. longifolia extract. The C _max and AUC_0–t , respectively, were 40.43 ± 16.08 ng/mL and 161.09 ± 37.63 ng h/mL for 10 mg/kg eurycomanone, and 9.90 ± 3.97 ng/mL and 37.15 ± 6.80 ng h/mL for E. longifolia extract (2 mg/kg as eurycomanone). The pharmacokinetic results were comparable with each other, based on the dose as eurycomanone.     

Determination of Amantadine Residue in Honey by Solid‐phase Extraction and High‐performance Liquid Chromatography with Pre‐column Derivatization and Fluorometric Detection

Amantadine (AMA) is an anti‐viral drug used in apiculture to protect honeybee against the sacbrood virus (Morator aetatulae). This study described a reliable high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for analyzing AMA in honey using a solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cartridge (Plexa PCX) for purification, 4‐fluoro‐7‐nitro‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole (NBD‐F) as a pre‐column derivatization agent, and fluorometric detection (λ_ex=470 nm, λ_em=530 nm). The chromatographic separation was performed on an XDB C18 column (150×4.6 mm i.d.) using 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid/acetonitrile (35:65,V/V) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min⁻¹ with a run time of 20 min. Under these optimal conditions, a linear relationship was observed in the range of 0.025–1.0 µg· mL⁻¹ with a good correlation coefficient (0.998) and low limit of detection (0.0080 µg·g⁻¹), the recoveries were all above 90%, and the intra‐day and inter‐day precision (RSD) ranged from 3.4%–5.1%.     

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.

     

Application of centrifugal partition chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detection for the isolation of saikosaponins‐a and ‐c from Bupleurum falcatum roots

Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) was applied to separate saikosaponins‐a and ‐c preparatively from Bupleurum falcatum roots. The two‐phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/methanol/water (15:1:3:15 by volume) was used to yield saikosaponins‐a (36.1 mg) and ‐c (28.7 mg) from 370 mg of saponin‐rich extract. The purities of isolated compounds were 96.6 and 97.3% for saikosaponins‐a and ‐c, respectively. Structure identification of these compounds was accomplished by comparison of spectroscopic data of ESI‐MS, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR with those of previously reported values.     

Quantitation of glucosamine sulfate in plasma by HPLC-MS/MS after administration of powder for oral solution formulation

A rapid method for the quantification of glucosamine in human plasma using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. The sample preparation includes a simple deproteinization step, using d ‐[1‐¹³C] glucosamine hydrochloride as an internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on an ACE Ciano column using isocratic elution with acetonitrile and aqueous 2 mm ammonium acetate containing 0.025% formic acid (80:20). Selected reaction monitoring was performed using the transitions m/z 180.1 → m/z 72.1 and m/z 181.0 → m/z 74.6 to quantify glucosamine and internal standard, respectively. The method was validated and proved to be linear, accurate and precise over the range 50–5000 ng/mL of glucosamine. Recovery rates higher than 90% were obtained for both glucosamine and internal standard. No matrix effect was detected in the samples. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of a powder for oral solution formulation containing glucosamine sulfate. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of Cationic Charge Density and PEGylated Poly(amino acid) Tercopolymer Architecture on Their Use as Gene Delivery Vehicles. Part 1: Synthesis,Self‐Assembly,and DNA Complexation

The interaction of PEGylated poly(amino acid)s with their biological targets depends on their chemical nature and spatial arrangement of their building blocks. The synthesis, self‐assembly, and DNA complexation of ABC terblock copolymers consisting of poly(ethylene glycol), (PEG), poly(l ‐lysine), and poly(l ‐leucine), are reported. Block copolymers are produced by a metal‐free, living ring‐opening polymerization of respective amino acid N‐carboxyanhydrides using amino‐terminated PEG as macroinitiator: (PEG‐b‐p(l ‐Lys)_x‐b‐p(l ‐Leu)_y, PEG‐b‐p(l ‐Leu)_x‐b‐p(l ‐Lys)_y, and PEG‐b‐p((l ‐Lys)_x‐co‐p(l ‐Leu)_y). Sizes of self‐assembled nanoparticles depend on the formation method. The nanoprecipitation method proves useful for copolymers with the poly(l ‐lysine) block protected as trifluoroacetate, effective diameters range between 92 and 132 nm, while direct dissolution in distilled water is suitable for the deprotected copolymers, yielding effective diameters between 52 and 173 nm. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) analyses corroborate particle size analyses and show a distinct impact of the molecular architecture; the lowest CMC (8 µg mL⁻¹) is observed when the poly(l ‐leucine) segment forms the C‐block and the hydrophilic, disassembly driving poly(l ‐lysine) segment is short. DNA complexation, evaluated by gel motility and RiboGreen analyses, depends strongly on the molecular architecture. A more efficient DNA complexation is observed when poly(l ‐lysine) and poly(l ‐leucine) form individual blocks as opposed to them forming a copolymer.