New method for determination of ochratoxin A in beer using zinc acetate and solid-phase extraction silica cartridges

A new method for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in beer has been developed. The new method has been compared with a reference method currently accepted as AOAC official first action. The limits of detection and quantification of the proposed method were 0.0008 and 0.0025 ng/ml, respectively, while they were 0.0025 and 0.0075 ng/ml, respectively, in the AOAC method used as reference. The recovery levels in the 0.025-0.40 ng OTA/ml spiking range for the proposed and the reference methods were 80.6-87.6% and 78.2-83.8%, respectively. The relative standard deviations of recoveries were 2.6-7.5% for the proposed method and 0.7-6.1% for the reference method. Passing and Bablok regression analysis of recovery data obtained by the proposed method versus data obtained by the reference method on an OTA-spiked beer sample showed good correlation (r2 = 0.9993), while the slope and intercept were 1.049 and -0.0013, respectively. The advantage of the proposed method is the low cost of the materials used in sample preparation because expensive immunoaffinity columns are not needed to clean-up samples while it maintains or even increases the good performance of the reference method. The proposed method was applied to 69 beer samples from different geographic origins (national and imported) but purchased in the Spanish market. They were found to be contaminated with OTA in the range from 0.008 to 0.498 ng/ml (average: 0.070 ng/ml). Five samples surpassed the limit recommended by the European Union (0.2 ng OTA/g).     

Molecularly-imprinted polypyrrole-modified stainless steel frits for selective solid phase preconcentration of ochratoxin A

A molecularly-imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by electropolymerization of pyrrole (Py) onto a stainless steel frit, using ochratoxin A (OTA) as the template, in order to make a micro solid phase preconcentration (SPP) device. The OTA template was removed with 1% triethylamine (TEA) in methanol. Compared to non-imprinted polypyrrole (PPy), the molecularly-imprinted polypyrrole (MIPPy) enhanced the selective binding of OTA. The percentage recovery improved from 0 to 40% when the OTA sample solution was acidified with 1 M HCl (1% by volume). At a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min, maximum OTA binding was reached in 6 min after a total loading of 3.2 ng OTA. Final elution of the OTA was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection, using 20:80 v/v acetonitrile–ammonia buffer (NH₄Cl/NH₃, 20 mM, pH 9.2) as the mobile phase. The MIPPy-SPP-HPLC results clearly demonstrated that the MIPPy-SPP device afforded selective preconcentration of OTA from red wine samples, at OTA concentration levels as low as 0.05 ppb, prior to HPLC analysis.     

Automated liquid chromatographic determination of ranitidine in microliter samples of rat plasma

An improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection at 313 nm has been developed for quantitation of ranitidine in 100 microliter of rat plasma over the range 25 to 1000 ng/ml. To each sample were added the internal standard (metiamide) and 2 M NaOH. After dichloromethane extraction, the nitrogen-dried extracts were reconstituted in the mobile phase of 0.01 M phosphate buffer-triethylamine-methanol-water (530:5:390:75 v/v). Chromatography on mu Bondapak C18 with quantitation by peak height ratios showed an analyte recovery of 97%; a limit of detection of 10 ng/ml; a precision of 1-10% and an accuracy of 1-5%. About 90 samples can be processed in 24 h.     

Reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the determination of ochratoxin A in wine

In this paper, we propose a new, rapid, highly sensitive and reproducible RP-HPLC-FLD method for the detection of ochratoxin A (OTA) in wine, by directly injecting the liquid in the chromatographic system without any extraction or clean-up. An alkaline mobile phase (NH4Cl:CH-CN 85:15 (v/v), 20 mM, pH 9.8) was used to obtain a distinct fluorescence enhancement. This improvement allows to reach, without an immunoaffinity clean-up or concentration, a detection limit of 0.05 ng/ml, which is similar to those commonly obtained after immunoaffinity purification and acidic elution. The method was statistically validated and directly applied to a series of wine samples.     

Determination of p-methylthiobenzamide and p-methylthiobenzamide-S-oxide from rat plasma using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

p-Methylthiobenzamide (PMTB) is a thiocarbonyl compound exhibiting marked hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. We describe a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for analyzing PMTB and a metabolite, p-methylthiobenzamide-S-oxide (PMTBSO), from rat plasma using a solid-phase extraction technique. In this way, PMTB and PMTBSO can be extracted from 0.5 ml of plasma and separation achieved by an ODS analytical column in as little as 9 min. The mobile phase used was methanol-water (55:45, v/v) and the wavelength for detection was 290 nm. The limits of detection in plasma were 15 ng/ml for PMTB and 33 ng/ml for PMTBSO; the absolute recovery from spiked plasma samples was greater than 84.4% for both compounds and the internal standard. The method was linear throughout the range used with correlation coefficients greater than 0.969. The intra-day accuracy ranged from 1.52 to 15.23% relative error for the PMTB concentration range 151-3025 ng/ml; accuracy of 4.97% or less was obtained for PMTBSO concentrations of 1672-20,068 ng/ml. The intra-day precision (coefficient of variation) of the procedure was found to be no greater than 5.28% for PMTB and 7.9% for PMTBSO. Inter-day accuracy and precision measurements were similar.     

Quantitative analysis of retinoids in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography using column switching. II. Simultaneous determination of etretinate, acitretin and 13-cis-acitretin in plasma

An automated gradient high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of etretinate, acitretin and 13-cis-acitretin in plasma was developed, using a column-switching technique. After protein precipitation with ethanol, 0.5 ml of the supernatant was injected onto a precolumn (17 mm x 4.6 mm I.D.), filled with 37-53 microns C18 Corasil. Polar plasma components were washed out using 1% ammonium acetate and 1% acetic acid-acetonitrile (8:2, v/v); the retained retinoids were then transferred to the analytical column (125 mm x 4 mm I.D., filled with 5-microns ODS material) in the backflush mode, separated by gradient elution and detected at 360 nm by UV detection. The limit of quantification was 2 ng/ml and the inter-assay precision in the concentration range 20-1000 ng/ml was between 0.9 and 4.0% for all three compounds. To optimize the recovery for etretinate (greater than 60%), protein was precipitated from plasma with ethanol before injection, instead of direct injection of plasma samples, and a mobile phase containing 20% acetonitrile, instead of pure water or buffer, was used.     

Fluorimetric determination of isatin in human urine and serum by liquid chromatography postcolumn photoirradiation

For the fluorimetric determination of isatin in human urine and serum, HPLC-postcolumn photoirradiation using a mobile phase has been developed. Isatin in the urine or serum sample was separated on a Capcell Pak C1 column (250 x 4.6 mm id). The mobile phase consisted of 70 mmol l-1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.2)-tetrahydrofuran (85 + 15% v/v) containing 5 mmol l-1 hydrogen peroxide, which was irradiated with germicidal light to induce fluorescence (lambda ex 302 nm, lambda em 418 nm). The addition of tetrahydrofuran to the mobile phase led to the peaks showing good separation as well as increased sensitivity. The calibration graph for isatin was linear over the range of 0.16-10.7 ng. The pretreatment of the acidified urine or serum samples consisted of diluting steps or deproteinizing steps using perchloric acid, respectively. The mean recovery of isatin from urine and serum was greater than 94%.     

Measurement of beta-endorphin in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection: validation of a method employing the simultaneous purification and concentration of beta-endorphin.

The simultaneous purification and concentration of synthetic human beta-endorphin from plasma is described, which when used together with an appropriate isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic-electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED) system allows the determination of elevated physiological levels of beta-endorphin. Purification of plasma was gained by flash-freezing in liquid nitrogen, acidifying with 100 microliters of trifluoroacetic acid (10%, v/v) per ml of plasma, thawing at 4 degrees C and centrifuging to remove any precipitate. Solid-phase extraction with silica sorbent was utilised, which allowed further isolation of the analyte, a method of concentration and a procedure whereby beta-endorphin could be transferred to the HPLC mobile phase. Silica sorbent demonstrated greater selectivity than C18 for synthetic human beta-endorphin and, in addition, provided improved recovery of this analyte when utilising elution volumes of 500 microliters or less. Proteolytic degradation and heparin-induced high-affinity binding in plasma were shown not to effect the recovery of beta-endorphin if blood was rapidly chilled and plasma quickly obtained, frozen and acidified. Validation of this purification/concentration method using [125I]beta-endorphin demonstrated a recovery of 85.6% which was not jeopardised when concentrating the sample twenty-fold. This provided an increase in the sensitivity of detection, when used in conjunction with HPLC-ED, from 5 ng/ml to 250 pg/ml.     

Highly specific and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of 3-desmethylthiocolchicine in human plasma as analyte for the assessment of bioequivalence after oral administration of thiocolchicoside

A sensitive method for the determination of 3-desmethylthiocolchicine in plasma was developed, using high-performance liquid chromatographic separation with tandem mass spectrometric detection. The plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and separated on a Phenomenex Luna C18(2) 5 microm, 150x2 mm column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.005% formic acid (350:650, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.35 ml/min. Detection was achieved by an Applied Biosystems API 2000 mass spectrometer (LC-MS-MS) set at unit resolution in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. TurbolonSpray ionisation was used for ion production. The mean recovery for 3-desmethylthiocolchicine was 70%, with a lower limit of quantification set at 0.39 ng/ml. The increased selectivity of mass spectrometric (MS-MS) detection allowed us to distinguish between thiocolchicoside and its primary metabolite 3-desmethylthiocolchicine in human plasma, thereby giving more insight about the pharmacokinetics of the drug in humans.     

Determination of cetirizine in human urine by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of the histamine H1-receptor antagonist cetirizine in human urine was developed. Cetirizine and the internal standard are extracted from acidified (pH 5) urine (0.5 ml) into chloroform and the organic layer is evaporated to dryness. The residue is chromatographed on a Spherisorb 5ODS-2 column using Pic A (5 mM aqueous tetrabutylammonium phosphate)-methanol-tetrahydrofuran (33:65:2, v/v) as the mobile phase with ultraviolet detection (230 nm). The calibration graph is linear from 0.1 to 10 micrograms/ml and using 0.5 ml of urine the detection limit is 20 ng/ml. The within-run relative standard deviation is less than 6% and the accuracy is within 10% of the theoretical value at concentrations between 0.1 and 10 micrograms/ml in urine. There is a good correlation (r = 0.99606) with a previously described capillary gas chromatographic assay.     

Determination of luxabendazole in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Luxabendazole, a new benzimidazole, is a highly potent broad-spectrum anthelmintic. A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for its determination in serum and urine samples. In order to optimize the clean-up of samples we compared two procedures: C18 Sep-Pak cartridges and ultrafiltration through a cellulose membrane with a 30,000 relative molecular mass cut-off. In order to obtain the most suitable mobile phase, we studied the influence of pH and acetonitrile content on the capacity factor (k'). Chromatographic separation and quantification were performed on a reversed-phase column packed with 5-microns Nucleosil C18. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), (40:60, v/v). The column effluent was monitored by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry at 290 nm. The method shows good recovery, precision and accuracy. The lower limit of detection for luxabendazole is 15 ng/ml in serum samples and 25 ng/ml in urine samples.     

Improved and Rapid Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Indomethacin in Serum

Abstract

A rapid, specific and sensitive reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (LC) assay for the quantitative determination of indomethacin in serum without extraction was developed. Chromatographic separation using flunixin meglumine as the internal standard was achieved on octadecylsilane-coated particles with a mobile phase of 0.15 M acetate buffer pH 3.0 (50% v/v), acetonitrile (30% v/v) and methanol (20% v/v). The recovery of indomethacin from serum samples in the concentration range of 0.1-25 μg/ml was 95.5 ± 5.8% and as little as 100 ng/ml of indomethacin in serum samples can be quantitated by this procedure. A serum level versus time profile of dog with intravenously administered indomethacin demonstrated the applicability of the assay.     

Concentration of ochratoxin A in wines from supermarkets and stores of Valencian Community (Spain)

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by fungi species belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium being isolated in alcoholic beverages. The aim of this work is developed and applied a procedure for the analysis of OTA in wines. An analytical method based on immunoaffinity column (IAC) for clean-up, liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FD), and LC-FD after of OTA methylation was used to determine the occurrence of OTA in wines. Recoveries of this mycotoxin spiked to red wines at 0.5 ng/ml level were >90% with an average of relative standards deviations of 4%. Furthermore, 116 wine samples from designation of origin (DO) and three samples from food stores of Valencian Community (Spain) were examined for the occurrence of OTA being the levels of this mycotoxin ranged from <0.01 to 0.76 ng/ml. Finally, the estimated daily intake of OTA in this study was 0.15 ng/kg bw per day.     

HPLC Determination of Ochratoxin A in a Low Volume of Human Blood Serum

Abstract

A high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in human blood serum. Samples were purified on a C18 solid phase extraction column. The developed method required a relatively low serum volume (0.5 ml). Significant correlation (r of 0.998) was found over the range from 0.10 to 8 ng/ml, with a detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml and better performance in terms of precision and accuracy. Mean recoveries at 0.5 and 2 ng/ml were respectively 69.7±1.2 and 71.9±2.8%. This method was used as a rapid and noninvasive tool to assess human exposure to OTA. Among 40 analyzed serum samples, 27.5% were found to contain OTA with levels going from 0.1 to 11.98 ng/ml with a mean concentration of 0.73±2.35 ng/ml.     

Liquid chromatographic analysis of propafenone enantiomers in human plasma

A convenient and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for analysis of the enantiomers of propafenone (PPF) in human plasma was developed. Racemic propafenone and (-)-ephedrine (internal standard) were first extracted from plasma samples into a mixture of hexane-2-propanol-heptafluorobutanol (95:5:1.25, v/v). After evaporation of the organic layer, the samples were derivatized with R(-)-naphthylethyl isocyanate. The derivatization reached its maximum within 30 s at room temperature with an efficiency of 93.9 +/- 2.8% (mean +/- S.D.). The formed diastereomers were subsequently separated on a silica column with a mobile phase of hexane-2-propanol-isobutanol (96:2:2, v/v) at a flow-rate of 1.5 ml/min. The ultraviolet detection wavelength was set at 220 nm. Using 1 ml plasma, the detection limit was 6.25 ng/ml for the propafenone enantiomers. The assay was successfully employed to measure propafenone enantiomers in plasma samples of a healthy subject after oral administration of a single 150-mg dose of the racemate.     

Determination of the catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor Ro 40-7592 in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with coulometric detection.

A sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed to measure the catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) inhibitor 3,4-dihydroxy-4'-methyl-5-nitrobenzophenone (Ro 40-7592) in human plasma. The compound and the internal standard were extracted from plasma at pH 2 with n-butyl chloride-ethyl acetate (95:5, v/v). The extract was chromatographed on a reversed-phase column (Hypersil ODS, 5 microns) using a mixture of phosphate buffer (0.05 M, pH 2), methanol and tetrahydrofuran (45:55:5, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. Long-retained components were removed from the system by means of a simple column-switching system. Quantification of the catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor was performed by means of coulometric detection (0.1 V). The limit of quantification was about 1 ng/ml, using a 1-ml specimen of plasma. The recovery from human plasma was greater than 88%. The mean inter-assay precision was 5.3% in the range 2.5-1000 ng/ml. Linearity of the standard curve was obtained in the concentration range 2.5-500 ng/ml. The catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor was stable in human plasma when stored for six months at -20 degrees C and for 24 h at room temperature. The practicability of the new method was demonstrated by the analysis of more than 400 plasma samples from a tolerance study performed in human volunteers.     

Lipophilicity of a series of 1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-ones determined by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method with detection at 220 nm was developed and validated for the determination of ethyl-3-(N-n-butyl-N-acetyl)aminopropionate, IR 3535, in an insect repellent semi-solid product. A Hypersil ODS RP-C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm), 5 microm particle size, was equilibrated with a mobile phase consisted of water-acetonitrile (60:40, v/v). Its flow-rate was 1.0 ml/min. Excipients did not interfere with the determination of IR 3535 (Rs = 8.663). Intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations for samples were not higher than 0.61 and 1.2%, respectively. Mean recovery was found not lower than 98.5% and not higher than 100.3%. The method of external standard was adopted. Calibration curves were linear in the concentration range between 1.0 x 10(-6) and 5.0 x 10(-4) M. Limits of detection and quantitation were 65 and 196 ng/ml, respectively.     

Measurement of bumetanide in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography and application to bumetanide disposition.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the measurement of bumetanide in plasma and urine is described. Following precipitation of proteins with acetonitrile, bumetanide was extracted from plasma or urine on a 1-ml bonded-phase C18 column and eluted with acetonitrile. Piretanide dissolved in methanol was used as the internal standard. A C18 Radial Pak column and fluorescence detection (excitation wavelength 228 nm; emission wavelength 418 nm) were used. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-water-glacial acetic acid (66:34:1, v/v) delivered isocratically at a flow-rate of 1.2 ml/min. The lower limit of detection for this method was 5 ng/ml using 0.2 ml of plasma or urine. Nafcillin, but not other semi-synthetic penicillins, was the only commonly used drug that interfered with this assay. No interference from endogenous compounds was detected. For plasma, the inter-assay coefficients of variation of the method were 7.6 and 4.4% for samples containing 10 and 250 ng/ml bumetanide, respectively. The inter-assay coefficients of variation for urine samples containing 10 and 2000 ng/ml were 8.1 and 5.7%, respectively. The calibration curve was linear over the range 5-2000 ng/ml.     

Enantioanalysis of bisoprolol in human plasma with a macrocyclic antibiotic HPLC chiral column using fluorescence detection and solid phase extraction

A sensitive, enantioselective, high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated to determine S-(-)- and R-(+)-bisoprolol in human plasma. Baseline resolution was achieved using the teicoplanin macrocyclic antibiotic chiral stationary phase (CSP) known as Chirobiotic T with a polar ionic mobile phase (PIM) consisting of methanol-glacial acetic acid-triethylamine (100 : 0.02 : 0.025, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min and fluorescence detection set at 275 nm for excitation and 305 nm for emission. All analyses with S-(-)-atenolol as the internal standard were conducted at ambient temperature. The assay involved the use of a solid-phase extraction procedure for human plasma samples prior to HPLC analysis. The C18 cartridge gave good recovery rates for both enantiomers without any interference. The method was validated over the range of 20-200 ng/ml for each enantiomer concentration. Recovery rates for S-(-)- and R-(+)-bisoprolol enantiomers were in the range of 95-102%. The method proved to be precise (within-run precision expressed as % RSD ranged from 1.0-6.2% and between-run precision ranged from 0.9-6.7%) and accurate (within-run accuracies expressed as percentage error ranged from 0.2-4.8% and between-run accuracies ranged from 0.3-1.7%). The limit of quantitation and limit of detection for each enantiomer in human plasma were 20 and 5 ng/ml, respectively.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of less polar ginsenosides in processed ginseng

A novel method for the determination of iodide by size exclusion chromatography was established. The method was simple and highly sensitive with good precision. Iodide was converted to iodine, then sequestered with starch, and separated from the matrix using a Shim-pack DIOL-150 (250 x 7.9 mm) size exclusion column with methanol-0.01 mol l(-1) aqueous phosphoric acid (10:90, v/v) as mobile phase at 1.2 ml min(-1) and UV detection at 224 nm. The calibration graph was linear from 1.0 ng ml(-1) to 100.0 ng ml(-1) for iodide with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 (n=6). The detection limit was 0.2 ng ml(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of iodide in seawater and urine. The recovery was from 92% to 103% and the relative standard deviation was in the range of 1.5% to 3.7%.