Coupling of non-aqueous electrokinetic chromatography using cationic cyclodextrins with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Non-aqueous electrokinetic chromatography (NAEKC) using cationic cyclodextrins (CDs) was coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). A methanolic background electrolyte (BGE) was used which contained the hydrochloride salts of the single-isomer derivative cyclodextrins 6-monodeoxy-6-mono(2-hydroxy)propylamino-beta-cyclodextrin (IPA-beta-CD) or 6-monodeoxy-6-mono(3-hydroxy)propylamino-beta-cyclodextrin (PA-beta-CD). Applying a reversed capillary electrophoresis (CE) polarity (-30 kV), efficient separation of negatively charged compounds was achieved with plate numbers of up to 190,000. PA-beta-CD appeared to be the most suitable for the separation of various acidic drugs while also providing a high chiral selectivity. Analyte detection was achieved by ESI-MS in the negative-ion mode using a sheath-liquid interface. In order to prevent current drops caused by the cathodic electroosmotic flow, a pressure of 15 mbar was applied on the inlet vial during NAEKC/MS analysis. The effect of the cationic CDs on the MS signal intensities of acidic test drugs was thoroughly studied. When a voltage is applied across the CE capillary, the overall mobility of the cationic CDs is towards the inlet vial so that no CD molecules enter the ion source. The chloride counter ions of the CDs, which migrated towards the capillary outlet, were found to cause ionization suppression, although significant analyte signals could still be detected. Depending on the CD concentration in the BGE, limits of detection for acidic drugs were in the 50-400 ng/mL range in full-scan mode.     

Comparison between liquid chromatography-UV detection and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the characterization of impurities and/or degradants present in trimethoprim tablets

The characterization of impurities and/or degradants present in pharmaceutical compounds is an important part of the drug development process. Although LC–UV is commonly employed for impurities and degradant compound determination, LC–MS techniques are proposed in this work to be a viable modern alternative for the characterization of these compounds. LC–UV and LC–MS were compared for the detection of impurities present in different brands of trimethoprim tablets by using an in-line LC–UV–MS system with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source (APCI) coupled with a reversed-phase gradient HPLC system. It was shown that, although chemical noise was higher when using full-scan LC–MS compared to LC–UV, low level impurities were better detected by mass spectrometry (MS) when modern software algorithms are employed. These included the “Contour” chromatogram algorithm and/or the “component detection algorithm” (CODA). In addition, MS allowed for the simultaneous determination of the molecular masses and some structural information of the impurities and/or degradants. The results also showed a large difference in the purity of trimethoprim among different manufacturers. LC–MS and tandem MS techniques were employed to acquire fragmentation patterns for trimethoprim and its degradants to gain insight into their structures.     

Analysis of pharmaceutical impurities using multi‐heartcutting 2D LC coupled with UV‐charged aerosol MS detection

To overcome challenges in HPLC impurity analysis of pharmaceuticals, we developed an automated online multi‐heartcutting 2D HPLC system with hyphenated UV‐charged aerosol MS detection. The first dimension has a primary column and the second dimension has six orthogonal columns to enhance flexibility and selectivity. The two dimensions were interfaced by a pair of switching valves equipped with six trapping loops that allow multi‐heartcutting of peaks of interest in the first dimension and also allow “peak parking.” The hyphenated UV‐charged aerosol MS detection provides comprehensive detection for compounds with and without UV chromophores, organics, and inorganics. It also provides structural information for impurity identification. A hidden degradation product that co‐eluted with the drug main peak was revealed by RP × RP separation and thus enabled the stability‐indicating method development. A poorly retained polar component with no UV chromophores was analyzed by RP × hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography separation with charged aerosol detection. Furthermore, using this system, the structures of low‐level impurities separated by a method using nonvolatile phosphate buffer were identified and tracked by MS in the second dimension.     

Enhancement of second-migrating enantiomer peak symmetry of basic drugs by using dual-cyclodextrin system in capillary electrophoresis

Today, chiral separations of cationic drugs by capillary electrophoresis are generally carried out by adding negatively charged cyclodextrins (CDs) to the running buffer while anionic or neutral drug separations require the use of dual-CD systems (mixtures of neutral and charged CDs). Chiral separation of some basic drugs (idazoxan, efaroxan, milnacipran) has been studied by using mixtures of sulfated-beta-CD (S-beta-CD) and hydroxypropyl-gamma-CD (HP-gamma-CD). The influence of the following parameters (nature and concentration of neutral CD, concentration of S-gamma-CD) on many separation factors (electrophoretic mobility, selectivity, efficiency, asymmetry factor, resolution) demonstrated that dual-CD systems are useful for chiral separation of basic drugs in order to improve the symmetry of the second-migrating enantiomer. Indeed, the neutral CD reduces the extent of electromigration dispersion by mobility tuning. Finally, the 0.5 mg/mL S-beta-CD/5 mg/mL HP-gamma-CD dual system has allowed the chiral separation of idazoxan, efaroxan and milnacipran enantiomers in less than 9 min.     

Drug impurity profiling by capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry using various ionization techniques

Capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry (CE/MS) is predominantly carried out using electrospray ionization (ESI). Recently, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) have become available for CE/MS. With the VUV lamp turned off, the APPI source may also be used for CE/MS by thermospray ionization (TSI). In the present study the suitability of ESI, APCI, APPI and TSI for drug impurity profiling by CE/MS in the positive ion mode is evaluated. The drugs carbachol, lidocaine and proguanil and their potential impurities were used as test compounds, representing different molecular polarities. A background electrolyte of 100 mM acetic acid (pH 4.5) provided baseline separation of nearly all impurities from the respective drugs. APPI yielded both even‐ and odd‐electron ions, whereas the other ionization techniques produced even‐electron ions only. In‐source fragmentation was more pronounced with APCI and APPI than with ESI and TSI, which was most obvious for proguanil and its impurities. In general, ESI and TSI appeared the most efficient ionization techniques for impurities that are charged in solution achieving detection limits of 100 ng/mL (full‐scan mode). APPI and APCI showed a lower efficiency, but allowed ionization of low and high polarity analytes, although quaternary ammonium compounds (e.g. carbachol) could not be detected. Largely neutral compounds, such as the lidocaine impurity 2,6‐dimethylaniline, could not be detected by TSI, and yielded similar detection limits (500 ng/mL) for ESI, APPI and APCI. In many cases, impurity detection at the 0.1% (w/w) level was possible when 1 mg/mL of parent drug was injected with at least one of the CE/MS systems. Overall, the tested CE/MS systems provide complementary information as illustrated by the detection and identification of an unknown impurity in carbachol. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of an ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC method with indirect UV detection for determination of phosphates and phosphites as impurities in sodium risedronate

A method based on RP-HPLC with indirect UV detection was developed for the determination of phosphates and phosphites as impurities in sodium risedronate. RP separation of the phosphates and phosphites was achieved by adding tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as an ion-pairing agent in the mobile phase. Potassium hydrogen phthalate was added to the mobile phase as an ionic chromophore in order to obtain high background absorption of the mobile phase. Separation was performed on a C18 column using a mixture of pH 8.2 buffer (containing 0.5 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide and 1 mM phthalate) and acetonitrile (95 + 5, v/v) as the mobile phase, with indirect UV detection at 248 nm. The validation of the method included determination of specificity/selectivity, linearity, LOD, LOQ, accuracy, precision, and robustness. The LOD was 0.86 microg/mL for phosphates and 0.76 microg/mL for phosphites. The LOQ was 2.60 microg/mL for phosphates and 2.29 microg/mL for phosphites. The developed method is suitable for quantitative determination of phosphates and phosphites as impurities in QC of sodium risedronate.     

Automated peak tracking for comprehensive impurity profiling in orthogonal liquid chromatographic separation using mass spectrometric detection

The presence and quantity of impurities in pharmaceutical drugs can have a significant impact on their quality and safety. With the continuous pressure for increased industry productivity, there is urgent need for a systematic and comprehensive drug impurity profiling strategy. We report here our development of the fully automated Comprehensive Orthogonal Method Evaluation Technology (COMET) system. The system includes five columns, seven orthogonal HPLC methods, and hyphenated UV-MS detections, which provides automated generic impurities screening for any drug sample. An automated MS peak tracking approach by program-based mass spectral interpretation is devised to unambiguously track impurities among all orthogonal HPLC methods. The program passes electro-spray ionization mass spectra (ESI-MS) through four sequential decision-making mass ion tests and determines molecular weights for every peak. The system reduces the time required to obtain impurity profile from weeks to days, while the automated MS peak tracking takes only minutes to interpret all MS spectral data of interest. Up-to-date, impurity contents of 56 in-development drug candidate samples have all been successfully illustrated by COMET, which contained more than 500 chemical entities. The program is able to track more than 80% of the compounds automatically with majority of the failure due to insufficient ionization for some impurities by ESI. This system is well suited for efficient drug development and ensuring the quality and safety of drug products.     

Analysis of candidate anticancer drugs by thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and by high-resolution mass spectrometry

Thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (TSP-HPLC-MS) and direct probe high-resolution MS was used to analyze four candidate anticancer drugs. The techniques were used to confirm the identity of the bulk drug and to identify impurities. Analysis by TSP-HPLC-MS resulted in molecular weight information from the separated components using as little as 50 ng of each drug. The high-resolution direct probe MS analysis provided additional structural information and possible empirical formulas for the parent drugs and their impurities. The use of both of these complimentary techniques proved to be very specific for the detection of the anticancer drugs and for postulating the identity of impurities.     

Determination of seven selected antipsychotic drugs in human plasma using microextraction in packed sorbent and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A method using microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) is described for the determination of seven antipsychotic drugs in human plasma. The studied compounds were chlorpromazine (CPZ), haloperidol (HAL), cyamemazine, quetiapine, clozapine, olanzapine (OLZ), and levomepromazine; promazine, protriptyline, and deuterated CPZ were used as internal standards. The validation parameters included selectivity, linearity and limits of detection and quantitation, intra- and interday precision and trueness, recovery, and stability and were studied according to internationally accepted guidelines. The method was found to be linear between the lower limit of quantitation and 1000 ng/mL, except for OLZ and HAL (200 ng/mL), with determination coefficients higher than 0.99 for all analytes, and extraction efficiencies ranged from 62 to 92 %. Intra- and interday precision ranged from 0.24 to 10.67 %, while trueness was within a ±15 % interval from the nominal concentration for all analytes at all studied levels. MEPS has shown to be a rapid procedure for the determination of the selected antipsychotic drugs in human plasma, allowing reducing the handling time and the costs of analysis. Furthermore, GC-MS/MS has demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the simultaneous quantitation of the studied compounds, enabling obtaining adequate selectivity and sensitivity using a sample volume of as low as 0.25 mL.     

Determination of selenium in drugs by oxygen flask combustion and ion chromatography

A method is described for the determination of trace selenium (impurities in medicinal organic compounds) by ion chromatography (IC) after oxygen flask combustion. All selenium compounds formed by oxygen flask combustion are converted to selenate ion by heating with nitric acid and potassium permanganate. The selenate ion is then determined by IC, using a simple recycle system to eliminate interfering ions. The detection limit of selenium is 0.4 nmol in 50 mg of sample. The recoveries of selenium added to seven drugs are ca. 95-103% with relative standard deviations of 1-6%.     

Applicability of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for heroin profiling

The applicability of ultra- performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for heroin profiling is described. The coupling of the high separation power of UPLC with the highly selective and sensitive detection of MS/MS is well suited for heroin profiling. An Acquity UPLC BEH C18 1.7 microm particle column (100 mm x 2.1mm) with binary gradients containing 1% formic acid (pH 2.0) or 10 mM ammonium bicarbonate (pH 10.0)/acetonitrile mixtures was investigated for the profiling. For MS/MS detection, an atmospheric pressure positive electrospray source was employed with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). MRMs for individual basic impurities were generated for heroin profiling using low and high pH mobile phases, while MRMs for neutral impurities were generated using a high pH mobile phase. Compared to a pH 2.2 mobile phase, the use of a pH 10 mobile phase allowed for significantly greater sample loading, major selectivity differences, and lower MRM sensitivity. UPLC-MS/MS allowed for the highly selective and sensitive detection of many of the targeted solutes in seized heroin exhibits. Basic impurities detected included morphine, codeine, noscapine, papaverine and the previously unreported solutes reticuline, reticuline monoacetate (2 products), reticuline diacetate, narceine, codamine, laudanidine, cryptopine, laudanosine, and norlaudanosine. Neutral impurities found included N,3,6-triacetylnormorphine, N-acetylnorcodeine, N-acetylnornarcotine, 3,6-dimethoxy-4-acetyloxy-5-[2-(N-methylacetamido)]-ethylphenanthrene, and cis-n-acetylanhydronornarceine. The detection of these impurities, at levels as low as 10(-6)% w/w should allow for greatly enhanced heroin profiles.     

Determination of quaternary alkylammonium compounds by capillary zone electrophoresis and indirect UV detection as a real alternative to ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection

A capillary electrophoretic (CE) method for the determination of residual mid-chain alkyltrimethylammonium compounds in the pharmaceutical product Welchol™ (an alkylated, crosslinked polyallylamine) was developed, validated and compared with the existing ion chromatographic (IC) method with suppressed conductivity detection. Excellent reproducibilities of migration times (RSD<0.5% within a series of 55 sample injections) and relative peak areas (RSD<2%) make the method suitable for quality control as a real alternative to IC. Limits of quantification of 0.01% w/w of each impurity in the active substance were achieved. Buffer systems for indirect UV detection based on creatinine as visualization reagent with different inorganic and organic acids (phosphoric, sulfuric, formic, acetic, oxalic and citric acid) and their effect on selectivity to ten quaternary ammonium compounds were studied. Selectivity changes were observed for the di- and trivalent analytes depending on the buffer applied. Also, the influence of acetonitrile, methanol, 1,4-dioxane and tetrahydrofuran on selectivity was investigated. In addition, CE–MS experiments were carried out in order to identify several impurities in the product.     

Electromembrane extraction of zwitterionic compounds as acid or base: Comparison of extraction behavior at acidic and basic pHs

This study has performed on electromembrane extraction (EME) of some zwitterionic compounds based on their acidic and basic properties. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with UV detection was used for determination of model compounds. Cetirizine (CTZ) and mesalazine (MS) were chosen as model compounds, and each of them was extracted from acidic (as a cation) and basic (as an anion) sample solutions, separately. 1-Octanol and 2-nitrophenyl octylether (NPOE) were used as the common supported liquid membrane (SLM) solvents. EME parameters, such as extraction time, extraction voltage and pH of donor and acceptor solutions were studied in details for cationic and anionic forms of each model compound and obtained results for two ionic forms (cationic and anionic) of each compound were compared together. Results showed that zwitterionic compounds could be extracted in both cationic and anionic forms. Moreover, it was found that the extraction of anionic form of each model compound could be done in low voltages when 1-octanol was used as the SLM solvent. Results showed that charge type was not highly effective on the extraction efficiency of model compounds whereas the position of charge within the molecule was the key parameter. In optimized conditions, enrichment factors (EF) of 27–60 that corresponded to recoveries ranging from 39 to 86% were achieved.     

Analysis of process impurities in the basic drug SB-253149 using capillary electrophoresis and on-line mass spectrometric detection

Capillary electrophoresis with on-line electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (CE/ESI-MS) has been used to identify process impurities in a batch of the anti-atherosclerotic drug, SB-253149. The impurities were separated from the main drug compound by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using an ammonium formate buffer at low pH in an untreated fused silica capillary. The CE method was initially developed using UV as the detection mode and then later structural elucidation work was achieved using an ion trap mass spectrometer. To maintain peak resolution and peak shape when the CE system was coupled to the mass spectrometer, a modified capillary cassette linked to a coaxial sheath flow electrospray ionisation (ESI) interface was used. By performing MS/MS experiments in conjunction with chemical knowledge of the reactivities of SB-253149, it was possible to propose molecular structures for impurities detected in the batch of SB-253149. The results from this study revealed that most of the process impurities in SB-253149 were dimeric derivatives of the parent molecule as well as trace levels of the starting material. This type of information was vital in process control and optimisation for the synthetic route for this drug.     

Quality control in combinatorial chemistry: determination of the quantity,purity, and quantitative purity of compounds in combinatorial libraries

The quality of combinatorial libraries determines the success of biological screening in drug discovery programs. In this paper, we evaluate and compare various methods for measuring identity, purity, and quantity (yield) of combinatorial libraries. Determination of quantitative purity reveals the true library quality and often indicates potential quality problems before full-scale library production. The relative purity can be determined for every member in a large library in a high-throughput mode, but must be cautiously interpreted. In particular, many impurities are not observable by relative purity measurements using detectors such as UV(214), UV(254), and evaporative light-scattering detection. These "invisible" impurities may constitute a significant portion of the sample weight. We found that TFA, plastic extracts, inorganic compounds, and resin washout are among these impurities. With compelling evidence, we reach a conclusion that purification is the only way to remove "invisible" impurities and improve the quantitative purity of any compound even though some compounds may have a high relative purity before purification.     

Fast mass spectrometry-based methodologies for pharmaceutical analyses

Historically, most bioanalytical methods for drug analysis in pharmaceutical industry were developed using HPLC coupled with UV or fluorescence detection. However, there is a trend toward interfacing separation technologies with more sensitive tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)-based systems. MS/MS detection offers complete resolution of the parent compounds from their first pass metabolites to avoid extra efforts for separation and sample clean-up procedures resulting in shorter run times. With the increasing demand for ever faster screening, there is a continuing demand for bioanalytical methods possessing higher sample throughput for both in vitro and in vivo drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic evaluations to accelerate the discovery process. This review focuses on the current approaches for fast MS-based assays (cycle-time less than 5 min) of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites that have been reported in the peer-reviewed publications.     

Determination of flavonoids and stilbenes in red wine and related biological products by HPLC and HPLC-ESI-MS-MS

To investigate probable health benefits of flavonoids and stilbenes in red wine a new reversed-phase (RP) high-performance liquid-chromatographic (HPLC) method with enhanced separation efficiency and improved selectivity, sensitivity, and speed has been established for determination of the flavonoids quercetin, myricetin and kaempferol and the stilbenes cis- and trans-resveratrol, in a single run . UV-absorbance, fluorescence (FLD), and mass-spectrometric (MS) detection were also evaluated. UV-absorbance detection at 320 nm for stilbenes and 377 nm for flavonoids enables their determination up to the nanogram range with a linearity of R2>0.9999 (linear range 50 ng mL(-1)-50 microg mL(-1)). Calculated values of average recoveries were between 95 and 105% for all analytes. For resveratrol, fluorescence detection was highly selective and twice as sensitive as UV detection, and linearity was satisfactory (R2>0.9996; linear range see UV detection). For the detection of the hydrophilic glycosidic compounds piceid and rutin, which are coeluted with other hydrophilic ingredients, the validated RP HPLC system was coupled to a quadrupole ion-trap mass-spectrometer (MS) via an electrospray interface (ESI) with 25% ammonia solution as sheath liquid. MS detection was, highly linear (R2>0.9878; linear range 50 ng mL(-1)-50 microg mL(-1)) for all investigated analytes and the limits of detection were in the low nanogram range. Compared with UV detection MS detection resulted in a 200% increase in signal intensity for myricetin and 400% increases for quercetin and kaempferol, but equal signal intensity for resveratrol. Calculated values of average recoveries were 102% for myricetin and 79% for piceid. Collision induced dissociation (CID) was also used to obtain characteristic fragmentation fingerprints to facilitate qualitative and quantitative analysis even in complex matrices. Finally, this hyphenated HPLC-ESI-MS method was highly suitable and an essential improvement compared with UV- and fluorescence detection.     

Analysis of synthetic chemical drugs in adulterated Chinese medicines by capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Sixteen synthetic chemical drugs, often found in adulterated Chinese medicines, were studied by capillary electrophoresis/UV absorbance (CE/UV) and capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (CE/ESI-MS). Only nine peaks were detected with CZE/UV, but on-line CZE/MS provided clear identification for most compounds. For a real sample of a Chinese medicinal preparation, a few adulterants were identified by their migration times and protonated molecular ions. For coeluting compounds, more reliable identification was achieved by MS/MS in selected reaction monitoring mode. Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) provided better separation than capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), and, under optimal conditions, fourteen peaks were detected using UV detection. In ESI, the interference of SDS was less severe in positive ion mode than in negative ion mode. Up to 20 mM SDS could be used in direct coupling of MEKC with ESI-MS if the mass spectrometer was operated in positive ion mode. Because of better resolution in MEKC, adulterants can be identified without the use of MS/MS.     

Evaluation of a differential mobility spectrometer/miniature mass spectrometer system

A planar differential mobility spectrometer (DMS) was coupled to a Mini 10 handheld rectilinear ion trap (RIT) mass spectrometer (MS) (total weight 10 kg), and the performance of the instrument was evaluated using illicit drug analysis. Coupling of DMS (which requires a continuous flow of drift gas) with a miniature MS (which operates best using sample introduction via a discontinuous atmospheric pressure interface, DAPI), was achieved with auxiliary pumping using a 5 L/min miniature diaphragm sample pump placed between the two devices. On-line ion mobility filtering showed to be advantageous in reducing the background chemical noise in the analysis of the psychotropic drug diazepam in urine using nanoelectrospray ionization. The combination of a miniature mass spectrometer with simple and rapid gas-phase ion separation by DMS allowed the characteristic fragmentation pattern of diazepam to be distinguished in a simple urine extract at lower limits of detection (50 ng/mL) than that achieved without DMS (200 ng/mL). The additional separation power of DMS facilitated the identification of two drugs of similar molecular weight, morphine (average MW = 285.34) and diazepam (average MW = 284.70), using a miniature mass spectrometer capable of unit resolution. The similarity in the proton affinities of these two compounds resulted in some cross-interference in the MS data due to facile ionization of the neutral form of the compound even when the ionic form had been separated by DMS.