Determination of clozapine and its major metabolites in human serum using automated solid-phase extraction and subsequent isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

An isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection is described for the quantification of the atypical neuroleptic clozapine and its major metabolites, N-desmethylclozapine and clozapine N-oxide, in human serum or plasma. The method included automated solid-phase extraction on C18 reversed-phase material. Clozapine and its metabolites were separated by HPLC on a C18 ODS Hypersil analytical column (5 microns particle size; 250 mm x 4.6 mm I.D.) using an acetonitrile-water (40:60, v/v) eluent buffered with 0.4% (v/v) N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine and acetic acid to pH 6.5. Imipramine served as internal standard. After extraction of 1 ml of serum or plasma, as little as 5 ng/ml of clozapine and 10 or 20 ng/ml of the metabolites were detectable. Linearity was found for drug concentrations between 5 and 2000 ng/ml as indicated by correlation coefficients of 0.998 to 0.985. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged between 1 and 20%. Interferences with other psychotropic drugs such as benzodiazepines, antidepressants or neuroleptics were negligible. In all samples, collected from schizophrenic patients who had been treated with daily oral doses of 75-400 mg of clozapine, the drug and its major metabolite, N-desmethylclozapine, could be detected, while the concentrations of clozapine N-oxide were below 20 ng/ml in three of sixteen patients. Using the method described here, data regarding relations between therapeutic or toxic effects and drug blood levels or metabolism may be collected in clinical practice to improve the therapeutic efficacy of clozapine drug treatment.     

Direct determination of mitoxantrone and its mono- and dicarboxylic metabolites in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

The simultaneous isolation and determination of mitoxantrone (Novantrone) and its two known metabolites (the mono- and dicarboxylic metabolites) were carried out using a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system equipped with an automatic pre-column-switching system that permits drug analysis by direct injection of biological samples. Plasma or urine samples were injected directly on to an enrichment pre-column flushed with methanol-water (5:95, v/v) as the mobile phase. The maximum amount of endogenous water-soluble components was removed from biological samples within 9 min. Drugs specifically adsorbed on the pre-column were back-flushed on to an analytical column (Nucleosil C18, 250 X 4.6 mm I.D.) with 1.6 M ammonium formate buffer (pH 4.0) (2.5% formic acid) containing 20% acetonitrile. Detection was effected at 655 nm. Chromatographic analysis was performed within 12 min. The detection limit of the method was about 4 ng/ml for urine and 10 ng/ml for plasma samples. The precision ranged from 3 to 11% depending on the amount of compound studied. This technique was applied to the monitoring of mitoxantrone in plasma and to the quantification of the unchanged compound and its two metabolites in urine from patients receiving 14 mg/m2 of mitoxantrone by intravenous infusion for 10 min.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of the 1,4-diketo and 1,4-diketo-2,3-dihydroxy metabolites of lonapalene in rat urine

Individual high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed for the determination of two major metabolites of lonapalene in rat urine. The highly unstable and polar 1,4-diketo-2,3-dihydroxy metabolite (II) is extracted from urine by two extraction columns (phenyl followed by silica), further purified by means of HPLC with a fully end-capped C18 HPLC column and quantified by an ultraviolet detector at 280 nm. Ascorbic acid is used as an antioxidant during extraction and overnight injection of II. Urine samples for total II (free plus conjugated) determination are incubated with arylsulfatase and beta-glucuronadase prior to extraction. The 1,4-diketo metabolite (III) is extracted from urine with a C18 extraction column, further purified with a C18 HPLC column, and quantified by an ultraviolet detector at 260 nm. The detection limit for both metabolites is 100 ng/ml of urine (signal-to-noise = 2.5). The methods were used to analyze urine samples from a long-term toxicology study of lonapalene in rats and to determine the linearity of dose-concentration relationships for both metabolites.     

Comparison of SSI with APCI as an interface of HPLC-mass spectrometry for analysis of a drug and its metabolites

Sonic spray ionization (SSI) was compared with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) as an interface of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-mass spectrometry (MS) for sensitive analyses of a neuroleptic drug, haloperidol and its two metabolites, such as reduced haloperidol and 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-hydroxypiperidine (CPHP), in biological samples. For both SSI and APCI interfaces, HPLC-MS-MS gave higher sensitivity than HPLC-MS. The sensitivities by HPLC-SSI-MS-MS for haloperidol and reduced haloperidol were 100 and 30 times higher, respectively, than those by HPLC-APCI-MS-MS; no spectrum with recognizable peaks was obtained for CPHP with the APCI interface. Therefore, detection limits and regression equations were examined by the HPLC-SSI-MS-MS for human plasma and urine samples spiked with the above drug and its metabolites. Haloperidol, reduced haloperidol, and CPHP showed good linearity in the ranges of 5-800, 10-800, and 100-800 ng/mL, respectively, for both human plasma and urine; their detection limits were 2.5, 5, and 75 ng/mL, respectively, using a new polymer HPLC column which enabled direct application of biological samples.     

Simultaneous determination of gemfibrozil and its metabolites in plasma and urine by a fully automated high performance liquid chromatographic system

Sensitive and specific methods for the simultaneous determination of gemfibrozil (Lopid), a lipid-lowering agent, and its metabolites in plasma and urine are described. The methods are based on a fully automated high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system with fluorescence detection. Urine samples, diluted with acetonitrile, were directly analysed by HPLC using a flow and eluent programming method. In the case of plasma, gemfibrozil and its main metabolites were extracted from acidified samples and the resulting extracts injected into the chromatographic system. The sensitivity was approximately 100 ng/mL for gemfibrozil and its four metabolites using 0.5 mL plasma or urine. An acyl glucuronide of gemfibrozil excreted in human urine after oral administration of the drug was isolated and its structure and stability examined.     

Determination of bromazepam in plasma and of its main metabolites in urine by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of bromazepam in plasma and of its main metabolites in urine is described. The unchanged drug is extracted from plasma with dichloromethane, using Extrelut 1 extraction tubes. The residue from this extract is subsequently analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (230 nm). The limit of detection is 6 ng/ml of plasma, using a 1-ml specimen. For the determination of the metabolites, the urine samples are incubated to effect enzymatic deconjugation and are then extracted with dichloromethane. Following two clean-up steps (back extractions), the final residue is analysed on the same reversed-phase system as the plasma samples. The limit of detection for the two metabolites is 200 ng/ml.     

Separation and identification of zaleplon metabolites in human urine using capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection for the determination of the hypnotic drug zaleplon and its metabolites in human urine could be developed using carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin as a charged carrier. By the help of a complementary HPLC method coupled to mass spectrometry, three metabolites present in human urine could be identified as 5-oxozaleplon, 5-oxo-N-deethylzaleplon and 5-oxozaleplon glucuronide. N-Deethylzaleplon, a previously described zaleplon metabolite, as well as zaleplon itself could not be detected in human urine by the CE-LIF assay. The results were confirmed by spiking with reference compounds of the phase I metabolites. The metabolites differed very much concerning their fluorescence intensities, thus the 5-oxo metabolites present as lactam tautomer fluoresced tenfold lower than the unchanged drug zaleplon and its N-deethylated metabolite. The glucuronide of the 5-oxozaleplon, however, showed high fluorescence due to its lactim structure. Limits of quantification yielded by the CE-LIF assay including a ten-fold preconcentration step by solid-phase extraction were 10 ng/ml for zaleplon and N-deethylzaleplon and 100 ng/ml for 5-oxozaleplon and 5-oxo-N-deethylzaleplon.     

Assay of metyrapone, metyrapol and the isomeric mono-N-oxides of metyrapone in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the analysis of metyrapone [2-methyl-1,2-di-(3-pyridyl)-1-propanone], its reduced metabolite metyrapol and metyrapone mono-N-oxide metabolites in biological fluids is reported. These components were extracted into dichloromethane (2 x 5 ml) from alkalinised microsomal incubates, urine and blood (final pH about 12.5), or from cytosolic incubates at pH 7.4 (final aqueous volume 2-4 ml). Recoveries were in the range 70-100% under these conditions. The intact drug and metabolites were separated by reversed-phase HPLC with ultraviolet detection at 261 nm. All calibration curves were linear (correlation coefficient greater than 0.997). For the analysis of hepatic microsomal or cytosolic incubates, the coefficient of variation was less than 10% for samples over the range 2.5-250 nmol/ml N-oxides and 10-250 nmol/ml metyrapol. Measurement of metyrapone and metyrapol in rat blood (0.25-ml sample volume) was linear in the ranges 4.4-265 and 26-263 nmol/ml, respectively, the lower concentration being the limit of detection. The coefficient of variation was less than 20% for samples over the ranges tested for both these compounds. The N-oxide metabolites were not detectable in blood using this assay, their concentrations being below the limit of detection.     

Analysis of LSD in human body fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy and radioimmunoassay

A scheme of analysis is described in which the particular advantages of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), fluorescence spectroscopy and radioimmunoassay (RIA) are exploited to the greatest effect. RIA affords a rapid and sensitive preliminary screening method, while the subsequent HPLC analysis using fluorimetric detection yields quantitative chromatographic evidence together with characteristic fluorescence spectra. Fractionation of samples by HPLC followed by RIA of the fractions gives further confirmation of the presence of LSD and its metabolites. The combined methodology has been applied to the analysis of LSD in body fluids for forensic and clinical purposes. Levels down to 0.5 ng of LSD per ml can be detected using the minimum of sample.     

Analysis of digoxin at therapeutic concentrations using high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure has been developed for the analysis of digoxin in plasma at therapeutic concentrations. The assay method provides resolution of digoxin from its metabolites using a 15 cm X 4.6 mm HPLC column containing 3-micron octadecylsilane-bonded stationary phase. The effluent of the column is passed through a post-column reactor in which a fluorescent derivative is formed by the co-addition of hydrochloric acid and dehydroascorbic acid. Detection of the derivative is accomplished in a fluorometer with excitation at 336 nm and emission at 425 nm. The extraction efficiency for recovery of digoxin from plasma samples was 70% using chloroform-isopropanol (9:1) following a pre-wash with isooctane to remove endogenous substances. The calibration curve was linear (r = 0.9999) over the range 0.5-4 ng/ml digoxin in plasma using digitoxigenin as internal standard. The minimum detectable quantity of digoxin in plasma was 0.5 ng/ml at a signal-to-noise ratio of 4:1. Split-samples of digoxin control sera were assayed by the HPLC procedure and by the prescribed radioimmunoassay procedure. Excellent correlation was observed between the two methods (r = 0.999). No interference was noted when a selection of commonly co-prescribed drugs were evaluated for chromatographic co-elution or interference in detection with that of digoxin or the internal standard.     

Solid-phase extraction with styrene-divinylbenzene sorbent for high-performance liquid or gas chromatographic determination of urinary chloro- and methylthiotriazines.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure on a styrene-divinylbenzene (SDB-1 cartridge) for extraction and cleaning of the triazine herbicides atrazine, simazine, ametryn, and prometryn and atrazine monodealkylated metabolites from urine samples was developed and optimised for final high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC-UV diode array detection) and gas chromatographic (GC-electron-capture detection and GC-thermionic-sensitive detection) analyses. Interfering polar matrices were eliminated by rinsing SDB-1 with 1% acetonitrile in water or with pure water. Extraction recoveries were from 78 to 101% with an RSD of about 10% for all studied compounds. The extraction recovery for the didealkylated atrazine metabolite was significantly lower and this compound cannot be determined with these procedures. Sorbent matrix generated interferences, although not detected by the chromatographic system, lowered the response of nitrogen-phosphorus and electron-capture GC detectors for monodealkylated chlorotriazines when compared to standards prepared in n-hexane. HPLC and GC analysis with SPE (SDB-1) preconcentration showed excellent linearity over the concentration range tested, with detection limits in urine of 10 ng ml(-1) for the parent herbicides (HPLC and GC analysis) and 20 ng ml(-1) for monodealkylated chlorotriazines (HPLC analysis).     

Simultaneous analysis of flunixin, naproxen, ethacrynic acid, indomethacin, phenylbutazone, mefenamic acid and thiosalicylic acid in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Simple and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) methods have been developed for the simultaneous analysis of several acidic drugs in horse plasma and urine. Although the capillary GC-MS column provided better separation of the drugs than the reversed-phase C8 (3 microns, 75 mm) HPLC column, the total analysis time with HPLC was shorter than the total analysis time with GC-MS. The HPLC system equipped with a diode-array detector provided simultaneous screening (limit of detection 100-500 ng/ml) and confirmation (limit 1.0 micrograms/ml) of the drugs. The HPLC system equipped with fixed-wavelength ultraviolet and fluorescence detectors provided a relatively sensitive screening [limit of detection 50-150 ng/ml for ultraviolet and 10 ng/ml for fluorescence (naproxen only) detectors] of the drugs. However, the positive samples had to be confirmed by using either the diode-array detector or the GC-MS system. The GC-MS system provided simultaneous screening and confirmation of the drugs at very low concentrations (20-50 ng/ml).     

A New Method for the HPLC Analysis of Pt(II) in Urine

Abstract

An analytical method has been developed to measure Pt(II) in urine via derivatization and UV or HPLC analysis. A measured quantity of urine is heated briefly with diethyl ammonium diethyl-dithiocarbamate, and the resulting Pt(Et₂NCS₂)₂ is extracted into a measured volume of chloroform. Concentrations of Pt(II) are determined by UV absorption at 346 nm or by reverse phase HPLC analysis. The detection limit for Pt(II) as its dithiocarbamate is ～ 1 ng by HPLC; the concentration limit for HPLC analysis by direct extraction was ～ 25 ng/ml. Chromatographic response was linearly related to Pt(II) concentration over the range 100-4, 000 ng/ml; dilution of more concentrated samples has extended this range to at least 30, 000 ng/ml. This method has been applied to the analysis of Pt(II) in the urine of patients who have received cis-dichlorodiamniineplatinum(II) (CDDP) chemotherapy.     

Determination of Chlordiazepoxide and Its Metabolites in Plasma by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A rapid, sensitive and specific high pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay was developed for the determination of chlordiazepoxide and its metabolites from plasma. The assay involves extraction of chlordiazepoxide and its metabolites into diethyl ether from plasma buffered to pH 9. The overall recovery of chlordiazepoxide is 80 ± 5.0% (S.D.) and the sensitivity limit of detection is 50 to 100 ng/ml of plasma, using a 1 ml specimen. The assay was used in the determination of plasma levels of chlordiazepoxide and its metabolites in man following oral administration of chlordiazepoxide. HCl.

The chromatographic behavior of other clinically important benzodiazepines and their major metabolites is also reported.     

Analysis of norethindrone in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

The lack of specificity of some radioimmunological assays for the determination of norethindrone has been reported. This paper describes a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method that is sufficiently sensitive and specific for the determination of plasma samples containing 2 ng/ml norethindrone. Plasma samples were collected from 8 human volunteers. The solvents used for the mobile phase were methanol, HPLC grade acetonitrile, HPLC grade, and double glass-distilled water. The HPLC (Waters Associates, Milford, Massachusetts) was used at a nominal attenuation of .005 absorbance units full scale (AUFS) and fed into a 5 mV recorder, giving an overall response of 0.0025 AUFS. The HPLC was also fitted with an ultraviolet detector (254 nm). The organic solvent extract from plasma is chromatographed on a reversed phase column using the HPLC. Tritiated norethindrone was added to 2.0 ml of plasma containing from 2 to 20 ng/ml of norethindrone and was extracted using the procedure as described. The organic extract was then transferred into a scintillation vial and evaporated to dryness. A Beckman LS 150 scintillation counter with an automatic quench correction device was used to determine radioactivity. The results show that the extraction efficiency and reproducibility are comparable at plasma concentrations ranging between 2-20 ng/ml. No interfering compounds (metabolites and endogenous substances) were extracted using HPLC. Data analysis of a number of spiked plasma samples ranging from 2 ng/ml-20 ng/ml suggests the accuracy and precision of the method. In another experiment, 40 mg of norethindrone was dissolved in ethanolic saline and orally administered in a mini-pig. The plasma norethindrone concentration was readily detected. The experiments illustrate the stronger specificity of the new method compared to reported radioimmunoassays.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of alpha-tocopherol in macroalgae

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the microscale determination of alpha-tocopherol in macroalgae is reported. The method includes microscale saponification and extraction with n-hexane. The presence of alpha-tocopherol in macroalgae samples was confirmed by HPLC-MS. Alpha-tocopherol levels as determined in samples by HPLC with UV and fluorescence detection did not differ significantly; however, fluorescence detection has a higher sensitivity (detection limit 10.4 ng/ml, vs. 104 ng/ml with UV detection), as well as good precision (relative standard deviation 1.81%) and recovery (94.3%). Fluorescence detection is also faster. We used this method to determine the alpha-tocopherol contents of four commercial macroalgae products from northwest Spain as part of nutritional studies in dehydrated Himanthalia elongata and Laminaria ochroleuca, and also in canned Himanthalia elongata and Saccorhiza polychides.     

Determination of (S)-(-)-cathinone and its metabolites (R,S)-(-)-norephedrine and (R,R)-(-)-norpseudoephedrine in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure with photodiode-array detection (DAD) is described for the determination of (S)-(-)-cathinone (S-CA) and its metabolites (R,S)-(-)-norephedrine (R-NE) and (R,R)-(-)-norpseudoephedrine (R-NPE) in urine. Extraction and clean-up of 1-ml urine samples were performed on a cyano-bonded solid-phase column using (+/-)-amphetamine as internal standard. The concentrated extracts were separated on a 3-microns ODS-1 column with acetonitrile-water-phosphoric acid-hexylamine as the mobile phase. Peak detection was done at 192 nm. The detection limits for S-CA and R-NE/R-NPE in urine were 50 and 25 ng/ml, respectively. The differentiation of the enantiomers of cathinone and norephedrine was achieved by derivatization with (S)-(-)-1-phenylethyl isocyanate to the corresponding diastereomers followed by HPLC-DAD on a 5-microns normal-phase column. The R and S enantiomers of norpseudoephedrine were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after on-column derivatization with (S)-(-)-N-trifluoroacetylprolyl chloride. Following a single oral dose of 0.5 mg/kg of S-CA, the concentrations found in urine ranged from 0.2 to 3.8 micrograms/ml of S-CA, from 7.2 to 46.0 micrograms/ml of R-NE and from 0.5 to 2.5 micrograms/ml of R-NPE.     

Simultaneous determination of nitroglycerin and its dinitrate metabolites by capillary gas chromatography with electron-capture detection

A sensitive gas chromatographic-electron-capture detection method for the simultaneous determination of the antianginal drug nitroglycerin (GTN) and its dinitrate metabolites (1,2-GDN and 1,3-GDN) was developed. Human plasma samples (1 ml) spiked with 2,6-dinitrotoluene as the internal standard were extracted once with 10 ml of a methylene chloride-pentane mixture (3:7, v/v). Using this solvent system, less contaminants are extracted into the organic phase from plasma, resulting in cleaner chromatograms and prolonged column life. A break point was observed on the standard curves of GTN and GDNs. The two linear regions for the detectable concentrations of GTN are 0.025-0.3 and 0.3-3 ng/ml and for 1,2-GDN and 1,3-GDN they are 0.1-1 and 1-10 ng/ml. The limits of detection by this method for GTN, 1,2-GDN and 1,3-GDN in plasma are 0.025, 0.1 and 0.1 ng/ml, respectively.     

Determination of the tricyclic compound adosupine and its three metabolites in plasma and brain of rat using high-performance liquid chromatography.

An analytical method for the detection in biological samples of the novel tricyclic compound adosupine (10-acetoamido-5-methyl-5,6-dihydro-11H-dibenzo[b,e]azepin-6 ,11-dione), which is capable of influencing various forms of urinary bladder hyperreflexia has been developed using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Liquid-liquid extraction was used to isolate the parent compound, three metabolites and an analogue (added as internal standard) from plasma and brain of rat. Adosupine was well separated from its three metabolites with 0.01 M disodium hydrogenphosphate-acetonitrile-methanol-nonylamine (59.986:38:2:0.014) at pH 4.5 as mobile phase using a C18 reversed-phase column. The standard curves were linear in the range 50-5000 ng/ml (or ng/g) for adosupine and metabolites in both plasma and brain. The between- and within-assay variations for high and low concentrations of the parent compound and the three metabolites were 8.2-14%. In the range 50-5000 ng/ml (or ng/g) the accuracy of the method was satisfactory, with the relative error always lower than 10%. Analytical recoveries of added adosupine and the three metabolites were higher than 82%. The method has been applied successfully, to investigate the pharmacokinetics of the drug and its distribution in the central nervous system of rats.     

Quantitation of Verapamil and Norverapamil in Small Blood Samples From the Rat by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A simple, sensitive HPLC assay using flurescence detection was developed for quantitation of verapamil and its active metabolite, norverapamil in 100-200 μl blood samples from the rat. Baseline separation of verapamil, normverapamil and internal standard, propranolol, was attained within 14 minutes. Standard curves for verapamil and norverapamil were linear from 7 ng/ml to 1000 ng/ml with limit of detection of 4 ng/ml for both Compounds. the intraday and interday coefficients of variation in verapamil and norverapamil concentrations, determined from spiked whole blood samples, were less than 10%.