Determination of drug enantiomers in biological samples by coupled column liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and coupled column chromatography can be used to overcome problems likely to occur in direct separation and determination of drug enantiomers in biological samples. This is exemplified here with the direct separation and determination of terbutaline in human plasma at the nmol/l level. A beta-cyclodextrin column with an aqueous mobile phase was used for chiral separation. For coupled column chromatography, the concentration of each enantiomer was calculated from the enantiomeric area ratio and the racemate concentration. A deuterium-labelled internal standard was used in the LC-MS experiments.     

Determination of D- and L-amino acids in biological samples by two-dimensional column liquid chromatography

Summary A two-dimensional, column liquid chromatographic system is used for the determination of the D- and L-enantiomers of amino acids in biological samples. Separation of the amino acids is first on ion-exchange column by gradient elution with a sodium citrate-sodium chloride buffer. Enantioseparation is by subsequent injection of 3 μl heart-cuts of the individual amino acids onto a second column with a chiral crown ether stationary phase. Finally, fluorescence detection is after post-column labelling of the amino acids using ano-phthalaldehyde-2-mercaptoethanol reagent solution. The high separation power and selectivity of the system allow processing of complex samples with hardly any additional treatment and the determination of small quantities of D-amino acids in the presence of excess L-form. Applicability of the system is illustrated by the determination of D- and L-aspartate, serine, glutamate and alanine in various complex biological samples, such as protein hydrolysates, urine and biotechnological and food samples. Data are given on detectability, repeatability and linearity.     

Determination of D- and L-amino acids in biological samples by two-dimensional column liquid chromatography

Summary A two-dimensional, column liquid chromatographic system is used for the determination of the D- and L-enantiomers of amino acids in biological samples. Separation of the amino acids is first on ion-exchange column by gradient elution with a sodium citratesodium chloride buffer. Enantioseparation is by subsequent injection of 3 l heart-cuts of the individual amino acids onto a second column with a chiral crown ether stationary phase. Finally, fluorescence detection is after post-column labelling of the amino acids using ano-phthalaldehyde-2-mercaptoethanol reagent solution. The high separation power and selectivity of the system allow processing of complex samples with hardly any additional treatment and the determination of small quantities of D-amino acids in the presence of excess L-form. Applicability of the system is illustrated by the determination of D- and L-aspartate, serine, glutamate and alanine in various complex biological samples, such as protein hydrolysates, urine and biotechnological and food samples. Data are given on detectability, repeatability and linearity.     

Determination of vitamin E acid succinate in biodegradable microspheres by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple, rapid, and reproducible reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is applied to the routine assay of vitamin E acid succinate in biodegradable microspheres. Vitamin E acid-succinate-containing poly-(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres are prepared by the solvent evaporation method. The starting drug-polymer ratio is 1:10 (w/w) and the total amount of drug and polymer processed is always 440 mg. The content of vitamin E acid succinate in the microspheres is evaluated by HPLC. Chromatography is carried out isocratically at 25 degrees C +/- 0.5 degrees C on an Extrasil ODS-2 column with a mobile phase composed of methanol-water (97:3, v/v) (pH 5.6) at a flow rate of 2 mL/min and UV detection at 284 nm. Parameters such as linearity, limits of quantitation (LOQ) and detection (LOD), precision, accuracy, recovery, specificity, and ruggedness are studied as reported in the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The stability of vitamin E acid succinate is also studied with satisfactory results after 48 h at 25 degrees C. The method is selective and linear for drug concentrations in the range 15-210 micro g/mL. The LOQ and LOD are 15 and 3 micro g/mL, respectively. The results for accuracy studies are good. Values for coefficient of variation for intra- and interassay are 2.08% and 2.32%, respectively. The mean percentage of vitamin E acid succinate in the recovery studies is 99.52% +/- 0.81%. The mean loading efficiency for microspheres is 96.53% +/- 1.31%.     

Determination of captopril in biological samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with ThioGlo 3 derivatization.

Captopril, a well-known angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, is widely used for treatment of arterial hypertension. Recent studies suggest that it may also act as a scavenger of free radicals because of its thiol group. Therefore, the present study describes a rapid, sensitive and relatively simple method for the detection of captopril in biological tissues with reverse-phase HPLC. Captopril was first derivatized with ThioGlo 3 [3H-Naphto[2,1-b]pyran,9-acetoxy-2-(4-(2,5-dihydro-2,5-dioxo-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenyl-3-oxo-)]. It was then detected by fluorescence-HPLC using an Astec C(18) column as the stationary phase and a water:acetonitrile:acetic acid:phosphoric acid mixture (50:50; 1 mL/L acids) as the mobile phase (excitation wavelength, 365 nm; emission wavelength, 445 nm). The calibration curve for captopril was linear over a range of 10-2500 nM and the coefficient of variation acquired for the within- and between-run precision for captopril was 0.5 and 3.8%, respectively. The detection limit of captopril with this method was found to be 200 fmol/20 microL injection volume. Its relative recovery from biological samples was determined to the range from 93.3 to 105.3%. Based on these results, we believe that our method is advantageous for captopril determination.     

Determination of the carotenoid phytoene in blood by high-pressure liquid chromatography

A sensitive and specific high-pressure liquid chromatographic assay was developed for the determination of phytoene in blood with an overall recovery of 86 ± 6.0% and a limit of detection of 50–100 ng per ml of blood. This method provides for rapid and simple quantitation of phytoene using 1 ml or less of blood.

The assay was used in the determination of phytoene blood levels in the dog following intravenous and oral administration of 10-mg/kg doses.     

Determination of sodium phenobarbital in animal chow by high-pressure liquid chromatography

An analytical procedure is described for determining residues of sodium phenobarbital in animal chow at levels as low as 0.14 ppm. The methanol extract is subjected to a liquid-liquid cleanup at pH 13 and 1, further cleaned up on a silica gel column and assayed by high-pressure liquid chromatography by using an ultraviolet absorption detector at 210 nm. Data concerning extraction efficiency, partition values and stability of the chemical in animal chow are also presented.     

Sanguinarine levels in biological samples by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is presented for the analysis of the benzophenanthridine alkaloid, sanguinarine, found in plant extracts. The method is demonstrated to be applicable to analyzing samples such as saliva and gingival crevicular fluid for sanguinarine following a simple acidified methanolic extraction step. The method utilizes an ethyl silane column with acidic and basic ion-pairing reagents in the mobile phase with a limit of detection of 3 ng of sanguinarine in a sample.     

Determination of vitamin D3 in cod-liver oil (Lebertran) by high-pressure liquid chromatography

Summary An HPLC separation of vitamin D₃ in cod-liver oil (Lebertran) on a Partisil-10-pxs (Whatman) column with a mobile phase of chloroform-n-hexaneglacial acetic acid (70301) and detection at 268 nm is described. The vitamin D₃ peak in the sample solution was positively identified by measuring absorbance ratios at different wavelengths and recording a peak spectrum with a LC 55-S digital scanner between 250–350 nm. Analytical results of analysis of 11 samples are compared with those obtained by a chemical method. The coefficient of variation of the HPLC method was found to be ± 2.4%.

---

Bestimmung von Vitamin D₃ in Lebertran durch Hochdruck-Flüssigkeits-Chromatographie

Zusammenfassung Ein Verfahren zur HPLC-Bestimmung von Vitamin D₃ in Lebertran mit Hilfe einer Partisil-10 pxs-Säule (Whatman) mit der mobilen Phase Chloroform-n-Hexan-Eisessig (70301) und UV-Detektion bei 268 nm wird beschrieben. Die Identität des Vitamin D₃-Peaks wurde zusätzlich durch eine Peakanalyse bei verschiedenen Wellenlängen sowie durch Aufnahme des Peakspektrums zwischen 250–350 nm mit einem LC-55-S Digital-Scanner sichergestellt. Die Ergebnisse von 11 Lebertranproben wurden den mit einer chemischen Methode erzielten Werten gegenübergestellt. Der Variationskoeffizient der HPLC-Methode beträgt ± 2,4%.

The author thanks Mrs. Petra Grötsch for the very efficient assistance in the experimental work. He is further indebted to Mr. R. Jöster, Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Offenbach (GFR), for recording the peak spectra with a digital scanner.     

Determination of steroids in biological samples by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The possibility of determining eight adrenocorticotropic steroid hormones (cortisol, cortisone, corticosterone, 11-dehydrocorticosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, and progesterone) by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using urea as an organic additive to the working electrolyte (a 25 mM phosphoric acid solution and 10 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate) was demonstrated. The use of online preconcentration (stacking and sweeping) allowed us to lower the detection limit for steroids to ～3 ng/mL. The total analysis time was 15 min.     

Determination of N1-methylnicotinamide in urine by high-pressure liquid chromatography.

This paper reports a precise method that is shorter than previously reported methods for the quantitative determination of N1-methylnicotinamide (MNA) in urine. The method employs a single column chromatographic isolation step, followed by high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis. Potential interfering substances present in urine are removed during the column chromatography step. The combined MNA fractions eluted from this column were collected and concentrated for quantitative assay of MNA by HPLC. HPLC analysis was effected in less than 15 min using a strong cation- exchange column eluted with 0.25 M ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 4.3). Linearity of MNA detection by HPLC at 254 nm extended below 20 ng, with an average recovery of 101% for 150, 250 and 500 microgram MNA added to 5 ml or urine.