Study of the fragmentation pattern of ketamine‐heptafluorobutyramide by gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry

Ketamine is an anaesthetic compound used in human and veterinary medicine with hallucinogen properties that have resulted in its increased illicit use by teenagers at rave parties. Although several gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods have been reported for the quantification of the drug both in urine and in hair, its electron ionization (EI) fragmentation after derivatization with different reagents has been not yet fully investigated. The present work reports the study of the fragmentation of ketamine, derivatized with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA‐Ket), using gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry (GC/EI‐MS). The complete characterization of the fragmentation pattern represented an intriguing exercise and required tandem mass spectrometry (MSⁿ) experiments, high‐resolution accurate mass measurements and the use of deuterated d⁴‐ketamine to corroborate the proposed structures and to characterize the fragment ions carrying the unchanged aromatic moiety. Extensive fragmentation was observed, mainly located at the cyclohexanone ring followed by rearrangement of the fragment ions, as confirmed by the mass spectra obtained from the deuterated molecule. The GC/EI‐MS analysis of HFBA‐Ket will represent a useful tool in forensic science since high‐throughput analyses are enabled, preserving both the GC stationary phase and the cleanliness of the mass spectrometer ion optics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Doping und Dopinganalytik

Doping is banned by national and international sports federations and by the IOC. Doping is the use of a substance belonging to one of the banned groups and te use of a doping method. The groups of doping substances, namely stimulants, narcotics, anabolic agents, diuretics and peptide hormones, are introduced. The main analytical methods are based on gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) and are summarized for stimulants and anabolic steroid hormones. The use of mass spectrometry is unambigously necessary for identification of banned substance. In addition to GC/low resolution MS methods for anabolic agents, more sophisticated methods such as high resolution MS (to increase sensitivity) and carbon isotope raio MS (to distinguish between endogenous production and exogenous application of anabolic hormones) are used in doping control.     

Determination of nandrolone metabolites in human urine: comparison between liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Nandrolone (19‐nortestosterone) is an androgenic anabolic steroid illegally used as a growth‐promoting agent in animal breeding and as a performance enhancer in athletics. Therefore, its use was officially banned in 1974 by the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Following nandrolone administration, the main metabolites in humans are 19‐norandrosterone, 19‐norethiocolanolone and 19‐norepiandrosterone, and their presence in urine is the basis of detecting its abuse. The present work was undertaken to determine, in human urine, nandrolone metabolites (phase I and phase II) by developing and comparing multiresidue liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods. A double extraction by solid‐phase extraction (SPE) was necessary for the complete elimination of the interfering compounds. The proposed methods were also tested on a real positive sample, and they allow us to determine the conjugated/free fractions ratio reducing the risk of false positive or misleading results and they should allow laboratories involved in doping control analysis to monitor the illegal use of steroids. The advantages of LC/MS/MS over GC/MS (which is the technique mainly used) include the elimination of the hydrolysis and derivatization steps: it is known that during enzymatic hydrolysis several steroids can be converted into related compounds and deconjugation is not always 100% effective. The validation parameters for the two methods were similar (limit of quantification (LOQ) <1 ng/mL and percentage coefficient of variance (CV%) <16.4), and both were able to confirm unambiguously all the analytes, thus confirming the validity of both techniques. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tetrahydrogestrinone: discovery, synthesis, and detection in urine

Tetrahydrogestrinone (18a-homo-pregna-4,9,11-trien-17beta-ol-3-one or THG) was identified in the residue of a spent syringe that had allegedly contained an anabolic steroid undetectable by sport doping control urine tests. THG was synthesized by hydrogenation of gestrinone and characterized by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. We developed and evaluated sensitive and specific methods for rapid screening of urine samples by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) of underivatized THG (using transitions m/z 313 to 241 and 313 to 159) and gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) analysis of the combination trimethylsilyl ether-oxime derivative of THG (using fragments m/z 240.14, 254.15, 267.16, and 294.19). A baboon administration study showed that THG is excreted in urine.     

Comparison of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the analysis of tobacco essential oils

A sample of tobacco essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to a time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/TOFMS), respectively. In the GC/MS analysis, serially coupled columns were used. By comparing the GC/MS results with GC × GC/TOFMS results, many more components in the essential oil could be found within the two-dimensional separation space of GC × GC. The quantitative determination of components in the essential oil was performed by GC × GC with flame ionization detection (FID), using a method of multiple internal standards calibration.     

Hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques-indispensable tools in clinical and forensic toxicology and in doping control

Hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques, particularly gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), are indispensable tools in clinical and forensic toxicology and in doping control owing to their high sensitivity and specificity. They are used for screening, library-assisted identification and quantification of drugs, poisons and their metabolites, prerequisites for competent expertise in these fields. In addition, they allow the study of metabolism of new drugs or poisons as a basis for developing screening procedures in biological matrices, most notably in urine, or toxicological risk assessment. Concepts and procedures using GC/MS and LC/MS techniques in the areas of analytical toxicology and the role of mass spectral libraries are presented and discussed in this feature article. Finally, perspectives of their future position are discussed.     

Tracking juniper berry content in oils and distillates by spectral deconvolution of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry data

The complex nature of botanicals and essential oils makes it difficult to identify all of the constituents by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) alone. In this paper, automated sequential, multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-GC/MS) was used to obtain a matrix-specific, retention time/mass spectrometry library of 190 juniper berry oil compounds. GC/MS analysis on stationary phases with different polarities confirmed the identities of each compound when spectral deconvolution software was used to analyze the oil. Also analyzed were distillates of juniper berry and its oil as well as gin from four different manufacturers. Findings showed the chemical content of juniper berry can be traced from starting material to final product and can be used to authenticate and differentiate brands.     

Evaluation of World Anti-Doping Agency criteria for anabolic agent analysis by using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

This work presents the validation study of the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC)–time-of-flight mass spectrometry method performance in the analysis of the key World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) anabolic agents in doping control. The relative abundance ratio, retention time, identification and other method performance criteria have been tested in the GC×GC format to confirm that they comply with those set by WADA. Furthermore, tens of other components were identified with an average similarity of >920 (on the 0–999 scale), including 10 other endogenous sterols, and full mass spectra of 5,000+ compounds were retained. The testosterone/epitestosterone ratio was obtained from the same run. A new dimension in doping analysis has been implemented by addressing separation improvement. Instead of increasing the method sensitivity, which is accompanied by making the detector increasingly “blind” to the matrix (as represented by selected ion monitoring mode, high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS), the method capabilities have been improved by adding a new “separation” dimension while retaining full mass spectral scan information. Apart from the requirement for the mass spectral domain that a minimum of three diagnostic ions with relative abundance of 5% or higher in the MS spectra, all other WADA criteria are satisfied by GC×GC operation. The minimum of three diagnostic ions arises from the need to add some degree of specificity to the acquired mass spectrometry data; however, under the proposed full MS scan method, the high MS similarity to the reference compounds offers more than the required three diagnostic ions for an unambiguous identification. This should be viewed as an extension of the present criteria to a full-scan MS method.     

Mass spectrometry of steroid glucuronide conjugates. I. Electron impact fragmentation of 5alpha-/5beta-androstan-3alpha-ol-17-one glucuronides, 5alpha-estran-3alpha-ol-17-one glucuronide and deuterium-labelled analogues

Owing to the developments of analytical instruments and interfaces (e.g. coupling high-performance liquid chromatography to mass spectrometry), there has been increased interest in new reference materials, for example in doping analysis with steroid glucuronide conjugates. The synthesized reference material has to pass several characterization steps including the use of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for its structure confirmation. In the present study, the fragmentation and mass spectrometric behaviour of several steroid glucuronide conjugates of endogenous and anabolic steroids after derivatization to pertrimethylsilylated products and to methyl ester pertrimethylsilylated products were investigated using GC/MS ion trap and GC/MS quadrupole instruments. The mass spectra of the derivatives of androsterone glucuronide, d5-androsterone glucuronide, epiandrosterone glucuronide, etiocholanolone glucuronide, 11beta-hydroxy etiocholanolone glucuronide, 19-norandrosterone glucuronide, d4-19-norandrosterone glucuronide and 1alpha-methyl-5alpha-androstan-3alpha-ol-17-one glucuronide are presented and the origin of typical fragment ions of the glycosidic and steroidal moieties is proposed, based on different derivatization techniques including derivatization with d18-bistrimethylsilylacetamide, methyl ester and trimethylsilyl ester derivatization and selected reaction monitoring. Typical fragmentation patterns which are related to the steroid structure are discussed.     

High‐resolution GC/MS studies of a light crude oil fraction

The continuous development in analytical instrumentation has brought the newly developed Orbitrap‐based gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instrument into the forefront for the analysis of complex mixtures such as crude oil. Traditional instrumentation usually requires a choice to be made between mass resolving power or an efficient chromatographic separation, which ideally enables the distinction of structural isomers that is not possible by mass spectrometry alone. Now, these features can be combined, thus enabling a deeper understanding of the constituents of volatile samples on a molecular level. Although electron ionization is the most popular ionization method employed in GC/MS analysis, the need for softer ionization methods has led to the utilization of atmospheric pressure ionization sources. The last arrival to this family is the atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI), which was originally developed for liquid chromatography / mass spectrometry (LC/MS). With a newly developed commercial GC‐APPI interface, it is possible to extend the characterization of unknown compounds. Here, first results about the capabilities of the GC/MS instrument under high or low energy EI or APPI are reported on a volatile gas condensate. The use of different ionization energies helps matching the low abundant molecular ions to the structurally important fragment ions. A broad range of compounds from polar to medium polar were successfully detected and complementary information regarding the analyte was obtained.     

皱瘤海鞘的化学成分研究

从中国广东惠州大亚湾海域采集的皱瘤海鞘的甲醇-氯仿提取物中分离出混合甾醇和神经酰胺两类化合物,混合甾醇经波谱分析和GC/MS联机分析,发现基主要由9种甾醇组成,含量约为甲醇-氯仿提取物的20%。通过波谱分析（如IR,^1HNMR,^13CNMR（DEPT）、^1H-^1H COSY、RCT、FABMS）和GC/MS分析证明神经酰胺结构是由4个同系物组成,含量为提取物的0.1%。同时也初步探讨了共生的皱瘤海鞘与冠瘤海鞘化学成分差异的原因。     

Study on the photostability of guaiazulene by high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The photostability of guaiazulene (1,4-dimethyl-7-isopropylazulene; GA), a natural azulenic compound used in cosmetic and health-care products, as well as in pharmaceutical preparations, was investigated in solution (methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile), by different techniques: gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography combined with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry and UV detection (LC/APCI-MS and HPLC/UV). A solar simulator (xenon-arc lamp) was used as UV-A radiation source. The study involved: monitoring compound decomposition, identifying products of photodegradation (PPs), assessing the role of oxygen and evaluating the kinetics of the process. Minor PPs are volatile compounds and were characterized by GC/MS, while oligomeric polyoxygenated compounds, tentatively characterized on the basis of MS and MS/MS spectra, were found to be the main photoproducts. The photodegradation was found to be enhanced by the presence of oxygen; nevertheless, determination of the singlet oxygen quantum yield for GA gave a lower value than that for the reference standard Rose Bengal. The obtained results and the developed stability-indicating methods (GC/MS and LC/MS) are of interest for stability studies and/or quality control purposes of GA as raw material or cosmetic products.     

The determination of total and unbound midazolam in human plasma. A comparison of high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Midazolam concentrations in patients' plasma was determined after extraction with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). GC was selected for routine plasma assays in terms of selectivity, simplicity, precision, accuracy and sensitivity (0.02 microgram/mL); HPLC analysis was less sensitive (0.1 microgram/mL) than GC; GC/MS was used for analysis validation. Plasma protein binding of midazolam was determined by GC in patients' plasma after in vitro incubation with midazolam, ultrafiltration and extraction; 5% of the drug was unbound to plasma proteins. Midazolam distribution in lipoprotein fractions separated by ultracentrifugation of plasma obtained from patients on prolonged midazolam treatment was also assayed by GC.     

Estimation of the molecular mass range of the tar from pyrolysis of casein by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, probe mass spectrometry and size exclusion chromatography with 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone as eluent

Casein has been pyrolysed to obtain a biochar (28.3% yield), with mostly meso- and macro-pore structure, and a liquid tar product of high yield (37.5%) with the balance as gas (20.9%) and water (13.3%). The elemental composition of the casein tar was: C 66.7%, H 8.3%, N 12.1% and O 12.9% (by difference). The tar sample has been characterised by mass spectrometry, gas chromatography (GC)/MS and heated-probe MS, to give molecular mass distributions for comparison with molecular mass ranges indicated by analytical-scale size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The tar appeared to be completely soluble in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), the solvent used for SEC. It appeared to consist mostly of lower molecular mass fractions with elution times at 18-26 min. GC/MS analysis showed the presence of both aliphatic and aromatic nitrogen-containing components. Neither GC/MS nor heated-probe MS were able to detect more than about half the tar components.     

Analysis of turkish lignite tar by coupled LC/GC,GC/MS,and capillary SFC

This work describes the analysis of a pyrolysis product of a lignite sample obtained from the Turkish Goynuk reserve. The aliphatic, aromatic and polar compounds present in the tar are separated and identified by various chromatographic techniques: Capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), on-line high performance microbore liquid chromatography/capillary gas chromatography (LC/GC) and capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The suitability of each technique for this particular application is discussed, and semi-quantitative results are presented for the major components detected.     

Aromatic polyamides. II. Thermal degradation of some aromatic polyamides and their model diamides

Thermal degradation behavior of poly(1,3-phenylene isophthalamide) and poly(chloro-2,4-phenylene isophthalamide) was investigated with the aid of some appropriate model compounds. The pyrolysis products of these materials were identified by gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FT-IR), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The residual chars were characterized by IR spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to study the effect of end-group concentration on the degradation characteristics of the two polyamides. Kinetic parameters that describe the thermal degradation of the polyamides were also evaluated by TGA. The results of this investigation suggest that the thermal decomposition of these aromatic polyamides involves homolytic as well as hydrolytic cleavages of the amide units.     

A gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method for the determination of sildenafil,vardenafil and tadalafil and their metabolites in human urine

Sildenafil (SDF), vardenafil (VDF) and tadalafil (TDF) are phosphodiesterase type 5 enzyme inhibitors (PDE5Is), used in the treatment of erectile disorders and to improve breathing efficiency in pulmonary hypertension. The increasing incidence of their use among young athletes has drawn the attention of the anti‐doping authorities to the possible abuse of PDE5Is by athletes due to their pharmacological activities. This paper describes a method for the determination in urine of PDE5Is and their metabolites by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after liquid/liquid extraction of the analytes from urine and derivatisation to obtain trimethylsilyl derivatives. The metabolic profile was studied on real samples collected from subjects taking PDE5Is (Viagra®, Levitra® or Cialis®); the main urinary metabolites were identified and their MS fragmentation characterized. The sample pre‐treatment and GC/MS conditions for the detection of the metabolites have been optimised. A method for their preliminary screening and subsequent confirmation is described that takes into account the general requirements of a routine doping analysis to be used for the screening of large numbers of samples. The main metabolites identified can be included in a general purpose screening method and all the metabolites in a more specific confirmation method. The method developed has been applied for the screening of PDE5Is in 5000 urine samples. Based on the obtained results, the proposed method appears to be of practical use in analytical and forensic toxicology, including doping analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hair Analysis as Method for Determination of Level of Drugs and Pharmaceutical in Human Body: Review of Chromatographic Procedures

Abstract

Interest in hair analysis as an alternativ or complementary approach to urinalysis for drug abuse detection has grown in recent years. Hair analysis can be particularly advantageous for drugs and their enantiomers.

More than hundred pharmaceuticals, drugs of abuse agents are reported to be detectable in human and animal hair. This article reviews the aalysis of drugs and drug metabolites by chromatographic procedures, incuding the pretreatment steps, and the xtraction methods. Tihe eneral tendency in the last years, to highly sophisticated techiques gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS–NCI), high pressure liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry–mass spectrometry (GC–MS–MS) well illustrates this constant fight for sensitivity.     

Electron ionization mass spectrometry of the ryanodine receptor‐based Ca2+‐channel stabilizer S‐107 and its implementation into routine doping control

New insights into the biochemistry of cardiac arrhythmia and skeletal muscle fatigue have yielded new drug candidates to counteract these phenomena. Major biological targets have become ryanodine receptor (RyR)‐based Ca²⁺‐release channels, which tend to ‘leak’ under various circumstances including strenuous exercise and, thus, cause aberrant calcium sparks that entail impaired muscle function. Therapeutics, which are referred to as rycals, are currently being developed to treat cardiac arrhythmia via enhancement of calstabin‐ryanodine affinities that causes a stabilization of the RyR. These therapeutics possess potential for misuse in sports, and an early implementation of target analytes such as the benzothiazepine derivatives S‐107 and JTV‐519 or putative metabolites into doping control screening procedures is recommended. Reference compounds, deuterated analogues, and a putative metabolic product were synthesized, and electron ionization mass spectra of these products were studied and dissociation pathways elucidated by means of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and accurate mass measurements. The characterized analytes were incorporated into existing sports drug testing assays based on liquid‐liquid extraction and subsequent gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, and specificity, lower limit of detection (4–6 ng/mL), intraday and interday precision (1.5–17.2%), as well as recovery (63–66%) were determined. The established procedure proved suitable for routine doping control analysis to detect a potential misuse of the drug candidate S‐107 in elite sport. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Certification of drugs of abuse in a human serum standard reference material: SRM 1959

A new standard reference material (SRM) for drugs of abuse in human serum (SRM 1959) has been developed. This SRM is intended to be used as a control material for laboratories performing analysis of drugs of abuse in blood to evaluate the accuracy of their methods. SRM 1959 is a frozen human serum material fortified with seven compounds for which analyses are performed to determine evidence of illegal drug use: benzoylecgonine (BZE), methadone (METH), methamphetamine (MAMP), morphine (MOR), nordiazepam (NOR), phencyclidine (PCP), and 11-nor-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THC-9-COOH). Two independent methods involving isotope dilution (ID)-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and ID-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) were used for the value assignment. For THC-9-COOH, an additional measurement using LC/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) was also included. All methods used isotopically labeled compounds as internal standards and solid-phase extractions to isolate the analytes from the serum. The GC/MS methods used different clean-up procedures from those used for the LC/MS-based methods. Repeatability with within-set coefficients of variation (CVs) ranged from 0.5% to 4.3% for the GC/MS methods and from 0.2% to 1.2% for the LC/MS-based methods. Intermediate precision with between-set CVs for all the methods ranged from 0.1% to 1.1%. Agreement between the GC/MS and LC/MS methods ranged from 0.8% to 8.8%. The results from the methods were combined to obtain the certified concentrations and their expanded uncertainties.