高效液相色谱-离子阱质谱法快速筛查改善睡眠类保健食品中非法添加的24种镇静催眠药

建立了高效液相色谱-离子阱质谱(HPLC-IT MS)同时测定改善睡眠类保健食品中非法添加的24种镇静催眠药的快速筛查方法。样品经甲醇超声提取20 min,经0.45 μm滤膜过滤后进行HPLC-IT MS分析检测。采用Phenomenex Luna C18色谱柱分离,流动相A为0.05%(v/v)甲酸水溶液,流动相B为甲醇-乙腈(15:25, v/v)溶液,等度洗脱;采用电喷雾离子(ESI)源及正、负离子切换模式,扫描MS¹~MS³三级质谱,利用24种药物的MS/MS(MS²)和MS/MS/MS(MS³)质谱对样品进行定性筛查。24种镇静催眠药品在一定线性范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r²)均大于0.999,检出限在4.0~446.6 μg/L之间,3个添加水平的回收率为88.6%~110.3%,相对标准偏差(RSD)在0.8%~9.8%之间。27批样品经筛查发现有18批样品检出褪黑素。该方法快速、灵敏、处理方法简单,可用于保健食品中非法添加镇静催眠类药品的快速筛查。     

Development and validation of an analytical method for multiresidue determination of pesticides in lettuce using QuEChERS–UHPLC–MS/MS

A new analytical method for multiresidue determination of 16 multiclass pesticides in lettuce was developed using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry with a triple quadrupole mass analyzer and positive mode electrospray ionization, using a previously optimized quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method for sample preparation. Validation studies, according to document SANTE/11945/2015, demonstrated that the developed method is selective, accurate, and precise, providing recoveries of 70–120%, relative standard deviations ≤20% and quantification limits from 3 μg/kg. The method was compared with one based on high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, in terms of chromatographic performance, detectability and matrix effect for five varieties of lettuce. The new method provided a reduction in the time for the chromatographic analysis of 50%, from 30 to 15 min, using a lower mobile phase flow rate (0.147 mL/min), which reduced the consumption of mobile phase by 25%, and injection of smaller amounts of sample (1.7 μL). Lower limits of quantification were obtained for almost all pesticides studied for green‐leaf lettuce. However, in relation to the matrix effect, four of the five types of lettuce studied presented higher matrix effects.     

Determination of carbapenems in water samples by UHPLC–MS/MS

A rapid and reliable method for the detection of five carbapenems (biapenem, imipenem, doripenem, meropenem, and faropenem) in water was developed and validated. After acidification of water samples with acetic acid, carbapenems were isolated using a Bond Elut PPL cartridge. The target compounds were separated using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with a chromatographic run time of 5 min and detected on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in positive electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring mode. Mean recoveries were in the range of 76.6–106.5%, with satisfactory intraday and interday relative standard deviations lower than 10.0 and 10.8%, respectively. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.05–0.2 µg/L and 0.1–0.5 µg/L, respectively, depending on the analyte. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of river samples and wastewater samples from swine farms, and no carbapenems were detected in the collected samples.     

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of nine constituents in six Chinese medicinal materials from Citrus genus by high‐performance liquid chromatography and high‐resolution mass spectrometry combined with chemometric methods

In this study, we aim to determine the chemical constituents of six Chinese medicinal materials from the Citrus genus using high‐performance liquid chromatography and high‐resolution mass spectrometry. Eight flavonoids and one coumarin were identified and further quantified as marker substances by high‐performance liquid chromatography method. The separation was performed on an Agilent TC‐C₁₈ column with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phase under gradient elution. The analytical method was fully validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, intra‐ and inter‐day precision and repeatability, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and recovery. It was subsequently applied to evaluate the quality of 103 batches of the Chinese medicinal materials from the Citrus genus. In addition, the principal constituent analysis was used to compare the samples of different species from the Citrus genus leading to successful classification of the samples in accordance with their origins. It was found that the contents of nine constituents varied greatly in different ripening stages and varieties of the samples from the Citrus genus. In addition, neoeriocitrin and 5,7‐dimethoxycoumarin were determined as two unique constituents of ‘Zhiqiao’ and ‘Foshou’, respectively. In conclusion, this study provides a chemical basis for quality control of Chinese medicinal materials from the Citrus genus.     

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of olerciamide A from Portulaca oleracea L. in rats by UHPLC‐UV and UHPLC‐ESI‐Q‐TOF/MS

The aim of this study was to elucidate the pharmacokinetics of olerciamide A in rats after oral and intravenous administration of Portulaca oleracea L. extract by a simple and rapid ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography method with bergapten as internal standard. The pharmacokinetic results indicated that olerciamide A was rapidly distributed with a time to peak concentration of 30 min after oral administration and presented a low oral absolute bioavailability of 4.57%. The metabolism of olerciamide A in rats was also investigated using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography electrospray coupled with quadrupole–time of flight mass spectrometry to elucidate the reason for the low absolute bioavailability of olerciamide A and seven metabolites of oleraciamide A were found in rat plasma and urine.     

Orbitrap高分辨质谱用于保健食品中15种非法添加减肥类药物的筛查鉴定

建立了筛查保健食品中非法添加的15种减肥类化合物的液相色谱-Orbitrap高分辨质谱联用法和TraceFinder筛查数据库。样品以甲醇为提取溶剂，上清液过滤后直接进行液相色谱-质谱联用分析。质谱采用Full MS/dd-MS²扫描模式，正负离子同时检测。将采集的数据文件导入TraceFinder筛查软件，利用软件构建了化合物数据库及筛查方法进行快速、自动、高精度筛查，确定样品中是否违法添加了减肥类药物，并对阳性样品进行定量分析。方法学验证结果表明，所有化合物均显示出优异的线性关系，标准曲线回归系数（r）均大于0.998，回收率范围为79.7%~95.4%，精密度在3.3%~8.7%之间。应用该方法对29批保健食品进行了测定，在6批阳性样品中检出了4种化合物。该方法可实现自动、高精度筛查鉴定，为打击非法添加提供了新的手段。     

Simultaneous analysis of bisphenol A based compounds and other monomers leaching from resin‐based dental materials by UHPLC–MS/MS

Resin‐based dental materials have raised debates concerning their safety and biocompatibility, resulting in a growing necessity of profound knowledge on the quantity of released compounds into the oral cavity. In this context, the aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive and reliable procedure based on liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry for the simultaneous analysis of various leached compounds (including bisphenol A based compounds) in samples from in vitro experiments. Different experiments were performed to determine the optimal analytical parameters, comprising mass spectrometry parameters, chromatographic separation conditions, and sample preparation. Four internal standards were used as follows: deuterated diethyl phthalate and bisphenol A (commercially available), and deuterated analogues of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate and urethane dimethacrylate (custom‐made). The optimized method was validated for linearity of the calibration curves and the associated correlation coefficient, lower limit of quantification, higher limit of quantification, and intra‐ and interassay accuracy and precision. Additionally, the developed liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was applied to the analysis of leaching compounds from four resin‐based dental materials. The results indicated that this method is suitable for the analysis of different target compounds leaching from dental materials. This method might serve as a valuable basis for quick and accurate quantification of leached compounds from resin‐based dental materials in biological samples.     

超高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱非靶标筛查测定白酒和饮料中甜菊糖苷

建立了亲水作用色谱-超高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱质谱非靶向筛查测定白酒和饮料中甜菊糖苷的分析方法，并对甜菊糖苷类天然甜味剂的质谱裂解规律进行了研究。样品经水溶液适当稀释，过滤膜后经Waters Xbridge Amide色谱柱（150 mm×4.6 mm，3.5 μm）分离，超高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱质谱检测，电离模式为电喷雾电离源负离子模式，数据采集使用一级母离子全扫描和数据依赖的二级子离子扫描（full MS/dd-MS²）模式。基于8种甜菊糖苷标准品的碎片离子谱分析，识别出甜菊糖苷类化合物存在两个共性碎片离子，以这两个离子作为标识离子对样品中未知甜菊糖苷类化合物进行了非靶标筛查。通过方法学验证，8种甜菊糖苷标准品在10~1000 μg/L内线性关系良好，检出限为0.3~20 μg/L。添加量为10~100 μg/kg时，平均回收率为81.9%~106%，相对标准偏差为0.1%~9.3%（n=3）。该方法筛查范围广，结果准确，灵敏度高，可用于食品中甜菊糖苷的非靶标筛查测定。     

Simultaneous determination of 29 pharmaceuticals in fish muscle and plasma by ultrasonic extraction followed by SPE–UHPLC–MS/MS

A confirmatory method for the simultaneous detection of 29 pharmaceuticals in fish muscle and plasma was developed by using solid‐phase extraction combined with ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Fish samples were extracted with methanol and enriched using Oasis HLB solid‐phase extraction columns in one step. Twenty‐nine target pharmaceuticals were quantified by the internal standard method and the calibration curves showed good linearity in a wide range with determination coefficients of greater than 0.913. The detection limits of the pharmaceuticals ranged from 0.01 to 2.00 μg/kg (μg/L). The applicability of the method was checked by precision and recovery experiments. The average recoveries of the 29 pharmaceuticals were between 61 and 111%, and all the relative standard deviations were below 25%. Our reported method has been demonstrated to be sensitive, convenient, rapid, and reliable for the simultaneous determination of 29 pharmaceuticals in fish muscle and plasma. Real sample determination showed that 25 and 9 of the 29 compounds were detected in fish muscle and plasma, respectively.     

Quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry screening for synthetic cannabinoids in herbal blends

‘Legal highs’ are novel substances which are intended to elicit a psychoactive response. They are sold from ‘head shops’, the internet and from street suppliers and may be possessed without legal restriction. Several months ago, a 19‐year‐old woman came searching for medical treatment as she had health problems caused by smoking legal highs. The substances were sold as herbal blends in plastic bags under four different labels. In this work, samples of these herbal blends have been analysed to investigate the presence of psychoactive substances without any reference standard being available at the laboratory. A screening strategy for a large number of synthetic and natural cannabinoids has been applied based on the use of ultra‐high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole‐time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐QTOF MS) under MS^E mode. A customized home‐made database containing literature‐based exact masses for parent and product ions of around 200 synthetic and natural cannabinoids was compiled. The presence of the (de)protonated molecule measured at its accurate mass was evaluated in the samples. When a peak was detected, collision‐induced dissociation fragments and characteristic isotopic ions were also evaluated and used for tentative identification. After this tentative identification, four synthetic cannabinoids (JWH‐081, JWH‐250, JWH‐203 and JWH‐019) were unequivocally confirmed by subsequent acquisition of reference standards. The presence in the herbal blends of these synthetic cannabinoids might explain the psychotic and catatonic symptoms observed in the patient, as JWH compounds could act as potent agonists of CB₁ and CB₂ receptors located in the Limbic System and Basal ganglia of the human brain. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Syringe cleanup with UHPLC–MS/MS for nitroimidazoles and steroids detection in manure‐based fertilizers

A syringe‐dispersive solid‐phase extraction method was developed for the determination of seven nitroimidazoles and nine steroids in manure‐based fertilizers by ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Methanol and acetonitrile were used to extract the sample, and mixed dispersive sorbents dispersed in the syringe were used for purification. The extract was separated with an HSS‐T3 column and detected in positive or negative multiple reaction monitoring mode. Under the optimal conditions, the recoveries of the 16 compounds ranged from 70.3 to 112.3% at the four spiked levels (3, 10, 20, and 50 μg/kg) and the relative standard deviations ranged from 1.0 to 12.4%. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.22–0.86 and 0.73–2.87 μg/kg, respectively. This method is simple, fast, and reliable, and can be used to simultaneously screen and determine nitroimidazoles and steroids in manure‐based fertilizers.     

Simultaneous determination of pyrifluquinazon and its main metabolite in fruits and vegetables by using QuEChERS–HPLC–MS/MS

A rapid, reliable, and sensitive method is reported for the simultaneous analysis of pyrifluquinazon and its main metabolite NNI‐0101‐1H in fruits (strawberry and cherry) and vegetables (cucumber and tomato) using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. A modified, quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe procedure was used for the sample pre‐preparation. The target analytes were extracted with acetonitrile and then cleaned up using dispersive solid‐phase extraction procedure with primary secondary amine. Sample analysis was performed using electrospray ionization in positive mode. Good linearities with the correlation coefficients higher than 0.9991 were obtained in the range of 1–1000 μg/L under the optimized conditions. The average recoveries of the pyrifluquinazon and NNI‐0101‐1H were in the range of 71.4–106.0% with the relative standard deviations 1.8–11.8% in all matrices at three spiked levels (10, 100, and 1000 μg/kg). The limit of quantification 10 μg/kg was set as the lowest spiked level. The developed method is reliable and effective for the routine monitoring of pyrifluquinazon and its metabolite NNI‐0101‐1H in fruits and vegetables to ensure food safety.     

Innovative determination of polar organophosphonate pesticides based on high‐resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry

The determination of compounds showing a very low molecular weight (i.e. < 200 Da) can be complicated when low‐resolution mass spectrometry is used in the selected‐reaction monitoring mode, since the possible number of product ions is reduced and the obtained reactions are not selective enough to overcome background noise and/or matrix interferences. In this study, the use of high‐resolution mass spectrometry based on Exactive Orbitrap was applied for the determination of a group of polar organophosphonate pesticides and transformation products (TPs), which show the aforementioned features, in agricultural soils. Namely, glyphosate, glufosinate, ethephon and their TPs, aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA), 3‐methylphosphinicopropionic acid, N‐acetyl‐glufosinate and 2‐hydroxyethylphosphonic acid were analyzed. The [M‐H]^‐ ions 168.00564, 180.04202, 142.96593, 110.00016, 151.01547, 222.05259 and 124.99982 were used, respectively, for the detection and identification of the compounds. Confirmation was carried out by using accurate mass measurements of ion fragments for each compound, from neutral losses of CO₂, H₂O and H₂CO (formaldehyde). Furthermore, the recently reported tool, relative isotopic mass defect (RΔm), was also used to support the confirmation protocol. The optimized method was fully validated at low levels, including the estimation of a not commonly used parameter: the limit of confirmation (LOC). This LOC is expressed as the lowest concentration of compound that can be confirmed using a fragment or the RΔm, and it ranged from 10 to 50 µg kg^?1 for all compounds. All the data was obtained in a single injection. Finally, the method was applied to real soil samples, and glyphosate and AMPA were found at 265 µg kg^?1 and 105 µg kg^?1, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of a new modified QuEChERS method for the monitoring of carbamate residues in high‐fat cheeses by using UHPLC–MS/MS

A simple and efficient method for the determination of 28 carbamates in high‐fat cheeses is proposed. The methodology is based on a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe procedure as sample treatment using a new sorbent (Z‐Sep⁺) followed by ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry determination. The method has been validated in different kinds of cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and Camembert), achieving recoveries of 70–115%, relative standard deviations lower than 13% and limits of quantification lower than 5.4 μg/kg, below the maximum residue levels tolerated for these compounds by the European legislation. The matrix effect was lower than ±30% for all the studied pesticides. The combination of ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry with this modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe procedure using Z‐Sep⁺ allowed a high sample throughput and an efficient cleaning of extracts for the control of these residues in cheeses with a high fat content.     

Simultaneous determination of cyadox and its metabolites in plasma by high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Cyadox is a novel antimicrobial growth‐promoter of the quinoxalines. For food safety and pharmacokinetic studies, a convenient, sensitive and reproducible LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method was developed for the simultaneous determination of cyadox and its major metabolites, quinoxaline‐2‐carboxylic acid, 1,4‐bisdesoxycyadox, cyadox‐1‐monoxide and cyadox‐4‐monoxide in chicken plasma. Plasma sample was subjected to a simple deproteinisation with acetonitrile. Analysis was performed on a C₁₈ column by detection with mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. A gradient elution program with 0.2% formic acid, methanol and acetonitrile was performed at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The decision limits (CCαs) of five analytes in plasma ranged from 1.0 to 4.0 μg/L, and the detection capabilities (CCβs) were <10 μg/L. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The extraction recoveries of five analytes were between 87.4 and 93.9% in plasma at the spiked levels of 5 (10)–200 μg/L with the relative standard deviations <10% for each analyte. The developed method demonstrated a satisfactory applicability in real plasma samples.     

Assessment of tandem mass spectrometry and high‐resolution mass spectrometry for the analysis of bupivacaine in plasma

Triple quadrupole mass spectrometers coupled with high performance liquid chromatography are workhorses in quantitative bioanalyses. They provide substantial benefits including reproducibility, sensitivity and selectivity for trace analysis. Selected reaction monitoring allows targeted assay development but datasets generated contain very limited information. Data mining and analysis of nontargeted high‐resolution mass spectrometry profiles of biological samples offer the opportunity to perform more exhaustive assessments, including quantitative and qualitative analysis. The objectives of this study were to test method precision and accuracy, to statistically compare bupivacaine drug concentration in real study samples and to verify if high‐resolution and accurate mass data collected in scan mode can actually permit retrospective data analysis, more specifically, extract metabolite related information. The precision and accuracy data presented using both instruments provided equivalent results. Overall, the accuracy ranged from 106.2 to 113.2% and the precision observed was from 1.0 to 3.7%. Statistical comparisons using a linear regression between both methods revealed a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.9996 and a slope of 1.02, demonstrating a very strong correlation between the two methods. Individual sample comparison showed differences from ?4.5 to 1.6%, well within the accepted analytical error. Moreover, post‐acquisition extracted ion chromatograms at m/z 233.1648 ± 5 ppm (M ? 56) and m/z 305.2224 ± 5 ppm (M + 16) revealed the presence of desbutyl‐bupivacaine and three distinct hydroxylated bupivacaine metabolites. Post‐acquisition analysis allowed us to produce semi‐quantitative evaluations of the concentration–time profiles for bupicavaine metabolites. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A rapid,sensitive, and widely applicable method for quantitative analysis of underivatized amino acids in different biological matrices by UHPLC‐MS/MS

A rapid, sensitive, and widely applicable method for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of 20 underivatized amino acids in different biological matrices, including serum, plasma, and tissue homogenates, using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. Only 4 µL of serum, plasma, or tissue homogenate was extracted with 996 µL of solution (1.7 mM ammonium formate in 85% acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid) containing 100 ng/mL phenylalanine‐d5 as an internal standard without any further derivatization step. In addition, the matrix effects were small because a large volume of extraction solution was used. The total run time including reequilibration was 13 min. The results of linearity, accuracy, repeatability, precision, limits of detection, limits of quantification, and sample stability were sufficient to allow the measurement of the amino acids in different biological matrices. We conclude that our method is rapid, sensitive, and widely applicable and represents an improvement over other currently available technologies.     

Simultaneous determination of anti‐diabetes/anti‐obesity drugs by LC/PDA,and targeted analysis of sibutramine analog in dietary supplements by LC/MS/MS

The safety of dietary supplements is questionable as there have been occasional reports of products contaminated with illegal adulterants. The present study was carried out to develop trustworthy methodologies to screen for six anti‐diabetic drugs (phenformin, rosiglitazone, glipizide, glimepiride, glybenclamide and gliclazide) and six anti‐obesity drugs (ephedrine, fenfluramine, T3, T4, fluoxetine and sibutramine) in dietary supplements. A simultaneous determination method of the 12 drugs by liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array (LC/PDA) was established and was validated for linearity (r² > 0.99), precision (RSD <13.3%), recoveries (88.8–115.9%) and reproducibility. Sibutramine and its analogs, N‐desmethylsibutramine, were subject to further investigation by LC/MS/MS because they were one of the major illegal adulterants. Our proposed method to monitor illegal drug adulterations in dietary supplements using LC/PDA is a simple and reliable, and therefore applicable to routine drug‐adulteration screening. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定保健食品中的23种精神药品

建立了高效液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)同时测定保健食品中23种违禁精神药品的检测方法。样品经甲醇超声振荡提取20 min,于12000 r/min下离心后进行HPLC-MS/MS分析检测。采用Agilent Eclipse Plus C₁₈柱分离,流动相A为10 mmol/L甲酸铵溶液,流动相B为乙腈-甲醇(1:1, v/v)溶液,梯度洗脱;采用电喷雾离子源、正负离子模式切换、多反应监测(MRM)模式检测。23种精神药品在线性范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(R²)均大于0.990;检出限在0.02~1.0 μ g/L之间;3个添加水平的回收率为82.3%~114.8%,相对标准偏差(RSD)在1.3%~13.7%之间。样品筛查结果发现13种保健品中有1种样品非法添加了安宁,1种样品添加了奥沙西泮,2种样品添加了扎来普隆。该方法选择性强、灵敏度高、处理方法简单,可用于保健品中违禁镇静安神类化学药品的测定。     

Comprehensive analysis by liquid chromatography Q‐Orbitrap mass spectrometry: Fast screening of peptides and organic molecules

The number of substances nominally listed in the prohibited list of the World Anti‐Doping Agency increases each year. Moreover, many of these substances do not have a single analytical target and must be monitored through different metabolites, artifacts, degradation products, or biomarkers. A new analytical method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of peptides and organic molecules using a single sample preparation and LC‐Q‐HRMS detection. The simultaneous analysis of 450 target molecules was performed after cleanup on a mixed‐mode solid‐phase extraction cartridge, combined with untreated urine. The cleanup solvent and reconstitution solvent were the most important parameters for achieving a comprehensive sample preparation approach. A fast chromatographic run based on a multistep gradient was optimized under different flows; the detection of all substances without isomeric coelution was achieved in 11 minutes, and the chromatographic resolution was considered a critical parameter, even in high‐resolution mass spectrometry detection. The mass spectrometer was set to operate by switching between positive and negative ionization mode for FULL‐MS, all‐ion fragmentation, and FULL‐MS/MS². The suitable parameters for the curved linear trap (c‐trap) conditions were determined and found to be the most important factors for the development of the method. Only FULL‐MS/MS² enables the detection of steroids and peptides at concentrations lower than the minimum required performance levels set by World Anti‐Doping Agency (1 ng mL⁻¹). The combination of the maximum injection time of the ions into the c‐trap, multiplexing experiments, and loop count under optimized conditions enabled the method to be applied to over 10 000 samples in only 2 months during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The procedure details all aspects, from sample preparation to mass spectrometry detection. FULL‐MS data acquisition is performed in positive and negative ion mode simultaneously and can be applied to untargeted approaches.