An evaluation of GC-MS and HPLC-FD methods for analysis of protein binders in paintings

Two chromatographic methods have been compared for analysis of protein-binding media used in paintings, namely, HPLC with fluorescence detection and GC-MS. The proteins were hydrolyzed to the corresponding amino acids (AAs) by gaseous HCl and the AAs were derivatized with methyl chloroformate, followed by GC-MS or by HPLC after derivatization with the AccQ fluorescence reagent. The hydrolysis, derivatization reactions and the chromatographic procedures have been optimized and applied to standard binding media, model and real samples of paintings. The methods have been compared and critically evaluated.     

Comparison of chaotropic salt and ionic liquid as mobile phase additives in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of biogenic amines

Highly hydrophilic compounds belonging to biogenic amines were analysed in the reversed-phase system, modified with the addition of ionic liquids: 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (EMIM PF(6)) and chaotropic salt NaPF(6) on Discovery HS C18 column at acidic conditions. The effect of the additives concentration and the presence of organic solvent on the analytes' chromatographic parameters such as retention factor, tailing factor and theoretical plates number were all determined. On the basis of k versus ionic liquid concentration in aqueous-organic mobile phase with constant amount of phosphate buffer, retention mechanism was studied. It was established that the presence of organic solvent with low dielectric constant and ionic liquid with both chaotropic ions allows achieving typical Langmuir shape of this relationship. Investigated mobile phase additives are comparable according to efficiency and selectivity towards biogenic amines analysis. However, the sensitivity was found to be better for the eluent system modified with chaotropic salt.     

Application of gas and liquid chromatography coupled to time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry in pesticides: Multiresidue analysis

Analysis of pesticide residues in water and food matrices is an active research area closely related to food safety and environmental issues. In this aspect mass spectrometry (MS) coupled to gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) has been increasingly used in the analysis of pesticide residues in water and food. The increasing interest in application of high‐resolution mass spectrometry with time‐of‐flight (TOF) and hybrid triple quadrupole TOF in pesticide analysis is due to its capability of performing both targeted and nontargeted analysis. This article discusses an overview of the application of GC‐TOF‐MS and LC‐TOF‐MS in water and food matrices.     

Assay of naproxen by high-performance liquid chromatography and identification of its photoproducts by LC-ESI MS

A rapid, accurate and reliable reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of naproxen and its photodegradation products in methanol was developed and validated. An Inertsil 5-ODS-3V column (5 microm, C18, 250 x 4.6 mm i.d.) was used with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-methanol-1% HOAc in H2O (40:20:40, v/v/v). UV detection was set at 230 nm. The developed method satisfies system suitability criteria, peak integrity and resolution for the parent drug and its photoproducts. The intraday and interday standard deviations of five replicate determinations for five consecutive days at the working concentrations of 5.0, 10, 25, 50, and 100 microm were 0.23-0.98 with coefficients of variance (CVs) of between 0.96 and 4.56% for the former, and 0.14-1.15 with CVs of between 1.13 and 3.82% for the latter. The percentage recoveries were determined to be 98.34, 99.19, 100.18, 102.97 and 99.81%, respectively, at the five concentrations between 5.0 and 100 microm. The limit of quantitation of naproxen was determined to be 0.29 microg/mL, while the detection limit was 64 ng/mL. Four major photoproducts were observed from the HPLC chromatogram using a Panchum PR-2000 reactor which equipped with 8 W x 16 low-pressure quartz mercury lamps as the light source for irradiation of a naproxen sample in methanol. The structures of the photoproducts were confirmed by LC-ESI MS.     

Development and validation of high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for assay of madecassoside in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of madecassoside, a major active constituent of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. herbs, in rat plasma. With paeoniflorin as an internal standard (IS), a simple liquid-liquid extraction process was employed for the plasma sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was achieved within 6 min on a Shim-pack CLC-ODS column using acetonitrile and water (60:40, v/v) containing 0.1% (v/v) formic acid as the mobile phase. The detection was performed by MS with electrospray ionization interface in negative selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The linear range was 11-5500 ng/mL with the square regression coefficient (r(2) ) of 0.9995. The lower limit of quantification was 11 ng/mL. The intra- and inter- day precision ranged from 4.99 to 9.03%, and the accuracy was between 95.82 and 111.80%. The average recoveries of madecassoside and IS from spiked plasma samples were >92%. The developed method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of madecassoside in rats after an oral administration.     

Metabolic analysis of rhubarb extract by rat intestinal bacteria using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Through investigation of the metabolism of rhubarb extract by rat intestinal bacteria, a total of 14 components in rhubarb extract were found to be biotransformed. These components included aloe-emodin-O-glucosides, emodin-O-glucosides, chrysophanol-O-glucosides, physcion-O-glucosides and the corresponding aglycones. Rhein also could be biotransformed by rat intestinal bacteria. Twelve major metabolites were detected in the incubation sample. Under ESI tandem mass conditions, the sequential fragmentation patterns of [M H](-) ions were similar to those of free anthraquinones, thus allowing the rapid identification of the metabolites formed in incubation samples. The results suggested that the proposed hydrolysis of glycoside group followed by hydrogenation in quinoid moiety and/or further acetylation was the major biotransformation pathway for these anthraquinone glycosides by rat intestinal bacteria.     

Individual determination of ortho and non-ortho substituted polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) in sediments by high performance liquid chromatographic pre-separation and gas chromatography/ECD detection

Summary An analytical procedure for the individual determination of ortho and non-ortho PCB congeners in sediments, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) preseparation and gas chromatography/ECD detection, is described. Gas chromatography/FTIR spectrometry (GC/FTIR) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were employed for individual congener identification and determination. Sample extraction, clean-up of extract and selective elution procedures were optimized by using reference certified marine sediment samples. Recovery and precision were typically 83% and 16% respectively at 2 ng/g of total PCB content. The proposed procedure, tested by analyzing real sediment samples, showed a reproducibility better than 20% at 13 ng/g PCB level.     

2,6-Dimethyl-4-quinolinecarboxylic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester: a fluorogenic hydrophilic derivatizing reagent for liquid chromatographic analysis of aliphatic amines

The use of a fluorogenic, hydrophilic, and amine-reactive reagent, 2,6-dimethyl-4-quinolinecarboxylic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (DMQC-OSu) has been investigated in the procolumn derivatization for the LC separation of aliphatic amines. In pH 8.0 aqueous medium, DMQC-OSu reacted with amines at 50 degrees C within 20 min to form highly fluorescent carboxamides and the excess reagent hydrolyzed to the corresponding carboxylic acid. The separation of representative amine derivatives with DMQC-OSu has been performed using a C18 column with the fluorescence detection at 326/409 nm. The detection limits reached nanomolar level. The proposed method has been applied to the analysis of real samples with recoveries of 94-108%. Compared with other succinimidyl esters used in the derivatization of amino compounds, DMQC-OSu and its hydrolysate had negligible fluorescence (phi(fl) = 0.09 and 0.02, respectively), which implied that small peaks appeared in chromatograms and slight interference was introduced to the determination.     

Ultrasound-assisted ionic liquid dispersive liquid-phase micro-extraction: A novel approach for the sensitive determination of aromatic amines in water samples

Ultrasound-assisted ionic liquid dispersive liquid-phase micro-extraction was developed for the determination of four aromatic amines such as 2,4-dichloroaniline, 1-naphthylamine, 6-chloroanline and N,N-dimethylaniline. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detector was used for the determination of aromatic amines. In the novel procedure, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C₆MIM] [PF₆] was dispersed into the aqueous sample solution as fine droplets by ultrasonication, and which promoted the analytes more easily migrate into the ionic liquid phase. Variable affecting such as the volume of [C₆MIM] [PF₆], sample pH, ultrasonication time, extraction time, centrifuging time have been investigated in detail. The proposed method has been found to have excellent detection sensitivity with limits of detection (LOD, S/N = 3) in the range of 0.17–0.49 μg L⁻¹ and precisions in the range of 2.0–6.1% (RSDs, n = 6). This method has been also successfully applied to analyze the real water samples and good spiked recoveries over the range of 92.2–119.3% were obtained.     

Evaluation of ionic liquid stationary phases for one dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatographic analyses of fatty acids in marine biota

Ionic liquid stationary phases were tested for one dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) of fatty acid methyl esters from algae. In comparison with polyethylene glycol and cyanopropyl substituted polar stationary phases, ionic liquid stationary phases SLB-IL 82 and SLB-IL 100 showed comparable resolution, but lower column bleeding with MS detection, resulting in better sensitivity. The selectivity and polarity of the ionic liquid phases are similar to a highly polar biscyanopropyl-silicone phase (e.g. HP-88). In GC×GC, using an apolar polydimethyl siloxane×polar ionic liquid column combination, an excellent group-type separation of fatty acids with different carbon numbers and number of unsaturations was obtained, providing information that is complementary to GC-MS identification.     

Development of a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of 1,2-[bis(1,2-benzisoselenazolone-3(2H)-ketone)]-ethane (BBSKE), a novel anti-cancer agent in rat plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method has been developed to determine 1, 2-[bis(1,2-benzisoselenazolone-3(2H)-ketone)]-ethane (BBSKE), a novel antineoplastic agent, in rat plasma. The analytes were separated on a C18 column with a mobile phase of methanol-water (75:25, v/v) and detected using a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer in positive mode with the selective reaction monitoring. The characteristic ion dissociation transitions were m/z 603.0 --> 448.9 for derivatized BBSKE and m/z 631.0 --> 476.8 for derivatized internal standard. The assay was linear over a range of 1-1000 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification of 1 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precisions were less than 9.6 and 5.0%, respectively, and the accuracy ranged from -5.2 to 4.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to the characterization of pharmacokinetic profile of BBSKE after oral administration in rats. Cop     

Quantification and pharmacokinetics of crizotinib in rats by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Crizotinib is a small molecule inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and can be used to treat ALK‐positive nonsmall‐cell lung cancer. A rapid and simple high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of crizotinib in rat plasma using a chemical synthetic compound buspirone as the internal standard (IS). The plasma samples were pretreated by a simple protein precipitation with methanol–acetonitrile (1:1, v/v). Chromatographic separation was successfully achieved on an Agilent Zorbax XDB C₁₈ column (2.1 × 50 mm, 3.5 µm). The gradient elution system was composed of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and 0.1% formic acid in methanol solution. The flow rate was set at 0.50 mL/min. The multiple reaction monitoring was based on the transitions of m/z = 450.3 → 177.1 for crizotinib and 386.2 → 122.2 for buspirone (IS). The assay was successfully validated to demonstrate the selectivity, matrix effect, linearity, lower limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, recovery and stability according to the international guidelines. The lower limit of quantification was 1.00 ng/mL in 50 μL of rat plasma. This LC‐MS/MS assay was successfully applied to the quantification and pharmacokinetic study of crizotinib in rats after intravenous and oral administration of crizotinib. The oral absolute bioavailability of crizotinib in rats was 68.6 ± 9.63%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of easy‐to‐use reverse‐phase liquid chromatographic methods for determining PRE‐084, RC‐33 and RC‐34 in biological matrices. The first step for in vivo analysis of sigma1 receptor agonists

Over the years there has been a growing interest in the therapeutic potential for central nervous system pathologies of sigma receptor modulators. The widely studied PRE‐084 and our compounds RC‐33 and RC‐34 are very potent and selective sigma 1 receptor agonists that could represent promising drug candidates for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Herein, we develop and validate robust and easy‐to‐use reverse‐phase chromatographic methods suitable for detecting and quantifying PRE‐084, RC‐33 and RC‐34 in mouse blood, brain and spinal cord. An HPLC/UV/ESI‐MS system was employed for analyzing PRE‐084 and an HPLC/UV‐PDA system for determining RC‐33 and RC‐34. Chromatographic separations were achieved on Waters Symmetry RP₁₈ column (150 × 3.9 mm, 5 µm), eluting with water and acetonitrile (both containing 0.1% formic acid) in gradient conditions. The recovery of PRE‐084, RC‐33 and RC‐34 was >95% in all the considered matrices. Their limits of quantitation and detection were also determined. Validation proved the methods be suitable for separating tested compounds from endogenous interferences, being characterized by good sensitivity, linearity, precision and accuracy. A preliminary central nervous system distribution study showed a high distribution of RC‐33 in brain and spinal cord, with concentration values well above the determined limit of quantitation. The proposed methods will be used in future preclinical investigations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous quantification of oxysophocarpine and its active metabolite sophocarpine in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive, rapid and specific method for the simultaneous quantification of oxysophocarpine (OSC) and its active metabolite sophocarpine (SC) in rat plasma was developed and validated, using a liquid-liquid extraction procedure followed by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (LC/ESI-MS) analysis. The separation was performed on a Zorbax Extend-C(18) column (2.1 mm i.d. x 50 mm, 5 microm) with a C(18) guard column using methanol-water containing 5 mm ammonium acetate (15:85, v/v) as mobile phase. Analysis was performed in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode with an electrospray ionization (ESI) interface. [M + H](+) at m/z 263 for OSC, [M + H](+) at m/z 247 for SC and [M + H](+) at m/z 249 for matrine (internal standard) were selected as detecting ions, respectively. The method was linear in the concentration ranges 10-1000 ng/mL for OSC and 5-500 ng/mL for SC. The intra- and inter-day precisions (coefficient of variation) were within 7% for both analytes. Their accuracy (relative error) ranged from -6.4 to 1.5%. The limits of detection for OSC and SC were 3 and 1.5 ng/mL, respectively. The limits of quantitation for OSC and SC were 10 and 5 ng/mL, respectively. Recoveries of both analytes were greater than 85% at the low, medium and high concentrations. Both analytes were stable during all sample storage, preparation and analytic procedures. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after an oral administration of OSC to rats with a dose of 15 mg/kg.     

Liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric assay of rabeprazole in dog plasma for a pharmacokinetic study

In order to evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of rabeprazole (RA) sterile powder for injection, a rapid, sensitive and specific assay for quantitative determination of RA in dog plasma was developed and validated. After a liquid-liquid extraction procedure, samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) using omepazole as the internal standard (IS). The analyte and IS was chromatographed on a ZORBAX Extend-C(18) analytical column (50 x 2 mm i.d, 5 microm, Agilent Technologies, USA). The assay was linear in the range 1-2000 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification of RA was 1 ng/mL. The recovery of RA was greater than 70%. The within- and between-batch accuracy was 102.7-107.4% and 103.5-105.7%, respectively. The plasma samples for the PK study were collected at defined time points during and after an intravenous injection (1 mg/kg) to beagle dogs and analyzed by LC-ESI-MS method. The PK parameters, such as half-life, volume of distribution, total clearance and elimination rate constant, were determined. The PK profile of RA gave insights into the application in the clinics.     

Isothiocyanates as derivatization reagents for amines in liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry

The applicability of 3‐pyridyl isothiocyanate, p‐(dimethylamino)phenyl isothiocyanate and m‐nitrophenyl isothiocyanate as the derivatization reagents for amines in high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI‐MS/MS) was examined. The generated derivatives of amines with these reagents were favorably separated on the reversed‐phase column and detected by ESI‐MS/MS. The C–N bond of the generated thiourea structure was efficiently cleaved by collision‐induced dissociation and gave the single and intense product ion. Among the three reagents, 3‐pyridyl isothiocyanate was the most suitable as the derivatization reagent with regard to the reactivity to amines and the detection sensitivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic method for determination of aromatic amines in environmental water

A simple, precise, and accurate hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic (HILIC) method has been developed for the determination of five aromatic amines in environmental water samples. Chromatography was carried out on a bare silica column, using a mixture of acetonitrile and a buffer of NaH₂PO₄–H₃PO₄ (pH 1.5, containing 10 mM NaH₂PO₄) (85:15, v/v) as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL min⁻¹. Aromatic amines were detected by UV absorbance at 254 nm. The linear range of amines was good (r² > 0.998) and limit of detection (LOD) within 0.02–0.2 mg L⁻¹ (S/N = 3). The retention mechanism for the analytes under the optimum conditions was determined to be a combination of adsorption, partition and ionic interactions. The proposed method was applied to the environmental water samples. Aromatic amines were isolated from aqueous samples using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with Oasis HLB cartridges. Recoveries of greater than 75% with precision (RSD) less than 12% were obtained at amine concentrations of 5–50 μg L⁻¹ from 100 mL river water and influents from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The present HILIC technique proved to be a viable method for the analysis of aromatic amines in the environmental water samples.     

Development of single‐drop microextraction and simultaneous derivatization followed by GC‐MS for the determination of aliphatic amines in tobacco

In this work, for the first time, headspace (HS) single‐drop microextraction and simultaneous derivatization followed by GC‐MS was developed to determine the aliphatic amines in tobacco samples. In the HS extraction procedure, the mixture of derivatization reagent and organic solvent was employed as the extraction solvent for HS single‐drop microextraction and in situ derivatization of aliphatic amine in the samples. Fast extraction and simultaneous derivatization of the analytes were performed in a single step, and the obtained derivatives in the microdrop extraction solvent were analyzed by GC‐MS. The optimized experiment conditions were: sample preparation temperature of 80°C and time of 30 min, HS extraction solvent (the mixture of benzyl alcohol and 2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluorobenzaldehyde) volume of 2.0 μL, extraction time of 90 s. With the optimal conditions, the method validations were also studied. The method has good linearity (R² more than 0.99), accepted precision (RSD less than 13%), good recovery (98–104%) and low limit of detection (0.11–0.97 μg/g). Finally, the proposed technique was successfully applied to the analyses of aliphatic amines in tobacco samples of seven different brands. It was further demonstrated that the proposed method offered a simple, low‐cost and reliable approach to determine aliphatic amines in tobacco samples.     

Temperature‐controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid‐phase microextraction for the sensitive determination of triclosan and triclocarban in environmental water samples prior to HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS

A novel dispersive liquid‐phase microextraction method without dispersive solvents has been developed for the enrichment and sensitive determination of triclosan and triclocarban in environmental water samples prior to HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS. This method used only green solvent 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate as extraction solvent and overcame the demerits of the use of toxic solvents and the instability of the suspending drop in single drop liquid‐phase microextraction. Important factors that may influence the enrichment efficiencies, such as volume of ionic liquid, pH of solutions, extraction time, centrifuging time and temperature, were systematically investigated and optimized. Under optimum conditions, linearity of the method was observed in the range of 0.1–20 μg/L for triclocarban and 0.5–100 μg/L for triclosan, respectively, with adequate correlation coefficients (R>0.9990). The proposed method has been found to have excellent detection sensitivity with LODs of 0.04 and 0.3 μg/L, and precisions of 4.7 and 6.0% (RSDs, n=5) for triclocarban and triclosan, respectively. This method has been successfully applied to analyze real water samples and satisfactory results were achieved.