Highly sensitive method for the determination of 5-fluorouracil in biological samples in the presence of 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A highly sensitive and convenient gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method is described for the determination of 5-fluorouracil in the presence of 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (which breaks down into 5-fluorouracil during ordinary GC derivatization) in biological samples such as plasma and urine. After extraction with ethyl acetate, 5-fluorouracil and 5-chlorouracil, the latter being used as an internal standard, were converted into their tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives by allowing the mixture to stand for 30 min at room temperature and were assayed by electron-impact ionization GC-MS. Under these conditions, 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine did not decompose or interfere with the determination of 5-fluorouracil. The assay method, including the extraction and tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatization of 5-fluorouracil, showed good linearity in the range 0-100 ng/ml for 5-fluorouracil in plasma (detection limit 0.5 ng/ml) and urine (detection limit 1 ng/ml). The usefulness of this method was demonstrated by determining plasma concentrations of 5-fluorouracil in rats treated intravenously with 5-fluorouracil and 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine.     

Capillary gas chromatographic analysis of amino acids in blood and protein hydrolysates as tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives

A method is given for a one-step derivatization and gas chromatography of amino acids in blood and protein hydrolysates. Blood samples are partially purified by solvent extraction. Protein hydrolysates are neutralized with a triethylamine solution. Then tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives of the amino acids are prepared in a one-step procedure and separated on a 30-m fused-silica SE-30 capillary column. Except for tryptophan and cystine, amino acids are eluted within 30 min. Amino acids are derivatized more rapidly than their corresponding trimethylsilyl derivatives and do not degrade on the long fused-silica columns.     

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of monohydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids as their methyl esters trimethylsilyl, allyldimethylsilyl and tert.-butyldimethylsilyl ethers

The gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties of the monohydroxy acids 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE), 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) as their methyl ester trimethylsilyl, methyl ester allyldimethylsilyl and methyl ester tert.-butyldimethylsilyl ethers were investigated. The gas chromatographic properties of the trimethylsilyl and tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives were found to be excellent while the allyldimethylsilyl derivative required a well deactivated column. The mass spectra of these silyl derivatives with the exception for 12-HETE did not exhibit particularly intense ions in the upper mass region. A quantitative analysis by selected-ion monitoring of the most intense ion in the upper mass region of respective mass spectrum demonstrated that a detection limit in the low picogram range could only be obtained for 12-HETE. Since the mass spectra indicated that the double bonds exerted a strong influence on the fragmentation pattern, the trimethylsilyl, allyldimethylsilyl and tert.-butyldimethylsilyl ethers of the methyl esters of the reduced analogues of the monohydroxy acids were prepared. The saturation of the double bonds completely altered the fragmentation patterns and very intense ions carrying a high percentage of the total ion abundance were found in all of the mass spectra. The developed technique was utilized for measurements of 5-HETE in lung tissue samples from patients with lung cancer.     

Artifact-free matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectra of tert.-butyldimethylsilyl ether derivatives of cyclodextrins used for the synthesis of single-isomer, chiral resolving agents for capillary electrophoresis

Artifact-free, high-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectra have been obtained for the labile, single-isomer, tert.-butyldimethylsilyl ether derivatives of alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins by optimizing the MALDI sample preparation method. 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid, a 3:1 mixture of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and 1-hydroxyisoquinoline, and 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone were investigated as MALDI matrices with methanol and acetonitrile as matrix solvents. Partial-to-complete loss of the tert.-butyldimethylsilyl groups was observed when the commonly used 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid was the MALDI matrix and/or methanol was the solvent, both with and without trifluoroacetic acid as additive. Loss of the labile tert.-butyldimethylsilyl groups was avoided with 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone as MALDI matrix and acetonitrile as matrix solvent. Good ion intensities were achieved for the (M+Na)+ and (M+K)+ quasimolecular ions in the positive-ion mode. Minor byproducts were observed in some of the samples and the information was used to aid the optimization of the synthetic work.     

Metabolic studies with phenobarbitone, primidone and their N-alkyl derivatives: quantification of substrates and metabolites using chemical ionization gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Metabolic studies with phenobarbitone, primidone and some of their N-alkyl derivatives required the concurrent assay of any mixture of these substrates (twelve compounds) and their major metabolites (an additional twenty-two compounds) in urine. The method described in the present report met this requirement by incorporating two complementary derivatization techniques into a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) assay procedure. Following hydrolysis of conjugates with beta-glucuronidase, urine samples were extracted with ethyl acetate (3 X 5 ml). The combined extracts were dried over sodium sulphate, divided into two equal portions, and the solvent was removed. One residue was derivatized by propylation using 1-iodopropane with base catalysis. The other residue was silylated using methyl-N-(tert.-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide. The derivatives in each case were analysed by GC-MS, using temperature-programmed packed-column GC and chemical ionization MS. Mass spectra were acquired over an appropriate mass range, and peak areas for the compounds of interest were determined from specific mass chromatograms. Satisfactory precision, accuracy, specificity and sensitivity were obtained for all analytes. All compounds produced satisfactory derivatives by at least one procedure; twelve compounds could be analysed by both techniques. The method illustrates the utility of chemical ionization GC-MS for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of multiple related analytes in complex biological samples.     

Investigation of combwax of honeybees with high-temperature gas chromatography and high-temperature gas chromatography-chemical ionization mass spectrometry. I. High-temperature gas chromatography.

The combwaxes of the honeybee species Apis mellifera, Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis laboriosa, Apis florea and Apis andreniformis have been examined by high-temperature gas chromatography. Combwax consists of a complex mixture of homologous neutral lipids. These compounds containing up to 64 carbons were chromatographed intact on a 10 m x 0.2 mm high-temperature stable SOP-50-PFD (50%-diphenyl/50%-1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecylmethylpolysiloxane)-co ated Duran glass capillary column. The use of this stationary phase results in lower retention values and, at last, in lower thermal stress of the analytes. In order to minimize the discrimination effect due to adsorption and/or degradation, a two-step derivatization was performed resulting in the formation of tert.-butyldimethylsilyl esters of the long chain fatty acids and trimethylsilyl ethers of complex hydroxyesters, respectively. The derivatization procedure was optimized using a modification of the extended Donike test. In addition this test allows the quantification of the thermal stability of the derivatives performed. The derivatization procedure was applied for combwax analysis. More than 80 compounds were separated and their peak areas semiquantitatively exploited.     

Simultaneous analysis of amino acid and biogenic polyamines by high-performance liquid chromatography after pre-column derivatization with N-(9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyloxy)succinimide

A high-performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous analysis of amino acids and biogenic polyamines, using a new procedure for pre-column derivatization of amino groups with N-(9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyloxy)succinimide is described. The separation of 20 amino acids and 4 biogenic polyamines was achieved within 32 min on a sequence of three short (50 mm) reversed-phase C18, 5 microm columns by elution buffers based on dibutylamine phosphate. The method linearity, calculated for each amino acid and polyamine, has a correlation coefficient higher than 0.991, in concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 50 microM, except for spermine and methionine, where the correlation coefficients were r = 0.984 and r = 0.979, respectively. The stability of derivatives in acidified samples at 4 degrees C and room temperature was demonstrated. The limit of quantitation was estimated to be around 50 pM in 50 microl sample injection. The repeatability of the method, expressed as R.S.D., ranged from 1.1 to 6.7%. The presented method was applied for the quantitation of amino acid and polyamine contents in beer, wine, and cell culture samples, using 2-aminoheptanoic acid or 1,7-diaminoheptane as internal standard.     

Some new protocols for the assignment of absolute configuration by NMR spectroscopy using chiral solvating agents and CDAs

The utility of enantiopure BINOL (1,10-Bi-2-naphthol), in a ternary ion-pair complex, which is obtained using a carboxylic acid and an organic base, as a versatile chiral solvating agent (CSA) has been demonstrated for chiral analysis and the absolute configuration assignment of hydroxy acids. Another protocol where the utility of NOBIN as a CSA has been developed for discrimination and absolute configuration assignment of acids, hydroxy acids and their derivatives with a distinct strategy where a third ingredient, p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) serves as a linker. In addition some three component chiral derivatization protocols have been introduced, such as the use of 2-formylphenylboronic acid and enantiopure mandelic acid or a primary amine for the determination of the configuration of primary amines and hydroxy acids, respectively. A simple, rapid and highly efficient three component chiral derivatizing protocol has also been discussed which was developed for assigning the absolute configuration of chiral α-hydroxy acids and their derivatives, which involves the coupling of 2-formylphenylboronic acid with (R)-[1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine, and (S)-[1,1-binaphthalene]-2,2-diamine separately. In a few examples, the DFT based theoretical calculations have been carried out to determine the geometry optimized structures of the complexes.     

New hydrolysis method for extremely small amount of lipids and capillary gas chromatographic analysis as n(O)-tert.-butyldimethylsilyl fatty acid derivatives compared with methyl ester derivatives

The organic basic solution, 1 M tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) in methanol, was employed for the hydrolysis of extremely small amounts of lipids compared to the classical inorganic basic solution, 1 M KOH in ethanol. The hydrolysed fatty acids were derivatized as N(O)-tert.-butyldimethylsilyl (tBDMSi) esters with N-methyl-N-(tert.-butyldimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) and compared with the classical derivatives, the methyl esters, made by the BF3-methanol method. Recoveries of fatty acids determined on the standard fatty acids and soybean oil hydrolysed with TMAH were high: about 1.1-2.1- and 2.0-5.4-times, respectively, in all fatty acids compared with the hydrolysis by KOH regardless of derivatization method. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) on the recoveries of standard fatty acids were less than 5% when hydrolysed with TMAH, regardless of derivatives, but when hydrolysed with KOH, RSDs were more than 5% for most fatty acids, especially for long-chain fatty acids. The RSDs on the recoveries of fatty acids on the soybean oil were also very high in the KOH hydrolysis. Fatty acid compositions of soybean oil were similar in the main fatty acids regardless of hydrolysis methods, but showed slightly different values, depending on the methods of derivatization. RSDs were also very high in the KOH hydrolysis. In view of these results, precision of analysis by KOH hydrolysis was very poor, so we could not rely on the data. On the other hand, the reliability of data by TMAH hydrolysis method was very high, so it is a useful new hydrolysis method for extremely small amounts of lipid samples. Both derivatives of 35 standard fatty acids were successfully separated on a HP-1 nonpolar capillary column. tBDMSi derivatives were completely resolved in 70 min by 295 degrees C. In the methyl ester derivatives it took about 80 min to get satisfying resolution, but these derivatives were completely resolved by 250 degrees C. The sensitivity of tBDMSi derivatives was about 1.5-6.3-times higher than that with methyl ester derivatives. The stability of tBDMSi derivatives was constant for about 144 h except arachidic, docosahexanoic, behenic and heneicosanoic acids, which were stable for only 86 h.     

Comprehensive chemical derivatization for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based multi-targeted profiling of the major phytohormones

In the present investigation we report selection of the N-methyl-N-(tert.-butydimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) reagent as the most comprehensive derivatization protocol among 17 tested reactions covering trifluoroacetylation, pentafluorobenzylation, methylations, and trimethylsilylations. MTBSTFA allowed easy and robust tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatization of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, (+/-)-jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, (+/-)-abscisic acid, meta-topolin, and trans-zeatin. Detection limits as analysed by selected ion monitoring quadrupole GC-MS were 0.2, 0.01, 1.0, 0.02, 0.3, 0.3, and 0.9 pmol of injected substance, respectively. Analysis of gibberellic acid A3, trans-zeatin riboside and (+/-)-abscisic acid-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester was best when coupled by splitting extracts and trimethysilylation. The MTBSTFA derivatization protocol was optimised, and validated. The preparation was insensitive to 2% residual water and to < or = 1 day storage at room temperature. The final scheme was highly reproducible and successfully applied to extracts from approximately 300 mg (fresh mass) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) root and Arabidopsis thaliana seedling.     

Capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of valproic acid metabolites in serum and urine using tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives

A quantitative method has been developed for valproic acid and twelve of its metabolites using capillary gas chromatography--mass spectrometry with selected-ion monitoring. The method is applicable to serum or urine and all metabolites are measured in a single run. Ions selected for quantitative purposes were the characteristic (M-57)+ ions of the tert.-butyldimethylsilyl (tBDMS) derivatives. The 4-hydroxyvalproic acid was measured as the gamma-lactone. Calibration curves were found to be linear and the sensitivities in the order of 0.1 microgram/ml. Patient data are presented. A comparison of tBDMS and trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives showed that tBDMS gave superior sensitivity for the unsaturated metabolites and a shorter analysis time. Mixed tBDMS-TMS derivatives were also investigated.     

Development of conditions for the derivatization of phenyl carboxylic acids isolated from blood using gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry

A method is described for increasing the sensitivity and selectivity of determination of phenyl carboxylic acids (low molecular sepsis markers) in blood using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Mass spectra of trimethylsilyl and tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives of the target compounds are studied, their structures and molecular ion fragmentation to characteristic m/z values are determined. To prevent the ingress of derivatization agents into the chromatograph-mass spectrometer, the possibility of reagent substitution with inert solvents after the derivatization reaction is studied. The loss of analytes derivatives in the process is estimated. The time dependence of the degree of derivatization of phenyl carboxylic acids in a wide concentration range is investigates using blood serum samples. The chosen optimum conditions are universal for the entire range of analytes over a wide concentration range.     

Capillary gas chromatography of amino acids as their tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives in the analysis of serum amino acids in metabolic diseases

Reaction of amino acids with N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroaceamide (MTbSTFA) in acetonitrile affords good yields of amino acid derivatives with excellent gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties. The single-step derivatization procedure is highly reproducible. The TBDMS amino acids are stable at room temperature for at least three days. Only a single peak is observed for each amino acid. The procedure allows simultaneous analysis of asparagine and glutamine together with other serum amino acids. Separation is achieved on a borosilicate glass capillary coated with OV-1. The mass spectra of the TBDMS amino acids possess characteristic diagnostic ions. These properties were used in the sensitive detection by GC-MS and SIM-GC-MS of GABA and pipecolic acid in the serum of a newborn suspected of a Zellweger-type syndrome, which could not be detected by other methods.     

Analysis of primary aromatic amines using precolumn derivatization by HPLC fluorescence detection and online MS identification

2-(2-phenyl-1H-phenanthro-[9,10-d]imidazole-1-yl)-acetic acid (PPIA) and 2-(9-acridone)-acetic acid (AAA), two novel precolumn fluorescent derivatization reagents, have been developed and compared for analysis of primary aromatic amines by high performance liquid chromatographic fluorescence detection coupled with online mass spectrometric identification. PPIA and AAA react rapidly and smoothly with the aromatic amines on the basis of a condensation reaction using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) as dehydrating catalyst to form stable derivatives with emission wavelengths at 380 and 440 nm, respectively. Taking six primary aromatic amines (aniline, 2-methylaniline, 2-methoxyaniline, 4-methylaniline, 4-chloroaniline, and 4-bromoaniline) as testing compounds, derivatization conditions such as coupling reagent, basic catalyst, reaction temperature and time, reaction solvent, and fluorescent labeling reagent concentration have also been investigated. With the better PPIA method, chromatographic separation of derivatized aromatic amines exhibited a good baseline resolution on an RP column. At the same time, by online mass spectrometric identification with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source in positive ion mode, the PPIA-labeled derivatives were characterized by easy-to-interpret mass spectra due to the prominent protonated molecular ion m/z [M + H](+) and specific fragment ions (MS/MS) m/z 335 and 295. The linear range is 24.41 fmol-200.0 pmol with correlation coefficients in the range of 0.9996-0.9999, and detection limits of PPIA-labeled aromatic amines are 0.12-0.21 nmol/L (S/N = 3). Method repeatability, precision, and recovery were evaluated and the results were excellent for the efficient HPLC analysis. The most important argument, however, was the high sensitivity and ease-of-handling of the PPIA method. Preliminary experiments with wastewater samples collected from the waterspout of a paper mill and its nearby soil where pollution with aromatic amines may be expected show that the method is highly validated with little interference in the chromatogram.     

Efficiency of pretreatment of aqueous samples using a macroporous strong anion-exchange resin on the determination of nerve gas hydrolysis products by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after tert.-butyldimethylsilylation

A pretreatment procedure, using a macroporous strong anion-exchange resin (MSA) has been established for the determination of nerve gas hydrolysis products by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after tert.-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) derivatization. Aqueous solutions of methylphosphonic acid (MPA) and three alkyl methylphosphonic acids (AMPAs) (ethyl, isopropyl and pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid), were retained on the MSA column, and then quantitatively eluted with 0.1 M hydrochloric acid. The neutralized column eluate was dried, and MPA and AMPAs were derivatized with N-methyl-N-(tert.-butyldimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide and analyzed by GC-MS. The column eluate was also analyzed in order to determine the exact hydrolysis product levels by capillary electrophoresis using borate and benzoate buffer (pH 6). The MSA pretreatment was examined for the clean-up of aqueous extracts of three types of soils and an aqueous solution containing 10% sucrose, which is regarded as model for a typical soft drink, after spiking with MPA and AMPAs. MPA and AMPAs were quantitatively recovered in the MSA eluate fraction from those samples, except for MPA from volcanic acid and alluvial soils. The yields of TBDMS derivatives were remarkably improved, compared with for which no pretreatment was used and also for those in which a strong cation-exchange resin was used. The achieved detection limits of MPA and AMPAs ranged from 0.12 to 0.18 microg/g of soil (S/N=3). The established MSA method was applied to the pretreatment of spiked sea water, two types of beverages, Pepsi Cola and canned coffee. Although the yields of TBDMS derivatives of MPA and AMPAs in sea water (in a range between 44 and 96%) and AMPAs in Pepsi Cola (in a range between 58 and 92%) were rather high, those for MPA in the Pepsi Cola (27%) and those for MPA and AMPAs in the canned coffee (in a range between 5 and 17%) were low.     

Ferrocene derivatives of liquid chiral molecules allow assignment of absolute configuration by X-ray crystallography

The present study investigates a synthetically simple ferrocene derivatization of natural products and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Seven new crystal structures are analyzed together with 16 structures of ferrocene derivatives reported previously. In all cases, the unambiguous determination of the absolute structure was established from anomalous dispersion using the methods of Flack and Parsons. A comparison with other derivatization approaches shows the advantage of the described ferrocene derivatization for establishing the absolute configuration of novel compounds.     

Determination of the GABAergic antidepressant drug fengabine and some of its metabolites in plasma by capillary gas chromatography with electron-capture detection

A sensitive capillary gas chromatographic method was developed for the determination of fengabine (a GABAergic antidepressant drug) and some of its metabolites in plasma samples. The method involves a single and rapid liquid-liquid extraction of the parent drug and metabolites from plasma buffered at pH 5, evaporation of the organic phase under nitrogen, derivatization to tert.-butyldimethylsilyl ethers and esters and automatic gas chromatography on a fused-silica, silicone-bonded capillary column coupled to an electron-capture detector. The detection limit for fengabine and other compounds is lower than 1 ng/ml in plasma; the method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic and drug monitoring clinical studies and tested on more than 2000 biological samples and was found not to suffer from endogenous or exogenous interferences.     

3-氨基-9-乙基咔唑衍生化寡糖混合物的高效液相色谱分离及激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱分析

建立了以3-氨基-9-乙基咔唑(AEC)为衍生化试剂对寡糖的标记方法。寡糖的还原端与AEC的伯氨基反应生成烯胺,再被NaBH3CN还原为二级胺,使得寡糖被AEC标记。衍生物通过反相高效液相色谱分离纯化,采用的色谱柱为Waters Symmetry C18柱(3.9 mm×150 mm,5 μm),乙腈和乙酸铵水溶液(pH 4.5)为流动相,梯度洗脱,在254 nm波长处检测,并以基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱进行分析。在此衍生化条件和色谱条件下,葡寡糖衍生物分离良好,并且AEC衍生可显著提高葡寡糖的质谱检测灵敏度。该方法适用于寡糖的分离纯化和结构分析,并与生物质谱具有良好的兼容性,表明该方法在微量寡糖链分析方面有广阔的应用前景。     

脂肪胺的高效液相色谱分离及质谱鉴定

 采用新型荧光试剂1,2-苯并-3,4-二氢咔唑-9-乙酸(BCAA)为柱前衍生化试剂,在Hypersil BDS-C18色谱柱上,通过梯度洗脱对12种游离脂肪胺进行了分离和在线质谱定性。以乙腈为溶剂,1-乙基-3-(3-二甲氨基丙基)环己碳二亚胺(EDAC)为缩合剂,在50 ℃条件下衍生反应15 min后获得稳定的荧光产物。激发波长和发射波长分别为333 nm和390 nm。采用大气压化学电离源(APCI)的正离子模式,实现了土壤和污水中脂肪胺的定性及其含量的测定。脂肪胺的线性相关系数大于0.9993,检测限为12~28 fmol。     

Optimization of solid-phase microextraction conditions for the determination of triclosan and possible related compounds in water samples

A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method for the determination of triclosan, methyl triclosan, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,3,4-trichlorophenol (considered as possible triclosan metabolites) in water samples was optimised. Analytes were first concentrated on a SPME fibre, directly exposed to the sample, and then triclosan and the two chlorinated phenols on-fibre silylated using N-methyl-N-(tert.-butyldimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA). Methyl triclosan remained unaffected during the derivatization step. Compounds were determined using gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Influence of different factors on the efficiency of extraction and derivatization steps was systematically investigated. Using a polyacrylate (PA) fibre quantification limits below 10 ng/l, and acceptable relative standard deviations, were obtained for all compounds after an extraction time of 30 min. On-fibre silylation was carried out in only 10 min. Moreover, the efficiency of the procedure was scarcely affected by the type of water sample. The method was applied to several samples of treated and raw wastewater, triclosan was found in all samples, at concentrations from 120 to 14,000 ng/l, and 2,4-dichlorophenol in most of them, at levels up to 2222 ng/l.