A high-throughput approach for the determination of pesticide residues in cucumber samples using solid-phase microextraction on 96-well plate

A high-throughput solid-phase microextraction (SPME) on 96-well plate together with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was developed for the determination of some selected pesticides in cucumber samples. Pieces with the length of 1.0 cm of silicon tubing were precisely prepared and then coated on the end part of stainless steel wires. The prepared fibers were positioned in a home-made polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based constructed ninety-six holes block to have the possibility of simultaneous immersion of the SPME fibers into the center of individual wells. Pesticides such as diazinon, penconazol, tebuconazol, bitertanol, malathion, phosalone and chlorpyrifos-methyl were selected for their highly application in cucumber field. The performances of the SPME fibers, such as intra and inter-fibers reproducibility, were evaluated and the results showed a good similarity in extraction yields. A volume of 1 mL of the aquatic supernatant of the cucumber samples was transferred into the 96-well plate and the array of SPME fibers was applied for the extraction of the selected pesticides. The important parameters influencing the whole extraction process including, organic solvent percent, salt addition, dilution factor, stirring rate and extraction time were optimized. The inter- and intra-day RSD% were found to be less than 15.4%. Limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) were below 60 and 180 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. The coefficient of determination was satisfactory (r² > 0.99) for all the studied analytes. The developed method was successfully applied to the monitoring of several samples gathered from local markets.     

Parallel electromembrane extraction in the 96-well format

The repeatability and extraction recoveries of parallel electromembrane extraction (Pa-EME) was thoroughly investigated in the present project. Amitriptyline, fluoxetine, and haloperidol were isolated from eight samples of pure water, undiluted human plasma, and undiluted human urine, respectively; in total 24 samples were processed in parallel. The repeatability was found to be independent of the different sample matrices (pure water samples, human plasma, and water) processed in parallel, although the respective samples contained different matrix components. In another experiment seven of the 24 wells were perforated. Even though the perforation caused the total current level in the Pa-EME setup to increase, the intact circuits were unaffected by the collapse in seven of the circuits. In another approach, exhaustive extraction of amitriptyline, fluoxetine, and haloperidol was demonstrated from pure water samples. Amitriptyline and haloperidol were also isolated exhaustively from undiluted human plasma samples; the extraction recovery of fluoxetine from undiluted human plasma was 81%. Finally, the sample throughput was increased with the Pa-EME configuration. The extraction recoveries were investigated by processing 1, 8, 68, or 96 samples in parallel in 10 min; neither the extraction recoveries nor the repeatability was affected by the total numbers of samples. Eventually, the Pa-EME was combined with ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) to combine high-throughput sample preparation with high-throughput analytical instrumentation. The aim of the present investigation was to demonstrate the potential of electromembrane extraction as a high throughput sample preparation platform; and hopefully to increase the interest for EME in the bioanalytical field to solve exisiting and novel analytical challenges.     

Screening of peptide affinity tags using immobilised metal affinity chromatography in 96-well plate format

A method for high throughput screening of Green Fluorescent Proteins carrying metal binding tags in bacteria was developed. A random four amino acids tag-peptide library was successfully generated in E. coli. A 96-microtiter plate assembled with metal-iminodiacetic acid small cryogel columns was used for library screening. For the first time we were able to simultaneously screen a metal binding peptide tags library obtained from E. coli against different metal ions. From screening 25 different tags, three clones were able to bind to all metal ions studied (Ni2+, Zn2+, Co2+ and Cd2+). It was clearly demonstrated that the new construct could facilitate the screening of large peptide libraries.     

Optimization of in-gel protein digestion system in combination with thin-gel separation and negative staining in 96-well plate format

Improvement of in-gel digestion efficiency is highly desirable for one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoretic separation and mass spectrometric (MS) analysis in proteomics, because the resultant increases in sequence coverage and MS signal intensity lead to higher confidence in protein identification. Here an optimized in-gel digestion system, in combination with thin-gel separation and negative staining in a high-throughput format using 96-well plates, is described. The combination of negative staining and protein separation on a 0.9 mm thick gel showed a clear improvement in in-gel digestion efficiency in comparison with the more typical protocols such as the combination of silver staining and a 1.0 mm gel. In addition, the use of 96-well plates to increase throughput did not decrease the efficiency of this strategy when the stirring of the gel pieces in processes such as destaining, washing, gel-shrinking and peptide extraction was performed by sonication instead of shaking the plates. This procedure was optimized and applied to identify proteins of the postsynaptic density fraction; 105 proteins were identified after SDS-PAGE separation.     

Frozen water phase method for logD measurement using a 96-well plate

In this study, a frozen water phase method for log D measurement using a 96-well plate was developed. In the case of log D measurement of compounds, the problem of octanol contamination often occurs; in lipophilic compounds, the concentration of the octanol phase is much higher than that of the water phase. When the water phase is separated from the octanol phase, a small amount of octanol phase contamination could strongly influence the concentration of the water phase. To avoid this problem, the frozen water phase method was developed. The water phase was frozen in liquid nitrogen and then the unfrozen octanol phase was removed. To remove the portion of the octanol remaining on the frozen water phase, the surface of the frozen water phase was washed with octanol and water/ethanol (50/50, v/v). The validity of the method was confirmed by results of commercially available drugs at the log D range from 0 to 4. Further, it was found that this method had the ability to evaluate the pH-log D profile of compounds in the range from pH 2 to pH 12. As a result, we developed the convenient and accurate method that is effective in preventing contamination with a wide dynamic range.     

Development and validation of a method for fipronil residue determination in ovine plasma using 96-well plate solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Fipronil, a phenylpyrazole insecticide introduced for pest control on a broad range of crops, undergoes a reinforcement of the regulation within the European Union (2007/52/EC directive) due to its potential effects on environment and human health. In order to assess the plasmatic concentrations of fipronil residues (sulfone, sulfide, fipronil, desulfinyl and amide) in ovine, a methodology based on gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was developed and validated according to the European standard (2002/657/EC). The proposed method allows a large number of samples to be treated concurrently (n=80) using a reduced sample amounts (0.2 mL), and consents to reach a level of quantification of 0.1 pg microL(-1). The sample preparation consisted of a single solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification on a 96-well plate filled with a styrene-divinyl-benzene phase. Linearity was demonstrated all along the investigated range of concentrations, i.e. from 0.25 to 2000 pg microL(-1), with coefficient of determination (R(2)) from 0.977 to 0.994, depending on target analytes. Calculated decision limit (CCalpha) and detection capability (CCbeta) for fipronil, sulfone and sulphide were in the range 0.05-0.16 and 0.28-0.73 pg microL(-1) respectively.     

96-well plate-to-plate gravity fluorous solid-phase extraction (F-SPE) for solution-phase library purification

Large particle size (125_210 microm) fluorous silica gel bonded with a -SiCH2CH2C8F17 stationary phase has been employed for gravity-driven fluorous solid-phase extraction (F-SPE) on two types of 96-well plates. A 1 or 0.75 g portion of fluorous silica is packed to each well of the 3.5-mL Ex-Blok and the 2.2-mL deep-well filtration plates, respectively. Up to 50 mg of reaction mixture is loaded and then eluted with a fluorophobic solvent (DMSO, DMF, or 85:15 DMF-H2O). Products collected in 96-well receiving plates are directly concentrated on a GeneVac vacuum centrifuge. This simple and highly efficient plate-to-plate F-SPE technique has been demonstrated in the purification of four 96-compound libraries produced by scavenging reactions with 1-(perfluoroctyl)propyl isatoic anhydride (F-IA), amide coupling reactions with 2-chloro-4,6-bis[(perfluorooctyl)propyloxy]-1,3,5-triazine (F-CDMT) or 2,4-dichloro-6-(perfluorooctyl)propyloxy-1,3,5-triazine (F-DCT), and Mitsunobu reactions with fluorous diethyl azodicarboxylate (F-DEAD) and triphenylphosphine (F-TPP). Approximately 80% of products in each library have greater than 85% purity after F-SPE without conducting chromatography.     

A novel automated electrochemical ascorbic acid assay in the 24-well microtiter plate format

Automatic ascorbic acid (AA) voltammetry was established in 24-well microtiter plates. The assay used a movable assembly of a pencil rod working, an Ag/AgCl reference and a Pt counter electrode with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) for concentration-dependent current generation. A computer was in command of electrode (z) and microtiter plate (x, y) positioning and timed potentiostat operation. Synchronization of these actions supported sequential approach of all wells and subsequent execution of electrode treatment procedures or AA voltammetry at defined intervals in a measuring cycle. DPV in well solutions offered a linear current/concentration range between 0.1 and 8.0 mM, a sensitivity of about 1 μA mM⁻¹ AA, and a detection limit of 50 μM. When used with a calibration curve or standard addition, automated voltammetry of samples with added known amounts of AA demonstrated good recovery rates. Also, the assay achieved the accurate determination of the AA content of vitamin C tablets, a fruit juice and an herbal tea extract. Robotic AA voltammetry has the advantage of conveniently handling multiple samples in a single measuring run without the continuous attention of laboratory personnel. It is a good option when the goal is cost-effective AA screening of sample libraries and has potential for applications in health care and the food processing, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.     

High-throughput micro-solid phase extraction on 96-well plate using dodecyl methacrylate-ethylen glycol dimethacrylate monolithic copolymer

A novel high-throughput device based on 96-micro-solid phase extraction (96-μ-SPE) system was constructed for multiresidue determination of nine pesticides in aquatic samples. The extraction procedure was performed on a commercially available 96-well plate system. The extraction module consisted of 96 pieces of 1 cm × 3 cm of cylindrically shaped stainless steel meshes. The prepared meshes were fixed in a home-made polytetrafluoroethylene-based constructed ninety-six holes block for possible simultaneous immersion of meshes into the center of individual wells. Dodecyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate was copolymerized as a monolithic polymer and placed in the cylindrically shaped stainless steel meshes as extracting medium. A volume of 1 mL of the aquatic sample was transferred into the 96-well plate and the 96-μ-SPE device was applied for the extraction of the selected pesticides. Subsequently, the extracted analytes were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Influential parameters such as polymer synthesis conditions, sorbent-to-sorbent reproducibility, ionic strength and extraction time were optimized. Intra and inter-sorbent reproducibility on 96-μ-SPE device were evaluated and results revealed that extraction yields are rather similar. Limits of detection were below 4 μg L⁻¹ and the coefficient of determination was satisfactory (r² > 0.99) for all the studied analytes. The developed method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of the selected pesticides in surface water samples.     

Performance of an ultra-low elution-volume 96-well plate: drug discovery and development applications

Recently, sample preparation has been considered to be the major cause of bottlenecks during high-throughput analysis. With the assistance of robotic liquid handlers and the 96-well plate format, more samples can be prepared for subsequent liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis. Protein precipitation is still widely used despite potential loss of sensitivity or variable results due to ion suppression. The use of solid-phase extraction (SPE) clearly gives superior results but may not be as cost effective as protein precipitation due to the labor and material costs associated with the process. Here, a novel 96-well SPE plate is described that was designed to minimize the elution volume required for quantitative elution of analytes. The plate is packed with 2 mg of a high-capacity SPE sorbent that allows loading of up to 750 microL of plasma, while the novel design permits elution with as little as 25 microL. Therefore, the plate offers up to a 15-fold increase in sample concentration. The evaporation and reconstitution step that is typically required in SPE is avoided due to the concentrating ability of the plate. Examples of applications in drug discovery/development are shown and results are compared to protein precipitation. Excellent sensitivity and linearity are demonstrated.     

Electrosorption-enhanced solid-phase microextraction of trace anions using a platinum plate coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes

A platinum plate coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs@Pt) was prepared by means of electrophoretic deposition. Using the SWCNTs@Pt plate, an electrosorption-enhanced solid-phase microextraction (EE-SPME) technique was proposed for the extraction of trace anions in water, described as follows: a positive potential was applied to the SWCNTs@Pt plate to extract F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻ from water using electrosorption, and then a negative potential was applied to the plate placed in ultra-pure water for the desorption of the absorbed anions, and finally the desorbed anions were analyzed using ion chromatography (IC). The EE-SPME parameters, including extraction potential and time as well as desorption potential and time, were investigated. An analytical method based on the above procedures, i.e., EE-SPME-IC, was established and used for the analysis of trace anions in water. The results showed that the application of potential on the SWCNTs@Pt plate significantly enhanced the ion extraction efficiency, and an enrichment factor of 15-38 was achieved. The SWCNTs@Pt plate could be used more than 50 times without significant decay. The linear range, the limit of detection (S/N = 3), the limit of quantification (S/N = 10) and repeatability (n = 7) of our EE-SPME-IC method were 1.0-150.0 μg/L, 0.06-0.26 μg/L, 0.19-0.85 μg/L and 2.1-8.0%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of trace anions in deionized water, and acceptable recoveries between 65.3 and 121.1% were obtained for the spiked deionized water samples.     

Liquid-liquid extraction using 96-well plate format in conjunction with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for quantitative determination of methylphenidate (Ritalin) in human plasma

Methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin: methyl-alpha-phenyl-2-piperidinacetate hydrochloride) is utilized for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Recently, we described a rapid enantioselective liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for the determination of the enantiomers of MPH (Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 1999; 13: 2054). A lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 87 pg/mL was attained for the human plasma assay. The present paper describes a high-throughput sample preparation procedure in conjunction with racemic LC/MS/MS analysis for MPH with a LLOQ of 50 pg/mL. A semi-automated robotics method using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in a 96-well plate format was developed and validated. The correlation coefficients were > or =0.998 for MPH indicating good fits of the regression models over the range of the calibration curve. The accuracy and precision of the semi-automated approach were comparable to those obtained using the manual sample preparation technique reported previously (vide supra). The current method can easily be adapted to the enantioselective LC/MS/MS assay of MPH. The assay was simple, fast, specific, and exhibited excellent ruggedness.     

Enantiomeric separation and quantification of fluoxetine (Prozac) in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry using liquid-liquid extraction in 96-well plate format

Fluoxetine (Prozac) is currently one of the widely prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of depression. A high-throughput sample preparation procedure using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in a 96-well plate format in conjunction with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) was developed and validated for quantification of fluoxetine enantiomers in human plasma. After addition of internal standard and ammonium hydroxide, samples were extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic extract was evaporated to dryness and reconstituted in methanol. Where possible, sample transfer and LLE steps were automated using a Tomtec Quadra 96 workstation. Adequate separation of fluoxetine enantiomeric pairs (resolution of 1.17) was achieved on a vancomycin column eluted with methanol containing 0.075% (by weight) ammonium trifluoroacetate. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, operated in the multiple reaction monitoring mode at m/z 310-->44 for fluoxetine enantiomeric pairs and m/z 287-->241 for oxazepam (internal standard), was used. Analysis was performed in the positive ion mode using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). The standard curve range was 2.0-1000 ng/mL for each fluoxetine enantiomer. The intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy of the quality control (QC) samples were <12.5% (CV) and <13.6% (CV), respectively, for each fluoxetine enantiomer; the correlation coefficient was >0.990. Method ruggedness was demonstrated by the reproducible performance of the assay during a three-day validation period.     

Developing multiple high-throughput GLP methods for an investigational drug candidate in various matrices within a 96-well plate

In early pharmaceutical product development, an investigational drug candidate is typically dosed to various species for toxicological and pharmacokinetic studies. Most of these studies require multiple analytical methods that have to be validated with good laboratory practice (GLP) prior to the application in regulated studies. Usually, these analytical methods are developed in either a serial or parallel approach. For either approach, the development of multiple analytical methods takes tremendous work from scientists and instruments, and thus is not cost-effective. In this respect, a new strategy has been developed for simultaneous GLP method development using liquid chromatographic separation and tandem mass spectrometric detection. This high-throughput approach allows system suitability, carryover, calibration curve, accuracy, precision, matrix effect and selectivity to be evaluated in one 96-well plate. The strategy has been successfully implemented for multiple investigational drug candidates at Abbott Laboratories. The methods developed with this strategy are accurate, precise, selective, robust and matrix-independent. As an example, ABT-279 was used to demonstrate the feasibility of this strategy.     

Determination of PNU-248686A,a novel matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor,in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry,following protein precipitation in the 96-well plate format

A sensitive, specific and high-throughput analytical method for the quantitation of PNU-248686A (I), in human plasma has been developed. I, sodium (2R)-3-[[(4'-chloro(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-yl]sulfonyl]-2-hydroxy-2-[(phenylsulfanyl)methyl] propanoate, is an orally active matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor developed for the treatment of solid tumors over-expressing MMPs. Concentrations of I, as free acid, were determined in human plasma by LC-MS-MS after plasma protein precipitation in the 96-well plate format. Aliquots of plasma (50 microl) were placed into the plates and 0.2 ml of methanol was added. The plates were shaken for 5 min and centrifuged at 1500 g for 10 min. Aliquots of 10 microl of the supernatants were then directly injected into the LC-MS-MS system. A Symmetry Shield C. column (50 x 2.1 mm, 3.5 microm) was used to perform the chromatographic analysis. The mobile phase was 5 mM ammonium formate buffer solution pH 5.0-acetonitrile (60:40. v/v) with a flow-rate of 0.3 ml/min. Retention time of I was about 1.2 min. Total cycle time was 2.5 min. MS detection used the Applied Biosystems-MDS Sciex API 3000 with TurbolonSpray interface and single reaction monitoring (461 --> 251 m/z transition) operated in negative ion mode. Calibration curves were constructed by plotting the area of the compound (y) against its concentration (x). A weighed linear regression (weighting factor 1/x(2)) was used to calculate I concentrations in quality control and unknown samples. The method was fully validated over the range of 5.0-5000 ng/ml. The suitability and robustness of the method for in vivo samples was confirmed by analysis of plasma samples from a pilot clinical study.     

Theory of solid-phase microextraction

The main objective of this contribution is to describe the fundamental concepts associated with solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Theory provides insight when developing SPME methods and identifies parameters for rigorous control and optimization. A mathematical model has been developed to understand the principal processes of SPME by applying basic fundamental principles of thermodynamics and diffusion theory. The model assumes idealized conditions and is limited to air, liquid, or headspace above liquid sampling. Theory for ideal cases can be quite accurate for trace concentrations in simple matrices such as air or drinking water at ambient conditions when secondary factors such as thermal expansion of polymers and changes in diffusion coefficients because of solutes in polymers can be neglected. When conditions are more complex, theory for ideal cases still efficiently estimates general relationships between parameters.     

Determination of (R)- and (S)-ketoprofen in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry following automated solid-phase extraction in the 96-well format

A sensitive and selective method was developed for the determination of (R)-ketoprofen ((R)-kt) and (S)-ketoprofen ((S)-kt) in human plasma using chiral liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Plasma samples spiked with stable-isotope-labeled [(13)C(1), (2)H(3)]-(R and S)-ketoprofen, for use as the internal standards, were prepared for analysis using automated solid-phase extraction (SPE) in the 96-well microtiter format. The enantiomers were separated on an (R)-1-naphthylglycine and 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid (Chirex 3005) 250x2.0 mm i.d. analytical column, equipped with a 30x2.0 mm i.d. guard column using isocratic mobile phase conditions. The (R)- and (S)-kt levels were quantifiable from 0.05 to 2500 ng ml(-1) by constructing two separate curves from calibration standards covering the same range. The first curve ranged from 0.05 to 100 and the second from 100 to 2500 ng ml(-1). A concentration of 0.05 ng ml(-1) of either enantiomer was easily detected using a 1 ml plasma sample volume. The average method accuracy, evaluated at four levels over an extended period, was better than +/-3% over the entire range. The precision for the same set of quality control samples ranged from 4.0 to 7.0 % RSD (n = 24). The method was applied to the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters in human plasma obtained from volunteers who received 25 mg of kt by peroral administration of Actron caplets or by topical administration of Oruvail gel.     

Study on a novel circulating cooling solid-phase microextraction method

A novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) setup, circulating cooling solid-phase microextraction (CC-SPME), is developed for determining organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water. The linearity area of this method is 0.5-120 microg/l, its RSD value is less than 10% and detection limit is in the low ng/l when it is used to detect gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, which is better than traditional headspace SPME (HS-SPME) and direct immersion SPME (DI-SPME) methods. The influence of factors such as pH, ionic intensity, adsorption time, and adsorption temperature were also investigated, respectively.     

Improved procedure for the the determination of rofecoxib in human plasma involving 96-well solid-phase extraction and fluorescence detection

An improved assay for the determination of rofecoxib in human plasma samples is described. The analyte and an internal standard were extracted from the plasma matrix using solid-phase extraction in the 96-well format with an Empore C8-SD extraction plate. The analytes are chromatographed on a Waters Symmetry C18 analytical column (3.5 microm, 50x4.6 mm) with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water (35:65, v/v). Analyte detection was via fluorescence following post-column photochemical derivatization. Eight point calibration curves over the concentration range of 0.5-80 ng/ml yielded a linear response when a 1/y weighted linear regression model was employed. Based on the replicate analyses (n=5) of spiked standards, the within-day assay precision was better than 8% RSD at all points on the calibration curve, within-day accuracy was within 6% of nominal at all standard concentrations. The between-run precision and accuracy of the assay, as calculated from the results of the analysis of quality control samples, was better than 7% RSD and within 5% of nominal. Assay throughput was improved by a factor of three as compared to previously described methods. The method was partially automated using a combination of a Packard Multi-Probe liquid handling system and a TomTec Quadra 96 workstation.     

Evolution of solid-phase microextraction technology

The main objective of this contribution is to describe the development of the concepts, techniques and devices associated with solid-phase microextraction, as a response to the evolution of understanding of the fundamental principles behind this technique. The discussion begins with an historical perspective on the very early work conduced almost a decade ago. As new fundamental understanding about the functioning of the technology developed, new ways of constructing and using the SPME devices evolved.