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.     

High-throughput determination of carbocysteine in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry: application to a bioequivalence study of two formulations in healthy volunteers

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method to determine carbocysteine in human plasma was developed and fully validated. After methanol-induced protein precipitation of the plasma samples, carbocysteine was subjected to LC/MS/MS analysis using electrospray ionization (ESI). The MS system was operated in the selected ion monitoring (SRM) mode. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Hypurity C18 column (i.d. 2.1 mm x 50 mm, particle size 5 microm). The method had a chromatographic running time of 2.0 min and linear calibration curves over the concentration ranges of 0.1-20 microg/mL for carbocysteine. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of the method was 0.1 microg/mL for carbocysteine. The intra- and inter-day precision was less than 7% for all quality control samples at concentrations of 0.5, 2.0, and 10.0 microg/mL. These results indicate that the method was efficient with a simple preparation procedure and a very short running time (2.0 min) for carbocysteine compared with methods reported in the literature and had high selectivity, acceptable accuracy, precision and sensitivity. The validated LC/MS/MS method has been successfully used to a bioequivalence study of two tablet formulations of carbocysteine in healthy volunteers.     

Simultaneous determination of docetaxel and ketoconazole in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of docetaxel and ketoconazole in rat plasma with paclitaxel as internal standard (IS). The analytes were extracted from rat plasma by using a liquid-liquid extraction technique with ethyl acetate and the LC separation was performed on a Cosmosil-C(18) analytical column (150 mm x 2.0 mm i.d., Nacalai Tesque Inc., Japan). The extracted samples were analyzed with LC/MS/MS, operating in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The SRM transitions of precursor ions to product ions were 830.3-->549.1 (m/z) for docetaxel, 531.2-->489.3 (m/z) for ketoconazole, and 876.7-->307.9 (m/z) for the IS. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 2-500 ng/mL for docetaxel and 50-20 000 ng/mL for ketoconazole, with coefficients of correlation above 0.999. The limits of quantification for docetaxel and ketoconazole were both 2 ng/mL. The limit of detection for each analyte was 1 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision (CV) of analysis were within 7%, and the accuracy ranged from 95 to 110%. The overall recoveries for docetaxel and ketoconazole were about 89.0% and 91.1%, respectively. The total analysis time was only 9.0 min. This quantitation method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of docetaxel and ketoconazole in rat plasma and some potential interaction was found in the current coadministration pharmacokinetic study. This established method was also utilized in the in vitro and in vivo drug-drug interaction study of docetaxel and ketoconazole (to be published).     

A fast liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous determination of total homocysteine and methylmalonic acid

A liquid chromatography(LC)/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS) method for the quantitative determination of total homocysteine and methylmalonic acid and the monitoring of methionine, homocystine and succinic acid in plasma has been developed. The analytes are determined under the presence of the deuterated internal standards methylmalonic acid-d ₃ and homocystine-d ₈. Although methylmalonic acid can be determined directly, a reduction step has to be carried out to ensure the measurement of total homocysteine. Ultrafiltration was applied afterwards to deproteinize the samples prior to LC/MS injection. LC/MS analysis is carried out isocratically using a mobile phase consisting of 5% methanol and 95% of a 0.06 M formic acid solution on a reversed-phase C18 column at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The MS measurement was separated into several periods: homocysteine, homocystine and methionine were determined in the positive-ion mode, whereas the determinations of methylmalonic acid and succinic acid were carried out in the negative-ion mode. The intraday coefficients of variation (CVs) were 2.9% or less and 3.2% or less for homocysteine and methylmalonic acid, respectively. Interday CVs ranged from 3.8 to 5.9% for homocysteine and from 3.5 to 6.3% for methylmalonic acid. Analyte concentrations could reliably be determined, also far below the reference values. Furthermore, the linearity was determined and a correlation study with respect to the existing homocysteine and methylmalonic acid methods at Medisch Spectrum Twente Hospital was carried out.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of PM00104, a novel antineoplastic agent, in mouse, rat, dog, and human plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed and validated to quantify a novel antineoplastic agent, PM00104, in mouse, rat, dog, and human plasma. The method was validated to demonstrate the specificity, limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision of measurements. The calibration range for PM00104 was established using PM00104 standards from 0.01-5.0 ng/mL in blank plasma. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM), based on the m/z 692.2 --> 218.2 transition, was specific for PM00104, and that based on the m/z 697.2 --> 218.2 transition was specific for PM00104 ((13)C(2),(2)H(3)) (the internal standard, IS); no endogenous materials interfered with the analysis of PM00104 and IS from blank plasma. The assay was linear over the concentration range 0.01-5.0 ng/mL. The correlation coefficients for the calibration curves ranged from 0.9981-0.9999. The mean intra-day and inter-day accuracies for all calibration standards (n = 8) ranged from 97-105% (< or =5% bias) in human plasma, and the mean inter-day precision for all calibration standards was less than 8.5%. The mean intra- and inter-day assay accuracy for all quality control (QC) replicates in human plasma (n = 9), determined at each QC level throughout the validated runs, ranged from 96-112% (< or =12% bias) and from 102-105% (< or =5% bias), respectively. The mean intra- and inter-day assay precision was less than 15.0 and 11.8% for all QC levels, respectively. For the QC samples prepared in animal species plasma, the %CV values of the assays ranged from 1.8-8.8% in mouse plasma, from 3.7-13.8% in rat plasma, and from 3.0-7.2% in dog plasma. The assay accuracies ranged from 92-102% (< or =8% bias) for all QC levels prepared in mouse plasma; ranged from 93-106% (< or =7% bias) in rat plasma; and ranged from 95-114% (< or =14% bias) in dog plasma. The assay has been used to support preclinical pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies and is currently used to measure PM00104 plasma concentrations to support clinical trials.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of PM02734, a novel antineoplastic agent, in dog plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed and validated to quantify a novel antineoplastic agent, PM02734, in dog plasma. The method was validated to demonstrate the specificity, limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision of measurements. The calibration range for PM02734 was established using PM02734 standards from 0.05 to 100 ng/mL in blank plasma. The dominating ions were doubly charged molecular ions [M+2H]2+ at m/z 740.0 instead of singly charged ones at m/z 1478.4. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM), based on the m/z 740.0 --> 212.2 transition, was specific for PM02734, and that based on the m/z 743.8 --> 212.2 transition was specific for deuterated PM02734 (the internal standard, IS); no endogenous materials interfered with the analysis of PM02734 and IS from blank plasma. The assay was linear over the concentration range 0.05-100 ng/mL. In terms of sensitivity of assay 0.05 ng/mL is a very low LLOQ, especially considering PM02734 is a peptide. The correlation coefficients for the calibration curves ranged from 0.9990 to 0.9999. The mean intraday and interday accuracies for all calibration standards (n = 9) ranged from 93 to 111% (< or =11% bias) in dog plasma, and the mean interday precision for all calibration standards was less than 6.4%. The mean intra- and interday assay accuracy for all quality control replicates in dog plasma (n = 9), determined at each QC level throughout the validated runs, ranged from 85-111% (< or =15% bias) and from 99-109% (< or =9% bias), respectively. The mean intra- and interday assay precision was less than 12.1 and 13.3% for all QC levels, respectively. The assay has been used to support preclinical pharmacokinetic (PK) and toxicokinetic studies. The results showed that preclinical samples could be monitored for PM02734 up to 168 h after dosing, which allowed us to identify multiple elimination phases and accurately estimate PK information.     

Quantitative determination of medroxyprogesterone acetate in plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry.

A sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography/electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed for the quantitative determination of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in human plasma. Plasma samples (1.0 mL) were simply extracted with pentane and the extracts were analyzed by HPLC with the detection of the analyte in the selective reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The determination of MPA was accurate and reproducible, with a limit of quantitation of 0.05 ng/mL in plasma. The standard calibration curve for MPA was linear (r = 0.998) over the concentration range 0.05-6.0 ng/mL in human plasma. Analysis precision over the concentration range of MPA was lower than 18.8% (relative standard deviation, RSD) and accuracy was between 96.2 and 108.7%.     

High‐throughput ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry quantitation of insulin‐like growth factor‐I and leucine‐rich α‐2‐glycoprotein in serum as biomarkers of recombinant human growth hormone administration

Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) is a known biomarker of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) abuse, and is also used clinically to confirm acromegaly. The protein leucine‐rich α‐2‐glycoprotein (LRG) was recently identified as a putative biomarker of rhGH administration. The combination of an ACN depletion method and a 5‐min ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (uHPLC/MS/MS)‐based selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assay detected both IGF‐I and LRG at endogenous concentrations. Four eight‐point standard addition curves of IGF‐I (16–2000 ng/mL) demonstrated good linearity (r² = 0.9991 and coefficients of variance (CVs) <13%). Serum samples from two rhGH administrations were extracted and their uHPLC/MS/MS‐derived IGF‐I concentrations correlated well against immunochemistry‐derived values. Combining IGF‐I and LRG data improved the separation of treated and placebo states compared with IGF‐I alone, further strengthening the hypothesis that LRG is a biomarker of rhGH administration. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) analysis of the LRG and IGF‐I data demonstrated an improved model over that developed using IGF‐I alone, with a predictive accuracy of 97%, specificity of 96% and sensitivity of 100%. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis gave an AUC value of 0.98. This study demonstrates the first large scale and high throughput uHPLC/MS/MS‐based quantitation of a medium abundance protein (IGF‐I) in human serum. Furthermore, the data we have presented for the quantitative analysis of IGF‐I suggest that, in this case, monitoring a single SRM transition to a trypsin peptide surrogate is a valid approach to protein quantitation by LC/MS/MS. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A strategy for a post-method-validation use of incurred biological samples for establishing the acceptability of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass-spectrometric method for quantitation of drugs in biological samples

Validated liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) methods are now widely used for quantitation of drugs in post-dose (incurred) biological samples for the assessment of pharmacokinetic parameters, bioavailability and bioequivalence. In accordance with the practice currently accepted within the pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory bodies, validation of a bioanalytical LC/MS/MS method is performed using standards and quality control (QC) samples prepared by spiking the drug (the analyte) into the appropriate blank biological matrix (e.g. human plasma). The method is then declared to be adequately validated for analyzing incurred biological samples. However, unlike QC samples, incurred samples may contain an epimer or another type of isomer of the drug, such as a Z or E isomer. Such a metabolite will obviously interfere with the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transition used for the quantitation of the drug. The incurred sample may also contain a non-isomeric metabolite having a molecular mass different from that of the drug (such an acylglucuronide metabolite) that can still contribute to (and hence interfere with) the SRM transition used for the quantitation of the drug. The potential for the SRM interference increases with the use of LC/MS/MS bioanalytical methods with very short run times (e.g. 0.5 min). In addition, a metabolite can potentially undergo degradation or conversion to revert back to the drug during the multiple steps of sample preparation that precede the introduction of the processed sample into the LC/MS/MS system. In this paper, we recommend a set of procedures to undertake with incurred samples, as soon as such samples are available, in order to establish the validity of an LC/MS/MS method for analyzing real-life samples. First, it is recommended that the stability of incurred samples be investigated 'as is' and after sample preparation. Second, it is recommended that potential SRM interference be investigated by analyzing the incurred samples using the same LC/MS/MS method but with the additional incorporation of the SRM transitions attributable to putative metabolites (multi-SRM method). The metabolites monitored will depend on the expected metabolic products of the drug, which are predictable based on the functional groups present in the chemical structure of the drug. Third, it is recommended that potential SRM interference be further investigated by analyzing the incurred samples using the multi-SRM LC/MS/MS method following the modification of chromatographic conditions to enhance chromatographic separation of the drug from any putative metabolites. We will demonstrate the application of the proposed strategy by using a carboxylic acid containing drug candidate and its acylglucuronide as a putative metabolite. Plasma samples from the first-in-man (FIM) study of the drug candidate were used as the incurred samples.     

A strategy for liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry based quantitation of pegylated protein drugs in plasma using plasma protein precipitation with water-miscible organic solvents and subsequent trypsin digestion to generate surrogate peptides for detection

Recently, we have developed liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)-based methods for the quantitation of pegylated therapeutic proteins in plasma. The methods are based on the LC/MS/MS detection of a surrogate peptide generated from trypsin digestion of the therapeutic protein. Various parameters related to the bioanalytical methods were evaluated and optimized, including the preparation of calibration standards and quality control samples, sample extraction, internal standard selection and its stage of addition, trypsin digestion, and non-specific binding. In this paper, we report the development of a method for a specific pegylated therapeutic protein and detail the various optimization steps undertaken. Simple extraction of the pegylated therapeutic protein from plasma was achieved via the precipitation of the endogenous proteins in plasma using acidic isopropanol and the resulting supernatant extract was subjected to trypsin digestion. A unique tryptic peptide arising from the pegylated therapeutic protein was used for LC/MS/MS-based detection and quantitation. A protein and a peptide were used as internal standards, with the former added before the sample extraction and the latter after the sample extraction. The method developed is simple, sensitive, specific and rugged, and has been implemented in a high throughput 96-well format to analyze plasma samples from in vivo studies. A required lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 10 ng/mL, expressed in terms of the concentration of the protein drug, was easily achieved.     

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the absolute quantification of the expected circulating apelin peptides in human plasma

Apelin peptides are of great interest owing to their involvement in physiological and pathological processes and they have been proposed as novel biomarkers for heart failure. The plasma concentrations of bioactive peptides of 12 (apelin‐12), 13 (apelin‐13) and pyroglutamyl apelin‐13 (apelin‐p13), 17 (apelin‐17) and 36 (apelin‐36) amino acids are reported to range from 20 to 4000 pg/mL in healthy subjects. As standard immunoassays cannot specifically quantify each apelin peptide, we have developed a sensitive and targeted multiplexed liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for each plasma apelin fragment. The approach was based on a cation‐exchange extraction step of apelin forms present in human plasma. Apelin‐12, ‐13, ‐p13, ‐17 and ‐36 were quantified using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Stable isotope‐labeled internal standards were used for quantification. Following assay validation, apelin peptide stability in plasma was investigated. Ten plasma samples from healthy donors were analyzed both with a standard immunoassay and with our LC/MS/MS method. The immunoassay results for the ten healthy donors showed immunoreactive plasma apelin concentrations ranging from 208 to 466 pg/mL. The lower limits of detection of our LC/MS/MS assay ranged from 10 to 50 pg/mL for apelin‐12, ‐13, ‐p13, ‐17, and ‐36. Surprisingly, none of the five expected circulating forms of apelin was detected. These results question the nature and/or the concentration of circulating apelin peptides as well as the specificity of the immunoassays that have hitherto been used for clinical applications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of (R)- and (S)-phenprocoumon in human plasma by enantioselective liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

Phenprocoumon is a commonly used oral anticoagulant of the coumarin type, and has found extensive clinical use in the treatment of thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolism and atrial fibrillation. In the course of a clinical study to investigate the influence of genetic polymorphisms of the CYP2C9 enzyme on phenprocoumon metabolism, we developed a new enantioselective liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method to quantify (R)- and (S)-phenprocoumon in human plasma. HPLC separation of the enantiomers was achieved on a Chira-Grom-2 column under isocratic conditions using a water/acetonitrile/formic acid eluent. For detection and quantification a triple-quadrupole MS system was used in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. As an internal standard the structurally homologous compound warfarin was chosen. The detector response was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.988-0.999 for (R)-phenprocoumon and 0.989-0.999 for (S)-phenprocoumon in the investigated concentration range between 62.5 and 1000 ng/mL (per enantiomer). The limit of detection (LOD) was 12.5 ng/mL.     

High sensitivity determination of valproic acid in mouse plasma using semi-automated sample preparation and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection

A high-throughput liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) assay using automated sample preparation has been developed for the determination of valproic acid (VPA) in mouse plasma. A liquid-handling system was programmed to prepare calibration standard solutions in plasma, as well as quality controls and clinical samples. Plasma protein precipitation was performed on a 96-well plate, and the collected supernatant was directly injected into a reversed-phase LC/ESI-MS/MS system in the negative ionization mode. The calibration curve for VPA was linear over a dynamic range of 0.15-100 microg/mL. The limit of detection was 75 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantitation was 150 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day validation assays of the semi-automated plasma analysis showed satisfactory accuracy and precision.     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatographic/ tandem mass spectrometric method for determination of chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, and doxycycline in animal feeds

A selective and accurate LC/MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TC), and doxycycline (DC) in animal feeds was developed. Samples were extracted with Na2EDTA-McIlvaine buffer and further purified with Oasis HLB SPE columns. The purified extract was separated on an Xbridge C18 column and detected by LC/MS/MS with positive electrospray ionization in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. This method provided average recoveries of 80.9 to 119.5%, with CVs of 1.7 to 9.8% in the range of 0.5 to 50 mg/kg CTC, OTC, TC, and DC in feeds, except the average recovery of CTC was 76.0%, with a CV of 14.6% in pig feed spiked with 0.5 mg/kg CTC. The linear ranges for the four TCs determined by LC/MS/MS ranged from 0.005 to 2.5 microg/mL with a linear correlation coefficient (R2) >0.99. The LOD and LOQ for CTC, OTC, TC, and DC in pig and poultry feeds ranged from 0.003 to 0.02 and 0.01 to 0.05 microg/g, respectively. The method was successfully applied for the analysis of 30 real feed samples, and no illegal use was detected.     

Quantitative analysis of terbinafine (Lamisil) in human and minipig plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A method using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) for the determination of terbinafine in human and minipig plasma has been developed and validated. The method used positive-ion mode for monitoring terbinafine, and used a stable isotope labelled terbinafine as the internal standard. Subsequent to acetonitrile protein precipitation, the supernatant was directly (unfiltered) injected onto the LC column (retention time approximately 4.3 min) for analysis. Interday and intraday accuracy and precision were assessed from the relative recoveries (observed concentration in percent of the nominal value) of spiked samples analyzed on three different days. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 0.0679 ng/mL in human and minipig using a plasma sample volume of 0.08 mL. The method was fast, specific, and exhibited ruggedness. Furthermore, the use of turbulent flow chromatography (TurboFlow LC/MS/MS) coupled to mass spectrometry for direct analysis of terbinafine in plasma is discussed. The technique allowed direct introduction of plasma with satisfactory chromatographic peak shape and increased throughput.Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of docetaxel in human plasma

A novel, rapid and sensitive isocratic liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for quantification of docetaxel in human plasma with paclitaxel as internal standard. The high sensitivity and specificity of MS/MS detection enabled the use of a small volume of plasma (0.05 mL) and a simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure. Furthermore, a very short run-time (3 min) fulfilled the need for monitoring plasma levels of docetaxel from large-scale clinical studies. The calibration curve for docetaxel was linear over the range 5-1000 ng/mL with coefficients of correlation >0.999 using only 0.05 mL plasma. The intra- and inter-day precisions (CV) of analysis were <7%, and accuracy ranged from 96 to 110%. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in a pharmacokinetic study of a 1-h infusion of docetaxel with dosages of 75 mg/m(2). Possible conjugated metabolites of docetaxel were not detected in patients' samples.     

Rapid forensic selected reaction monitoring liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry determination of ionophore antibiotics found at toxic levels in animal feeds

A rapid, accurate, and selective method was developed for the forensic determination of ionophore antibiotics in animal feeds. A simple extraction procedure and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode were used for rapid identification and confirmation of monensin and lasalocid in feed samples and for quantitation of monensin. Extracts from a homogenous portion of ground feeds were prepared using liquid-solid extraction and liquid-liquid extraction techniques. Feed extracts were further purified by a simple defatting and solvent wash step and then concentrated to dryness. Feed extract residues were reconstituted in 1 mL LC mobile phase and a 2 microL aliquot injected into the SRM LC/MS system. The latter system used a C18, 100 x 2.0 mm, LC column coupled to a PE-Sciex API 2000 tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a TurbolonSpray LC/MS interface. Feed samples were extracted and analyzed for the determination of monensin and lasalocid within a couple of hours. Control feed samples fortified with monensin at concentrations from 50 ppb to 5 ppm provided a linear response and calibration curve across this range with a correlation coefficient of 0.996.     

Rapid and sensitive analysis of vincristine in human plasma using on-line extraction combined with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid method has been developed and validated for the quantitation of vincristine in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization using on-line solid-phase extraction. The method uses vinblastine as internal standard and the sample preparation is limited just to a plasma protein precipitation step. Further sample clean-up is carried out on-line through a perfusion column preceding an analytical phenyl LC column, the latter directly connected to the mass spectrometer. Quantitation is performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the transitions of m/z 825.3 --> 765.3 and 811.3 --> 751.3 for vincristine and vinblastine respectively. The assay was linear (r2 > or =0.99) in a concentration range from 0.1 to 500 ng/mL. Carry-over, measured on the experimental set-up, was less than 0.04%. Recovery for vincristine and the internal standard was within 90-95%. The intra-day and inter-day assay precision ranged from 1.2% to 6.8% RSD while mean percentage deviation from nominal value ranged from 0.01% to 6.1%. The proposed assay was found suitable for pharmacokinetics investigations and clinical therapeutic drug monitoring especially in pediatric cancer patients.     

Validating regulatory-compliant wide dynamic range bioanalytical assays using chip-based nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Automated chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS/MS) was used to validate a bioanalytical assay conforming to United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory guidelines and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Reboxetine was used as the analyte fortified in dog plasma along with an analog internal standard (IS). The best nanoESI response for reboxetine was observed with 90% acetonitrile (ACN)/water without any mobile phase modifiers. The analyte and IS were extracted from dog plasma samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The supernatant was concentrated to dryness and redissolved in 90% ACN/water for nanoESI. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) data were collected for all samples to generate ion current profiles with a base width of approximately 20 s. Selectivity experiments showed no interferences in blank plasma samples. Interferences as a result of in-source collision-induced dissociation of metabolites were not an issue due to the previously documented metabolism of reboxetine. Matrix suppression was evaluated across multiple lots of dog plasma as well as over different animal species (rabbit, rat, mouse) and different anticoagulants (heparin, EDTA). Matrix suppression ranged from approximately 30-60% across the different lots, species etc.; however, in all instances, the analyte and the IS were suppressed by similar amounts, suggesting the similarity in ionization properties between the two. A three-batch validation was performed (each batch consisting of four different concentrations, six replicates of each concentration) and demonstrated inter-assay accuracy (% relative error; RE) of less than +/-8% and an inter-assay precision (% relative standard deviation; RSD) of less than 7%, thus meeting regulatory guidelines. A comparison of analyses by nanoESI-MS/MS and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) showed that nanoESI-MS/MS had a greater slope for the calibration standard curve compared to LC/MS/MS, indicating greater sensitivity for the former technique. It is also noteworthy that the amount of sample infused during nanoESI-MS/MS was approximately 80-fold less compared to the amount of sample injected during LC/MS/MS. The absence of carryover (attributed to the lack of a common fluid path) in the nanoESI technique enabled the extension of the assay linear dynamic range to 500,000-fold, and the possibility of analyzing samples in a single batch without the need for re-analysis of samples with high concentrations. This technology offers the possibility for increased throughput for studies supporting drug development by providing fast data turnaround for assays conforming to regulatory guidelines and GLPs.     

Immuno-mass spectrometry assay of EPI-HNE4, a recombinant protein inhibitor of human elastase

In order to increase the sensitivity of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) assays of recombinant proteins for pharmacokinetics studies, we have developed an immuno-mass spectrometry assay for EPI-hNE4, a 6237 Da protein currently developed for respiratory distress syndromes. After immunocapture of the analyte in human plasma with magnetic beads coated with anti-EPI-hNE4 antibodies, the intact protein was eluted and separated in reversed-phase LC and then analysed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The problem of analytical interference due to endogenous binding antibodies was addressed by successive steps of acidification and neutralisation before immunocapture. Furthermore, potential variations in the recovery of analyte during sample extraction were compensated for by addition of an internal standard recognised by the antibodies. The precision of the assay remained therefore below 15%. A significant increase in assay sensitivity was achieved since the extraction step allowed sample concentration and removal of matrix components interfering with the electrospray ionisation process. Using 0.4 mL of plasma, a limit of quantification at 0.5 ng/mL (80 pM) was reached, which represents a 10-fold improvement in sensitivity over our previous work using sample precipitation. This technique was able to monitor EPI-hNE4 kinetics in the plasma of human subjects for 36 h after an intravenous administration of 0.125 mg/kg.