Electro membrane extraction combined with capillary electrophoresis for the determination of amlodipine enantiomers in biological samples

Electro membrane extraction as a new microextraction method was applied for the extraction of amlodipine (AM) enantiomers from biological samples. During the extraction time of 15 min, AM enantiomers migrated from a 3 mL sample solution, through a supported liquid membrane into a 20 μL acceptor solution presented inside the lumen of the hollow fiber. The driving force of the extraction was 200 V potential, with the negative electrode in the acceptor solution and the positive electrode in the sample solution. 2-Nitro phenyl octylether was used as the supported liquid membrane. Using 10 mM HCl as background electrolyte in the sample and acceptor solution, enrichment up to 124 times was achieved. Then, the extract was analyzed using CD modified CE method for separation of AM enantiomers. Best results were achieved using a phosphate running buffer (100 mM, pH 2.0) containing 5 mM hydroxypropyl-α-CD. The range of quantitation for both enantiomers was 10-500 ng/mL. Intra- and interday RSD (n=6) were less than 14%. The limits of quantitation and detection for both enantiomers were 10 and 3 ng/mL respectively. Finally, this procedure was applied to determine the concentration of AM enantiomers in plasma and urine samples.     

Surfactant‐assisted electromembrane extraction combined with cyclodextrin‐modified capillary electrophoresis for the separation and quantification of Tranylcypromine enantiomers in biological samples

Surfactant‐assisted electromembrane extraction coupled with cyclodextrin‐modified capillary electrophoresis was developed for the separation and determination of Tranylcypromine enantiomers in biological samples. This combination would provide a new strategy for selective and sensitive determination of target analytes. The addition of surfactant in the donor solution improved the analyte transport into the lumen of hollow fiber that resulted in an enhancement in the analytes migration into acceptor solution. Optimization of the variables, affecting proposed method, was carried out and best results were achieved with a 175 V potential as driving force of the electromembrane extraction, 2‐nitrophenyloctylether as the supported liquid membrane, donor solution containing 0.2 mM Triton X‐100 with pH 3 and 0.1 M HCl for acceptor solution. Then, the extract was analyzed using cyclodextrin‐modified capillary electrophoresis method for separation of Tranylcypromine enantiomers. The best results were obtained with a phosphate running buffer (100 mM, pH 2.0) containing 7% w/v hydroxypropyl‐α‐cyclodextrin. Under the optimum conditions, a low limit of detection (3.03 ng/mL), good linearity (R² > 0.9953), and relative standard deviations below 4.0% (n = 5) were obtained. Finally, this procedure was applied to determine the concentration of Tranylcypromine enantiomers in urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Determination of brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma by cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography method

A method consisting of cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping (CSEI‐sweeping) as online preconcentration followed by a cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography (CDEKC) enantioseparation has been developed for the simultaneous determination of two brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma. In this method, analytes were electrokinetically injected at a voltage of 8 kV for 80 s in a fused‐silica capillary. Prior to the injection, the capillary was rinsed with 50 mM phosphate buffer of pH 3.5, followed by a plug of a higher conductivity buffer (150 mM phosphate pH 3.5, 20 psi, 6 min) and a plug of water (0.5 psi, 5 s). Separation was carried out applying –20 kV in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 3.5, containing 10% v/v ACN and 30 mg/mL sulfated‐β‐cyclodextrin (S‐β‐CD). Analytical signals were monitored at 210 nm. The detection sensitivity of brompheniramine enantiomers was enhanced by about 2400‐fold compared to the normal injection mode (hydrodynamic injection for 3 s at 0.5 psi, with a BGE of 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 20 mg/mL S‐β‐CD at pH 3.5), and LLOQ of two enantiomers were both 0.0100 μg/mL. In addition, this method had fairly good repeatability and showed promising capabilities in the application of stereoselective pharmacokinetic investigations for brompheniramine enantiomers in rat.     

Enantiopurity analysis of new types of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates by capillary electrophoresis with cyclodextrins as chiral selectors

CE methods have been developed for the chiral analysis of new types of six acyclic nucleoside phosphonates, nucleotide analogs bearing [(3‐hydroxypropan‐2‐yl)‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl]phosphonic acid, 2‐[(diisopropoxyphosphonyl)methoxy]propanoic acid, or 2?(phosphonomethoxy)propanoic acid moieties attached to adenine, guanine, 2,6‐diaminopurine, uracil, and 5‐bromouracil nucleobases, using neutral and cationic cyclodextrins as chiral selectors. With the exception of the 5‐bromouracil‐derived acyclic nucleoside phosphonate with a 2‐(phosphonomethoxy)propanoic acid side chain, the R and S enantiomers of the other five acyclic nucleoside phosphonates were successfully separated with sufficient resolutions, 1.51–2.94, within a reasonable time, 13–28 min, by CE in alkaline BGEs (50 mM sodium tetraborate adjusted with NaOH to pH 9.60, 9.85, and 10.30, respectively) containing 20 mg/mL β‐cyclodextrin as the chiral selector. A baseline separation of the R and S enantiomers of the 5‐bromouracil‐derived acyclic nucleoside phosphonate with 2‐(phosphonomethoxy)propanoic acid side chain was achieved within a short time of 7 min by CE in an acidic BGE (20:40 mM Tris/phosphate, pH 2.20) using 60 mg/mL quaternary ammonium β‐cyclodextrin chiral selector. The developed methods were applied for the assessment of the enantiomeric purity of the above acyclic nucleoside phosphonates. The preparations of all these compounds were found to be synthesized in pure enantiomeric forms. Using UV absorption detection at 206 nm, their concentration detection limits were in the low micromolar range.     

Stability evaluation of tramadol enantiomers using a chiral stability-indicating capillary electrophoresis method and its application to pharmaceutical analysis

In this study, a chiral stability-indicating CE assay was developed for the stability evaluation of tramadol (TR) enantiomers in commercial tablets using maltodextrin as chiral selector. To investigate the stability-indicating power of the analytical method as well as stability evaluation of TR enantiomers, active pharmaceutical ingredient and TR tablets were subjected to photolysis, heat, oxidation and hydrolysis to conduct stress testing. Best separation for the TR enantiomers was achieved on an uncoated fused-silica capillary at 20 °C using borate buffer (50 mM, pH 10.2) containing 10% m/v maltodextrin. All determinations were performed by a UV detector at 214 nm. A constant voltage of 20 kV was applied to obtain the separation. The range of quantitation for both enantiomers was 5-100 μg/mL (R>0.996). Intra- and inter-day RSD (n=6) were less than 10%. The percent relevant errors were obtained to be less than 4.0 for both enantiomers. The limits of quantitation and detection for both enantiomers were 5 and 1.5 μg/mL, respectively. Degradation products resulting from the stress studies were the same for both enantiomers and did not interfere with the detection of the enantiomers.     

Dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction combined with online preconcentration by capillary electrophoresis for the determination of glycopyrrolate stereoisomers in rat plasma

A simple and sensitive analytical method for four isomers of glycopyrrolate in rat plasma was developed using cation‐selective exhaustive injection‐sweeping cyclodextrin‐modified electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI‐Sweeping‐CDEKC) for online enrichment combined with dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction pretreatment. The CSEI‐Sweeping‐CDEKC was conducted on an uncoated fused silica capillary (40.2 cm × 75 μm) with an applied voltage of –20 kV. The electrophoretic analysis was carried out in 30 mM phosphate solution at pH 2.0 containing 20 mg/mL sulfated‐β‐cyclodextrin and 5% acetonitrile. Under these optimized conditions, the detection limit for racemic glycopyrrolate was found to be 2.0 ng/mL and this method could increase 495‐fold detection sensitivity compared with the traditional injection method. Additionally, the parameters that affected the extraction efficiency of dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction were also examined systematically. The glycopyrrolate isomers in rat plasma samples as low as 0.0625 μg/mL were able to be separated and detected by capillary electrophoresis with the aid of CSEI‐sweeping. The findings of this study show that the dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction pretreatment coupled with CSEI‐Sweeping‐CDEKC is a rapid and convenient method for analyzing glycopyrrolate isomers in rat plasma.     

Simultaneous determination of acidic and basic drugs using dual hollow fibre electromembrane extraction combined with CE

The simultaneous extraction of acidic and basic drugs from biological samples is a significant challenge for sample preparation. A novel and efficient method named dual hollow fibre electromembrane extraction combined with CE was applied for the simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of acidic and basic drugs in a single step. Under applied potential of 40 V during the extraction, ibuprofen as an acidic drug and thebaine as a basic drug migrated from a 4 mL aqueous sample solution at neutral pH into 20 μL of each basic (pH 12.5) and acidic (pH 2.0) acceptor phase, respectively; 1‐octanol and 2‐nitrophenyl octyl ether were immobilised in the pores of anodic and cathodic hollow fibres as supported liquid membranes, respectively. A Box–Behnken design and the response surface methodology were used for the optimisation of different parameters on the extraction efficiency. Under the optimised conditions, the enrichment factors were between 150 and 170 and also the LODs ranged from 3 to 7 ng/mL in different samples. The method was reproducible so that intra‐ and inter‐day RSDs% (n = 5) were less than 5.9%. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the simultaneous extraction and determination of acidic and basic drugs from plasma and urine samples.     

Enantioselective analysis of mirtazapine,demethylmirtazapine and 8‐hydroxy mirtazapine in human urine after solid‐phase microextraction

A selective and reproducible off‐line solid‐phase microextraction procedure was developed for the simultaneous enantioselective determination of mirtazapine (MRT), demethylmirtazapine and 8‐hydroxymirtazapine in human urine. CE was used for optimization of the extraction procedure whereas LC‐MS was used for method validation and application. The influence of important factors in the solid‐phase microextraction efficiency is discussed, such as the fiber coatings, extraction time, pH, ionic strength, temperature and desorption time. Before extraction, human urine samples were submitted to enzymatic hydrolysis at 37°C for 16 h. Then, the enzyme was precipitated with trichloroacetic acid and the pH was adjusted to 8 with 1 mol/L pH 11 phosphate buffer solution. In the extraction, the analytes were transferred from the aqueous solution to the polydimethylsiloxane‐divinylbenzene fiber coating and then desorbed in methanol. The mean recoveries were 5.4, 1.7 and 1.0% for MRT, demethylmirtazapine and 8‐hydroxymirtazapine enantiomers, respectively. The method was linear over the concentration range of 62–1250 ng/mL. The within‐day and between‐day assay precision and accuracy were lower than 15%. The method was successfully employed in a preliminary cumulative urinary excretion study after administration of racemic MRT to a healthy volunteer.     

Electrochemical Determination of Dextromethorphan on Reduced Graphene Oxide Modified Screen‐Printed Electrode after Electromembrane Extraction

In this paper, electromembrane extraction coupled with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) on a reduced graphene oxide modified screen‐printed carbon electrode (RGO‐SPCE) for the determination of dextromethorphan (DXM) in urine and plasma has been described. DXM migrated from 4 mL of a donor phase across a thin layer of 2‐nitrophenyl octyl ether (NPOE) immobilized in the pores of a porous hollow fiber, into a 20 µL acceptor phase (HCl) present inside the lumen of the fiber. Then, 15 µL of a 0.1 M NaOH solution was added to the acceptor phase and the mixture was analyzed using DPV.     

Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry enantioseparation of pomalidomide on cyclodextrin‐bonded chiral stationary phases and the elucidation of the chiral recognition mechanisms by NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling

A sensitive and validated liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry method was developed for the enantioseparation of the racemic mixture of pomalidomide, a novel, second‐generation immunomodulatory drug, using β‐cyclodextrin‐bonded stationary phases. Four cyclodextrin columns (β‐, hydroxypropyl‐β‐, carboxymethyl‐β‐, and sulfobutyl‐β‐cyclodextrin) were screened and the effects of eluent composition, flow rate, temperature, and organic modifier on enantioseparation were studied. Optimized parameters, offering baseline separation (resolution = 2.70 ± 0.02) were the following: β‐cyclodextrin stationary phase, thermostatted at 15°C, and mobile phase consisting of methanol/0.1% acetic acid 10:90 v/v, delivered with 0.8 mL/min flow rate. For the optimized parameter at multiple reaction monitoring mode 274.1–201.0 transition with 20 eV collision energy and 100 V fragmentor voltage the limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.75 and 2.00 ng/mL, respectively. Since enantiopure standards were not available, elution order was determined upon comparison of the circular dichroism signals of the separated pomalidomide enantiomers with that of enantiopure thalidomide. The mechanisms underlying the chiral discrimination between the enantiomers were also investigated. Pomalidomide‐β‐cyclodextrin inclusion complex was characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and molecular modeling. The thermodynamic aspects of chiral separation were also studied.     

固相萃取-毛细管电泳法测定兔血清中的山莨菪碱对映体

建立一种可用于定量的毛细管电泳法分离山莨菪碱对映体. 系统研究了三种手性选择剂: 羟丙基-β-环糊精 (HP-β-CD), 甲基-β-环糊精 (Me-β-CD), 羧甲基-β-环糊精(CM-β-CD) 及其浓度、缓冲溶液浓度和 pH 对山莨菪碱拆分的影响. 在110 mmol/L Tris-H3PO4缓冲液中加入20.0 mg/mL HP-β-CD和5.0 mg/mL CM-β-CD (pH 4.0)条件下, 山莨菪碱的4个对映体达到基线分离. 血清样品通过固相萃取预处理和浓缩, 对映体的固相萃取回收率在82.9%～90.7%, 相对标准偏差RSD%均小于7 %. 山莨菪碱的4个对映体血标准溶液浓度与电泳峰面积在77.86～0.39 μg/mL范围内呈良好的线性, r≥0.999, 检出限(S/N＝3)为0.08 μg/mL. 平均日间和日内精密度(RSD% )分别小于6.1% 和4.8%, 方法回收率为97.4% 和105.4%. 建立的方法准确、可靠, 应用于监测兔连续3 d口服75 mg 山莨菪碱后血清中山莨菪碱的血药浓度, 结果满意.     

Chiral separation of the β2‐sympathomimetic fenoterol by HPLC and capillary zone electrophoresis for pharmacokinetic studies

The development of methods for the separation of the enantiomers of fenoterol by chiral HPLC and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) is described. For the HPLC separation precolumn fluorescence derivatization with naphthyl isocyanate was applied. The resulting urea derivatives were resolved on a cellulose tris(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate)‐coated silica gel column employing a column switching procedure. Detection was carried out fluorimetrically with a detection limit in the low ng/mL range. The method was adapted to the determination of fenoterol enantiomers in rat heart perfusates using liquid–liquid extraction. As an alternative a CE method was used for the direct separation of fenoterol enantiomers comparing different cyclodextrin derivatives as chiral selectors. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stereoisomer separation of flavanones and flavanone‐7‐O‐glycosides by means of nanoliquid chromatography employing derivatized β‐cyclodextrins as mobile‐phase additive

A nanoliquid chromatographic method for the stereoisomer separation of some flavanone aglycones and 7‐O‐glycosides has been proposed employing a C18 capillary column and a chiral mobile‐phase additive such as cyclodextrin. The chiral separation of eriodictyol, naringenin, and hesperitin was obtained by addition of carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin to the mobile phase, whereas eriocitrin, naringin, narirutin, and hesperidin diastereoisomers were resolved by using sulfobutyl ether‐β‐cyclodextrin. The influence of the composition of the mobile phase, the length of the capillary column, and the flow rate on the chiral recognition were investigated. At optimum conditions, baseline separation for the selected aglycones and glycosylated forms were achieved with a mobile phase consisting of 50 mM sodium acetate buffer pH 3 and 30% methanol containing 20 mM of carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin and 10 mM of sulfobutyl ether‐β‐cyclodextrin, respectively. Precision, linearity, and sensitivity of the method were tested. Limits of detection and quantification for the studied flavanone glycosides were in the range 1.3‐2.5 and 7.5‐12.5 µg/mL, respectively. The method was used for the determination of the diastereomeric composition of the flavanone‐7‐O‐glycosides in Citrus juices after solid‐phase extraction procedure.     

Chiral separation and quantitation of cetirizine and hydroxyzine by maltodextrin-mediated CE in human plasma: effect of zwitterionic property of cetirizine on enantioseparation

In the present study, a very simple CE method for chiral separation and quantitation of zwitterionic cetirizine (CTZ), as the main metabolite of hydroxyzine (HZ), and HZ has been developed. In addition, the effect of zwitterionic property of CTZ on enantioseparation was investigated. Maltodextrin, a linear polysaccharide, as a chiral selector was used and several parameters affecting the separation such as pH of BGE, concentration of chiral selector and applied voltage were studied. The best BGE conditions for CTZ and HZ enantiomers were optimized as 75 mM sodium phosphate solution at pH of 2.0, containing 5% w/v maltodextrin. Results showed that, compared to HZ, pH of BGE was an effective parameter in enantioseparation of CTZ due to the zwitterionic property of CTZ. The linear range of the method was over 30-1200 ng/mL for all enantiomers of CTZ and HZ. The quantification and detection limits (S/N=3) of all enantiomers were 30 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. The method was used to quantitative enantioseparation of CTZ and HZ in spiked human plasma.     

Chiral separation of 12 pairs of enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis using heptakis‐(2,3‐diacetyl‐6‐sulfato)‐β‐cyclodextrin as the chiral selector and the elucidation of the chiral recognition mechanism by computational methods

Chiral separation of 12 pairs of basic analyte enantiomers including oxybutynin, bambuterol, tradinterol, clenbuterol, clorprenaline, terbutaline, tulobuterol, citalopram, phencynonate, fexofenadine, salbutamol, and penehyclidine was conducted by capillary electrophoresis using a single‐isomer anionic β‐cyclodextrin derivative, heptakis‐(2,3‐diacetyl‐6‐sulfato)‐β‐cyclodextrin as the chiral selector. Parameters influencing separation were studied, including background electrolyte pH, heptakis‐(2,3‐diacetyl‐6‐sulfato)‐β‐cyclodextrin concentration, buffer concentration, and separation voltage. A background electrolyte consisting of 50 mM Tris‐H₃PO₄ and 6 mM heptakis‐(2,3‐diacetyl‐6‐sulfato)‐β‐cyclodextrin at pH 2.5 was found to be highly efficient for the separation of most enantiomers, with other conditions of normal polarity mode at 10 kV, detection wavelength of 210 nm using hydrodynamic injection for 3 s. Under the optimal conditions, baseline resolution (>1.50) for 11 pairs of enantiomers and somewhat lower resolution for penehyclidine enantiomers (1.17) were generated. Moreover, the possible mechanism of separation of clenbuterol, oxybutynin, salbutamol, and penehyclidine was investigated using a computational modeling method.     

Enantioselective Partitioning of Racemic Ibuprofen in a Biphasic Recognition Chiral Extraction System

Enantioselective partitioning of ibuprofen enantiomers in a biphasic recognition chiral extraction system was studied. A combination of hydrophobic L‐isobutyl tartrate in organic phase and hydrophilic β‐cyclodextrin derivative in aqueous phase is necessary to establish a biphasic recognition chiral extraction system. The studies performed involve an enantioselective extraction in a biphasic system, where ibuprofen enantiomers form four complexes with the β‐cyclodextrin derivative in aqueous phase and the D(L)‐isobutyl tartrate in organic phase, respectively. In these biphasic resolutions, the types and the concentrations of the extractants, pH and temperature all exert a considerable influence on the biphasic recognition process. Good enantioselectivities for ibuprofen enantiomers were obtained at pH≦2.5 and a ratio of 2:1 of [L‐isobutyl tartrate] to [HP‐β‐CD]. Biphasic recognition chiral extraction is of strong chiral separation ability, and may be very helpful to optimize the extraction systems and realize the large‐scale production of enantiomers.     

Electro‐driven extraction of inorganic anions from water samples and water miscible organic solvents and analysis by ion chromatography

A simple electromembrane extraction (EME) procedure combined with ion chromatography (IC) was developed to quantify inorganic anions in different pure water samples and water miscible organic solvents. The parameters affecting extraction performance, such as supported liquid membrane (SLM) solvent, extraction time, pH of donor and acceptor solutions, and extraction voltage were optimized. The optimized EME conditions were as follows: 1‐heptanol was used as the SLM solvent, the extraction time was 10 min, pHs of the acceptor and donor solutions were 10 and 7, respectively, and the extraction voltage was 15 V. The mobile phase used for IC was a combination of 1.8 mM sodium carbonate and 1.7 mM sodium bicarbonate. Under these optimized conditions, all anions had enrichment factors ranging from 67 to 117 with RSDs between 7.3 and 13.5% (n = 5). Good linearity values ranging from 2 to 1200 ng/mL with coefficients of determination (R²) between 0.987 and 0.999 were obtained. The LODs of the EME‐IC method ranged from 0.6 to 7.5 ng/mL. The developed method was applied to different samples to evaluate the feasibility of the method for real applications.     

Simultaneous determination of chlordiazepoxide and selected antidepressants using CZE

A simple CE method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of chlordiazepoxide (CHL), amitriptyline, and nortriptyline (mixture I) or the determination of CHL and imipramine (mixture II) using the same BGE. Sertraline and amitriptyline were used as internal standards for the first and second mixtures, respectively. The method allows amitriptyline to be completely separated from its impurity and main metabolite nortriptyline, which can be quantified from 0.2 μg/mL. The separation was achieved using 20 mM potassium phosphate buffer pH 5 containing 12 mM β‐cyclodextrin and 1 mM carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin. UV detection was performed at 200 nm and a voltage of 15 kV was applied on an uncoated fused‐silica capillary at 25°C. These experimental conditions allowed separation of the compounds to be obtained in 7 min. Calibration graphs proved the linearity up to 40 μg/mL for CHL, up to 100 μg/mL for amitriptyline and imipramine, and up to 5 μg/mL for nortriptyline. The accuracy and precision of the method have been determined by analyzing synthetic mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations. The analytical results were quite good in all cases indicating that the method was linear, sensitive, precise, accurate, and selective for both mixtures.     

高效液相色谱手性流动相添加法拆分奥昔布宁对映体

采用C18固定相,以羟丙基-β-环糊精为手性流动相添加剂,建立了奥昔布宁对映体的高效液相色谱拆分方法。考察了手性添加剂、有机极性调节剂、缓冲盐的种类和浓度以及流动相的pH值和流速及柱温等因素对对映体分离的影响。在最佳分离条件下,奥昔布宁对映体的分离度为1.54,检测限为1.0 ng。该方法简便,重复性好,比手性固定相法更加经济。     

Enantioselective LC–ESI–MS/MS method for quantitation of (−)-lumefantrine and (+)-lumefantrine in mice plasma and application to a pharmacokinetic study

We developed and validated a simple, sensitive, selective, and reliable LC–MS/MS–ESI method for the direct quantitation of lumefantrine (LFN) enantiomers [(−)-LFN and (+)-LFN] in mice plasma as per regulatory guideline. LFN enantiomers and carbamazepine (internal standard) were extracted from mice plasma using Strata X SPE (solid-phase extraction) cartridges. Good resolution between enantiomers was achieved on a Chiralpak IA-3 column using an isocratic mobile phase (0.1% of diethyl amine in methanol), which was delivered at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Detection and quantitation were performed using multiple reaction monitoring mode following the transitions m/z 530.27 → 512.30 and 237.00 → 194.00 for LFN enantiomers and the internal standard, respectively, in the positive-ionization mode. The proposed method provided accurate and reproducible results over the linearity range of 2.39–895 ng/mL for each enantiomer. The intra- and inter-day precisions were in the range of 1.03–6.14 and 6.36–8.70 and 2.03–4.88 and 5.82–11.5 for (−)-LFN and (+)-LFN, respectively. Both (−)-LFN and (+)-LFN were found to be stable under different stability conditions. The method was successfully used to delineate stereoselective pharmacokinetics of LFN enantiomers in mice after an oral administration of rac-LFN (20 mg/kg). The pharmacokinetic results indicated that the disposition of LFN enantiomers was stereoselective in mice.