Simultaneous quantitative measurement of a new platelet activating factor antagonist (BN 50730) and its two main metabolites in human plasma and urine by LC-MS

Summary A simple and sensitive assay has been developed for the quantitative measurement of a new platelet activating factor antagonist (BN50730), and its two main metabolites (BN50727 and BN50922), at the picomole level in human plasma and urine. The three compounds of interest and the internal standard (BN50765) were measured by combined LC-negative chemical ionization MS. A simple solid-liquid extraction procedure was used to isolate the parent drug and the two metabolites. The MS was tuned to monitor the intense ionm/z 333 generated in the ion source by a dissociative capture process. The assay was on 1 ml plasma or 0.1 ml urine and the quantitation limit was calculated as 1 ng·ml^–1. The very low relative standard deviations and mean percentages of error calculated for within-day or between-day repeatability assays demonstrate the ruggedness of the technique for routine determination in biological fluids. Some preliminary results on the pharmacokinetics of the parent drug and its two main metabolites illustrate the applicability of this method.     

Quantitation Of The Local Anesthetic Dibucaine With Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A chemical ionization and an electron impact GC/MS assaying approach is presented for determining dibucaine concentrations in biological fluids. Both use deuterium-labeled drug as the internal standard and rely on the same sample extraction and sample preparation procedure. Under chemical ionization conditions (CH₄), the assaying limits are in the range of 1–80 ng/ml of serum. Under electron impact conditions, the analytical range is 20–800 ng/ml. The chemical ionization procedure has been found suitable for monitoring drug levels in man. One volunteer, who received a single 5-mg oral dose, showed peak serum drug concentrations of 23 ng/ml attained 2 hr after drug administration. The biologic half-life (ß phase) was 11 hr.     

Dosage par spectrophotométrie d'absorption atomique sans flamme de traces de sélénium après extraction à l'aide de 4-chloro-1,2-diaminobenz̀ application aux milieux biologiques

The determination of traces of selenium after extraction with 4-chloro-1,2-diaminobenzene by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, Application, to biological samples.A new method for the determination of very small amounts of selenium by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. The procedure was checked with aqueous solutions of selenium and applied to mineralized biological fluids (red cells and plasma). Selenium(IV) is quantitatively extracted with toluene after reaction with 4-chloro-l,2-diaminobenzene. The sample detection limit for selenium is 10 ng ml^-1. Precision and reproducibility are excellent.     

Quantitative assay of maprotiline in biological fluids by gas-liquid chromatography.

A specific and sensitive gas-liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the assay of maprotiline in biological fluids. Maprotiline is isolated from the biological sample by base-specific extraction followed by conversion into the heptafluorobutyramide. The derivative is determined quantitatively by gas-liquid chromatography with an electron capture detector, nortriptyline being used as the internal standard. Amounts below 10 ng per biological sample can be measured.     

Surfactant‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction of nitrazepam and lorazepam from plasma and urine samples followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV analysis

Surfactant‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection has been developed for the simultaneous preconcentration and determination of lorazepam and nitrazepam in biological fluids. In this study, an ionic surfactant (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide) was used as an emulsifier. The predominant parameters affecting extraction efficiency such as the type and volume of extraction solvent, the type and concentration of surfactant, sample pH, and the concentration of salt added to the sample were investigated and opted. Under the optimum conditions (extraction solvent and its volume, 1‐octanol, 70 μL; surfactant and its concentration, 1 mL of ultra‐pure water containing 2 mmol L^?1 cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide; sample pH = 9 and salt content of 10% NaCl w/v), the preconcentration factors were obtained in the range of 202–241 and 246–265 for nitrazepam and lorazepam, respectively. The limits of quantification for both drugs were 5 μg L^?1 in water sample and 10 μg L^?1 in biological fluids with R² values higher than 0.993. The suitability of the proposed method was successfully confirmed by the extraction and determination of the target drugs in human urine and plasma samples in the range of microgram per liter.     

Solid-phase microextraction using pencil lead as sorbent for analysis of organic pollutants in water

Most solid-phase microextraction methods are based on poly (dimethylsiloxane)-coated silica fibers. Is the present study, pencil lead was used as an alternative sorbent for solid-phase imcroextraction. Its application to three organic pollutants with different polarity in water was investigated. The detection limit for determination by gas chromatography with electron capture detector was 0.005 ng ml⁻¹ for lindane, 0.05 ng ml⁻¹ for methyl parathion and 1 ng ml⁻¹ for 2-chlorophenol. The presence of dissolved humic substances (10 mg l⁻¹) in water did not affect the extraction of the three analytes.     

Determination of atorvastatin and metabolites in human plasma with solid-phase extraction followed by LC–tandem MS

The aim of the present study was to develop a chromatographic method for the analysis of atorvastatin, o- and p-hydroxyatorvastatin (acid and lactone forms) in human plasma after administration of atorvastatin at the lowest registered dose (10 mg) in clinical studies. Sample preparation was performed by solid-phase extraction and was followed by separation of the analytes on an HPLC system with a linear gradient and a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile, water and formic acid. Detection was achieved by tandem mass spectrometry operated in the electrospray positive ion mode. Validation of the method for the compounds for which reference compounds were available (acid forms of atorvastatin, o- and p-hydroxyatorvastatin) showed linearity within the concentration range (0.2–30 ng/ml for atorvastatin acid and p-hydroxyatorvastatin acid, and 0.5–30 ng/ml for o-hydroxyatorvastatin acid) (r²0.99, n=5 for all analytes). Accuracy and precision (evaluated at 0.5, 3 and 30 ng/ml for atorvastatin, p-hydroxyatorvastatin and 1, 3 and 30 ng/ml for o-hydroxyatorvastatin) were both satisfactory. The detection limit was 0.06 ng/ml for atorvastatin and p-hydroxyatorvastatin, and 0.15 ng/ml for o-hydroxyatorvastatin. The method has been successfully applied in a clinical study where atorvastatin, o- and p-hydroxyatorvastatin (both acid and lactone forms) could be detected in a 24-h sampling interval after administration of the lowest registered dose of atorvastatin (10 mg) for one week.     

Analytical Method Development for the Simultaneous Determination of Five Human Pharmaceuticals in Water and Wastewater Samples by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Summary Effective analytical methods for the simultaneous determination of five pharmaceuticals from various therapeutic classes in a variety of aqueous samples have been developed and method performance data are presented. The method involves the simultaneous extraction of the selected pharmaceuticals from the aqueous phase by solid phase extraction using a hyper cross linked, polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymer based sorbent. Analytes were eluted with methanol, derivatised with N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifloroacetamide and analysed by gas chromatography – electron ionisation mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS). Recoveries of 50 to 98% were established for waters spiked with the studied compounds at the low ng L^–1 level with the highest detection sensitivities being achieved in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode and the quantification limit of the procedure for sample sizes of 1000 ml was approximately 5 ng L^–1 for all matrices except sewage which was only tested to 20 ng L^–1. Analysis of domestic sewage from a large treatment works demonstrate the presence of all five compounds in both influents and effluents.     

Rapid, sensitive and specific electron capture-gas chromatographic method for the quantitation of 6-chloro-2-(1-piperazinyl) pyrazine in biological fluids.

A highly specific and sensitive gas chromatographic method for the determination of 6-chloro-2-(1-piperazinyl)pyrazine (MK-212), a central serotonin-like agent, in biological fluids is described. MK-212 and a related internal standard are extracted into benzene from an alkaline solution, back-extracted into acid and then re-extracted into benzene at an alkaline pH. The amines are converted to the trifluoroacetyl derivatives (characterized by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry), chromatographed and detected with a 63Ni electron capture detector. The sensitivity of the method is such that 10 ng of drug can be measured per aliquot of biological fluid. The precision and accuracy of the method are well within acceptable limits. Specificity of analysis was established by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques.     

Solid-phase Extraction for Analysis of Short-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in Water Samples

A method for analysis of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in water based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) was established using electron capture negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-ENCI-MS). The SPE parameters, including the sorbent, eluent and elution volume were optimized. The Agilent Bond Elut-C₁₈ was precleaned with 3 mL of hexane and 3 mL of methanol, and subsequently conditioned with 3 mL H₂O prior to use. After the water samples were enriched by the cartridge, the sample was washed with 3 mL of 10% (V/V) methanol and eluted with 3 mL of hexane-dichloromethane (1:1, V/V) solution. The results indicated that the limits of detection (LOD) for SCCPs were 18 ng L^?1, while the corresponding limits of quantitation (LOQ) were 60 ng L^?1. The spiked recovery range was 90%–135%, with a relative standard deviation of less than 10%. Finally, 20 surficial water samples around Beijing were collected and SCCPs contents were analyzed using the proposed method. The SCCPs concentrations ranged from less than LOD to 682 ng L^?1 with a mean concentration of 216 ng L^?1.     

Cryogenic grinding pre-treatment improves extraction efficiency of fluoroquinolones for HPLC-MS/MS determination in animal tissue

An efficiency extraction of fluoroquinolones in chicken muscle was achieved by pulverizing it in a freezer mill before treatment with NaOH (10mM)/MeCN (1:1). The improvement of cryogenic grinding in the extraction was demonstrated for the same piece (whole leg) of four chickens treated with enrofloxacin in equal doses. A confirmatory method based on high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the extracts. The chromatographic separation was achieved in 5min with a Synergi Fusion-RP 80A (50 x 2mm, 4μm) column filled with a hybrid polymer. The HPLC was coupled with a detector based in a quadrupole–linear ion trap Q-TRAP that allows a confirmatory detection according to the European legislation. The specificity of the method was assessed by testing a number of representative blank muscle samples (n = 10) to verify the absence of potential interfering compounds. The limits of detection and quantitation were 2 and 5ng g^-1 of quinolones in muscle samples, respectively. The chromatographic method was demonstrated to be linear for the range studied (5–500ng g^-1) with the P value for lack-of-fit in the ANOVA table greater or equal to 0.10 (calibration coefficient 0.9998 and 0.9996 for ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, respectively). The mean intra-day relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 6, c = 50ng g^-1) was 6%; inter-day assay gave a RSD of 12%. The extraction and clean-up were carried out in one step with very satisfactory recovery data (between 65 and 101%).     

A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitation of actarit in rabbit plasma: application to pharmacokinetics and metabolic stability

Actarit (ATR), 4‐acetylaminophenylacetic acid is an orally effective disease‐modifying anti‐rheumatic drug widely prescribed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The present study demonstrates the first report on a selective and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of ATR in rabbit plasma using p‐coumaric acid as an internal standard (IS). Following liquid–liquid extraction, chromatographic separation of the reconstituted samples was achieved isocratically on a Syncronis‐C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of aqueous ammonium acetate (10 mM, pH 4)‐ methanol and acetonitrile mixture (8 : 92, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. ATR and IS were detected using electrospray ionization operated in negative multiple reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curve was linear (r² ≥ 0.990) over the concentration range of 1–4000 ng/ml with a lower limit of quantitation of 1 ng/ml. The mean extraction recovery of ATR and IS from rabbit plasma was greater than 85%. The method complied well with US Food and Drug Administration guidelines for selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision, matrix effect, dilution integrity, carry‐over effect and stability. The method was successfully applied to in vitro metabolic stability (using rabbit liver microsomes) and in vivo pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of ATR at a dose of 10 mg/kg in New Zealand rabbits. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bio-compatible in-tube solid-phase microextraction capillary for the direct extraction and high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of drugs in human serum

A restricted access material (RAM), alkyl-diol-silica (ADS), was used to prepare a highly bio-compatible solid-phase microextraction (SPME) capillary for the automated and direct in-tube extraction of several benzodiazepines from human serum. The bifunctionality of the ADS extraction phase prevented fouling of the capillary by protein adsorption while simultaneously trapping the analytes in the hydrophobic porous interior. This the first report of a restricted access material utilized as an extraction phase for in-tube SPME. The approach simplified the required apparatus in comparison to existing RAM column switching procedures, and more importantly eliminated the excessive use of extraction solvents. The biocompatibility of the ADS material also overcame the existing problems with in-tube SPME that requires an ultrafiltration or other deproteinization step prior to handling biological samples, therefore further minimizing the sample preparation requirements. The calculated oxazepam, temazepam, nordazepam and diazepam detection limits were 26, 29, 22 and 24 ng/ml in serum, respectively. The method was linear over the range of 50-50 000 ng/ml with an average linear coefficient (R2) value of 0.9998. The injection repeatability and intra-assay precision of the method were evaluated with five injections of a 10-microg/ml serum sample (spiked with all compounds), resulting in an average RSD<7%. The ADS extraction column was robust, providing many direct injections of biological fluids for the extraction and subsequent determination of benzodiazepines.     

An improved method for simultaneous analysis of steroid and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in biological samples

An improved method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight steroid and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as oestrone (E1), 17β-oestradiol (E2), oestriol (E3), 17α-ethynylestradoil (EE2), 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), bisphenol A (BPA), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) and 4-cumylphenol (4-CP), in biological samples. The optimal extraction and clean-up procedures were investigated using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), automated gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and solid phase extraction (SPE). As a consequence, the most efficient extraction was achieved by using MAE with methanol as solvent at an extraction temperature of 110°C for 20?min. The clean-up of extracts was carried out by GPC on a Biobeads S-X3 column with cyclohexane/ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) as mobile phase. Target compounds were eluted in the fraction from 7–14?min retention time. Moreover, the cleanest extracts were obtained by solid phase extraction with C-18 cartridges after the elution with 15?mL ethyl acetate. The final sample extracts were derivatised using N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) (1% trimethylchlorosilane, TMCS) as derivatisation reagent with pyridine as the solvent. Quantification was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with electron ionisation (EI) and selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method was validated by spiked samples which showed good recovery and reproducibility. The overall recoveries ranged between 55.1% and 100.6%, with relative standard deviations (RSD) of 2.3–12.7% for the entire procedure. Method detection limits (MDL) ranged from 0.3 to 0.7?ng?g^?1 dry weight (dw). Performance of the method was demonstrated by its application on tissues from fish exposed to high concentration of EDCs in the laboratory. The developed method is a promising approach for the analysis of steroid and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in various biological samples.     

Determination of midazolam and its major hydroxy metabolite in plasma by gas liquid chromatography. Application to a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive gas liquid chromatographic (GLC) assay was developed for plasma determinations of 8-chloro-6-(2′ -fluorophenyl)-1-methyl-4H-imidazo[1,5 α][1,4]benzodiazepine (compound I) and its hydroxymethylimidazo metabolite (compound II). The internal standards used were 8-chloro-6-(2′ -chlorophenyl)-1 -methyl-4H-imidazo[1,5 α][1,4]benzodiazepine (compound VI) and 7-chloro-5-(2′ -fluorophenyl)-1, 3-dihydro-1-(hydroxyethyl)-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one (compound VII) for compounds I and II, respectively. Following extraction, and silylation for compound II, compounds I and II were analyzed by GLC using a glass column packed with 5% OV-101 on Gas-Chrom Q, and a ⁶³Ni electron-capture detector. The GLC method was validated by a CI-GC/MS technique. The detection limit of the assay is approximately 4–5 ng/ml for compound I and 3 ng/ml for compound II. The method was used in comparative pharmacokinetic studies of the distribution of the two compounds in arterial and venous blood.     

LC Determination of 4-Bromoaniline in Green Algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii After Continuous-Flow Microextraction

In this study, the determination of 4-Bromoaniline (4-BA) in green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) was investigated by applying continuous-flow microextraction (CFME) combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Continuous-flow microextraction was conducted in a homemade glass chamber, i.e. the sample solution flowed through a constant volume drop of solvent in the chamber at a constant flow rate. The effects of different factors on extraction efficiencies were also investigated and these factors included the kind of extraction solvent, solvent drop volume, sample flow rate, extraction time and addition amount of salt. Under the optimum extraction conditions (extraction solvent, carbon tetrachloride; solvent drop volume, 3.5 μL; sample flow rate, 1.0 mL min⁻¹; extraction time, 10 min; no addition of salt), the calibration plot was set up by plotting peak area against a series of 4-Bromoaniline concentrations (0.01–10 μg mL⁻¹) in aqueous solution. The correlation coefficient (r) was 0.9990. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.6 ng mL⁻¹. The precision of this method was obtained by successive five time analyses of 100-ng mL⁻¹ standard solution of 4-Bromoaniline, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.5%. The concentration factor was calculated by the ratio of peak area of the analyte obtained after and before extraction and found to be 10.6. 4-Bromoaniline residues in Chlamydomonas. reinhardtii cells and tap water samples were satisfactorily analyzed according to the method described above.     

New method based on combining ultrasonic assisted miniaturized matrix solid-phase dispersion and homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction for the determination of some organochlorinated pesticides in fish

In this study, ultrasonic assisted miniaturized matrix solid-phase dispersion (US-MMSPD) combined with homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction (HLLE) has been developed as a new method for the extraction of organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) in fish prior to gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). In the proposed method, OCPs (heptachlor, aldrin, DDE, DDD, lindane and endrin) were first extracted from fish sample into acetonitrile by US-MMSPD procedure, and the extract was then used as consolute solvent in HLLE process. Optimal condition for US-MMSPD step was as follows: volume of acetonitrile, 1.5 mL; temperature of ultrasound, 40 °C; time of ultrasound, 10 min. For HLLE step, optimal results were obtained at the following conditions: volume of chloroform, 35 μL; volume of aqueous phase, 1.5 mL; volume of double distilled water, 0.5 mL; time of centrifuge, 10 min. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors for the studied compounds were obtained in the range of 185–240, and the overall recoveries were ranged from 39.1% to 81.5%. The limits of detection were 0.4–1.2 ng g⁻¹ and the relative standard deviations for 20 ng g⁻¹ of the OCPs, varied from 3.2% to 8% (n = 4). Finally, the proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of the OCPs in real fish sample, and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Determination of grepafloxacin in plasma samples by HPLC: Application to clinical pharmacokinetic studies

Summary A sensitive HPLC assay for the determination of grepafloxacin (GRE) in biological samples is described. Sample preparations were carried out by adding phosphate buffer (pH 7.4, 0.1M), followed by extraction with trichloromethane. GRE and the internal standard, enrofloxacin (ENR), were separated on a reversed-phase column using an aqueous phosphate solution-acetonitrile (78∶22) mobile phase. The concentrations of ENR and GRE eluting of the column with retention times of 2.55, and 4.90 min, respectively were monitored by fluorescence atλ _ex 338 andλ _em 425 nm. The method was shown to be linear from 5 to 4000 ng mL⁻¹. The detection and quantitation limits were 5 and 10 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Mean recovery was determined as 90%. Inter- and intra-assay precisions were 3.0% and 3.5% respectively. The method was applied to the determination of GRE in plasma samples collected during clinical pharmacokinetic studies.     

An efficient and fast microwave-assisted extraction method developed for the simultaneous determination of 18 organochlorine pesticides in sediment

An efficient and fast microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method followed by gas chromatographic separation with mass spectrometric detection (GC–MS) was developed for the extraction of 18 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from sediment. Parameters affecting the MAE procedure such as the type and volume of the extraction solvent, irradiation power, temperature and irradiation time were successfully optimised. Under the optimal conditions, extraction efficiencies in the range of 73.4–119% were obtained with THF–HEX (9:1, v/v) for all OCPs studied. The method was linear over the range of 2.9–5000 ng g^?1 with determination coefficients (r²) higher than 0.992 for all analytes. The limits of detection, LODs (S/N = 3), obtained varied from 1.0 to 2.2 ng g^?1 and limits of quantification, LOQs (S/N = 10) were between 2.9 and 6.8 ng g^?1. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of real sediment samples and acceptable recoveries from 70.1 to 124% with RSDs ≤14.8% were obtained. 10 OCPs were determined below their LOQ and 8 OCPs in the range of 124–2830 ng g^?1. The MAE method was compared with Soxhlet, shake flask and ultrasonic solvent extraction techniques. Thus, the MAE–GC–MS method could efficiently be used for selective extraction and quantification of the target analytes from the complex sediment matrices.     

Determination of organotin compounds in biological samples using accelerated solvent extraction,sodium tetraethylborate ethylation,and multicapillary gas chromatography–flame photometric detection

A method has been developed for species-selective analysis of organotin compounds in solid, biological samples. The procedure is based on accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) of analytes and includes extraction of the tin species with a methanol–water (90% methanol) solution of acetic acid/sodium acetate containing tropolone (0.03% w/v), their ethylation with NaBEt₄, and separation and detection by GC–FPD. The analytical procedure was optimized with an unspiked sample of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) liver. Effects of ASE operational variables (extraction temperature and pressure, solvent composition, number of static extraction steps) are discussed. Method detection limits (MDL) were in the range 6–10 ng(Sn) g^–1 dry weight and 7–17 ng(Sn) g^–1 dry weight for butyl- and phenyltin compounds, respectively. Recoveries were comparable with or better than those obtained by use of other procedures reported in the literature. The analytical procedure was validated by analysis of NIES No. 11 (fish tissue) certified reference material.