Development and validation of a hydrophilic interaction chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method with on-line polar extraction for the analysis of urinary nucleosides. Potential application in clinical diagnosis

The present paper describes the development, validation and application of a quantitative method for the determination of endogenous nucleosides and nucleobases in urine based on the on-line coupling of a solid-phase extraction step with hydrophilic interaction chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method combines the use of a highly polar restricted-access material (RAM), based on an N-vinylacetamide copolymer, for efficient analyte extraction and matrix removal, with separation by zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction chromatography (ZIC-HILIC), that revealed a satisfactory retention of the polar analytes studied. Detection using a triple quadrupole analyser allowed reliable identification and high-sensitivity quantitation of the target compounds. The on-line configuration developed, RAM-ZIC-HILIC-MS/MS, provides a convenient approach to automate the application to urine analysis, with minimum sample manipulation. The whole method was validated according to European Legislation for bioanalytical methods. The validation steps included the verification of matrix effects, calibration curve, precision, accuracy, selectivity, stability and carry-over in real samples. The results of the validation process revealed that the proposed method is suitable for the reliable determination of nucleosides and nucleobases in human urine, showing limits of detection from 0.1 to 1.3 ng mL(-1). The application to clinical samples was also checked; the results obtained in analyses of urine samples from healthy volunteers and cancer patients using Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy are also shown.     

Development and evaluation of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography‐MS/MS method to quantify 19 nucleobases and nucleosides in rat plasma

As essential endogenous compounds, nucleobases and nucleosides fulfill various functions in living organisms. This study presents the development and validation of a new hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of 19 nucleobases and nucleosides in rat plasma. For the sample preparation, 15 kinds of protein precipitants were evaluated according to the chromatographic profile and ion response of analytes. The optimization of chromatographic separation was respectively performed using reversed‐phase liquid chromatography and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography mode; each separation mode included two test columns with different stationary phases. The chromatographic profile and parameters such as half‐width (W _1/2), capacity factor (K ′) and tailing factor (f _t) were used to evaluate the separation efficiencies. Furthermore, the adopted composition of two mobile phase systems and the concentrations of the additives in the optimum buffer system were also investigated. The developed method was fully validated and successfully applied quantitatively to determine 19 nucleobases and nucleosides in plasma from normal and diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats. Significant differences between normal and DN rats were found in plasma levels of cytosine, xanthine, thymidine, adenosine, guanosine, inosine and 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine. This information may provide a useful reference for the discovery of potential biomarkers of DN.     

磺酸甜菜碱型两性离子亲水作用色谱固定相的制备及色谱性能评价

以丙烯酸二甲氨基乙酯(DMAEA)和1,3-丙磺酸内酯为原料,合成了含磺酸甜菜碱型两性离子的N,N-二甲基-N-丙烯酰氧乙基-N-丙基磺酸铵(DMAEAPS)功能单体,通过原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)技术将其接枝到硅胶表面,制备了磺酸甜菜碱型两性离子色谱固定相(Sil-DMAEAPS)。研究了该固定相对安息香、维生素B6、芸香叶苷、对香豆酸和咖啡酸5种极性溶质的亲水作用色谱分离性能。结果表明,在典型的亲水作用色谱条件下,极性溶质的保留主要由静电作用和亲水作用控制;而在典型的反相色谱条件下,极性溶质则表现出反相柱的分离特征。与ZIC-HILIC商品柱进行对比,自制色谱柱对5种极性溶质表现出不同的分离选择性。将自制色谱柱用于芦丁片中芸香叶苷含量的测定,操作方法简单,为极性样品的分离提供了新方法。     

低共熔溶剂——新型亲水作用色谱流动相改性剂

低共熔溶剂被用作亲水作用色谱流动相的新型改性剂。选用硅胶柱(150 mm×4.6 mm, 3 μm),以乙腈与低共熔溶剂(氯化胆碱-乙二醇(摩尔比为1:3))的混合溶液为流动相,考察了6个碱基与核苷的色谱分离效果,并讨论了低共熔溶剂在流动相中的比例及温度条件对分离的影响。结果表明,与传统的水相流动相条件相比,在加入低共熔溶剂改性后的流动相条件下,碱基与核苷分离效果得到明显的改善,尤其是胞嘧啶与胞苷能达到完全分离;同时,随着低共熔溶剂在乙腈中浓度的增加,6个碱基与核苷在色谱柱上的保留均有不同程度的减小,其中胞苷的保留减小最为显著;随着柱温的升高,碱基与核苷的保留同样有所减小。本文验证了低共熔溶剂作为亲水作用色谱流动相改性剂的可行性,可在一定程度上解决传统亲水作用色谱分离的困难。     

糖类化合物在两性离子亲水作用色谱柱上的保留行为评价

糖类化合物因其极性强,在反相色谱模式下保留较弱,因此常用亲水作用色谱(HILIC)对其进行分离分析。本文以9种糖类化合物的混合物为研究对象,系统评价了其在Click TE-Cys亲水色谱柱上的保留行为,分别考察了流动相中有机相比例和盐浓度对其保留行为的影响。实验证明:9种糖类化合物按极性由小到大的顺序依次从Click TE-Cys色谱柱上被洗脱下来。随着有机相比例的增加,糖类化合物的保留增强;随着盐浓度的增加,除唾液酸外的糖类化合物的保留增强。用顶替-吸附液相相互作用模型模拟了糖类化合物在HILIC上的保留行为,采用保留方程ln k=a+blnC_B+cC_B描述HILIC的保留规律,对HILIC的保留值进行多元线性回归。结果表明糖类化合物在Click TE-Cys色谱柱上的保留行为符合HILIC的保留规律。     

Preparation and comparison of three zwitterionic stationary phases for hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography

Surface‐bonded zwitterionic stationary phases have shown highlighted performances in separation of polar and hydrophilic compounds under hydrophilic interaction chromatography mode. So, it would be helpful to evaluate the characteristics of zwitterionic stationary phases with different arranged charged groups. The present work involved the preparation and comparison of three zwitterionic stationary phases. An imidazolium ionic liquid was designed and synthesized, and the cationic and anionic moieties respectively possessed positively charged imidazolium ring and negatively charged sulfonic groups. Then, the prepared ionic liquid, phosphorylcholine and an imidazolium‐based zwitterionic selector were bonded on the surface of silica to obtain three zwitterionic stationary phases. The selectivity properties were characterized and compared through the relative retention of selected solute pairs, and different kinds of hydrophilic solutes mixtures were used to evaluate the chromatographic performances. Moreover, the zwitterionic stationary phases were further characterized by the modified linear solvation energy relationship model to probe the multiple interactions. All the results indicated that the types and arrangement of charged groups in zwitterionic stationary phases mainly affect the retention and separation of ionic or ionizable compounds, and for interaction characteristics the contribution from n and π electrons and electrostatic interactions displayed certain differences.     

木糖醇和麦芽糖醇型亲水作用色谱固定相的制备及其分离性能的评价

利用-NCO和-OH的加成反应,通过简单的两步反应将木糖醇和麦芽糖醇成功地键合于硅胶表面,制备了两种新型糖醇类亲水作用色谱固定相。流动相中乙腈含量对保留的影响曲线表明,这两种糖醇固定相具有典型的亲水作用色谱固定相性质,对极性和亲水性化合物有很强的保留作用。利用这两种固定相成功分离了水溶性维生素、水杨酸及其类似物、碱基及其相应的核苷和淫羊藿苷类似物等模型混合物,同时糖醇固定相展现了新颖的选择性,特别是相对于线形的木糖醇键合固定相,非线形的麦芽糖醇键合固定相表现出了对糖基的独特保留能力。此外,缓冲盐的pH和浓度对保留的影响表明静电作用在这两种糖醇固定相的保留机理中也发挥着一定的作用。本文所发展的糖醇类固定相具有良好的分离性能,有望在亲水作用色谱分离领域发挥潜在的应用价值。     

The retention behaviour of amino acids in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography on zwitterionic stationary phases†

The retention behaviour of amino acids was studied in hydrophilic LC on zwitterionic stationary phases. Evaluation of the influences of acetonitrile/water content, ammonium acetate (NH₄Ac) concentration and mobile phase pH values was performed. Fourteen amino acids were tested and they were all retained to varying extents, with poorer retention in high water content eluents. The linear relationship between the logarithm of retention factor and log(water content) indicated that adsorption dominated or at least was partly involved in the separation mechanism. Electrostatic and hydrophilic interactions also contributed to the retention of these amino acids under different separation conditions with various mobile phase pH values and NH₄Ac concentrations. Thus, the overall retention mechanism could be explained as a combination of adsorption, electrostatic and hydrophilic interactions. The magnitude and contribution of each mechanism is dependent on the nature of the analyte and the separation conditions applied.     

亲水作用色谱/质谱联用方法用于大肠杆菌代谢组分析

建立了两性离子亲水作用色谱/质谱联用方法用于大肠杆菌胞内极性代谢物的分离分析。选取52个代表性极性物质对方法进行考察,发现此方法有较好的线性范围,且大部分物质最低检测限均在ng/mL数量级。平行制备6份样品进行分析,结果显示85%以上代谢物峰面积的RSD值小于30%。6个内标物质在低、中、高3个浓度下的日内精密度（RSD）均小于20%,大部分物质的相对回收率都在可接受的范围内（70%~130%）。把此方法用于yfcC基因改造的3株大肠杆菌代谢组分析,发现一些小肽、氨基酸、核苷、有机酸、磷脂等物质在基因改造后发生明显变化。此研究结果表明,建立的两性离子亲水作用色谱/质谱方法检测到的物质化学性质分布广,跨越了极性磷脂到小肽的各个范围,且具有良好的重复性、稳定性和适用性。     

奎宁功能化聚乙烯咪唑修饰硅胶亲水相互作用色谱固定相的制备及应用

通过表面自由基链转移聚合和亲核取代反应制备了一种新型奎宁功能化聚乙烯咪唑修饰硅胶亲水色谱固定相(Sil-PIm-Qn)。通过元素分析和红外光谱对该固定相进行表征,并在亲水相互作用色谱(HILIC)模式下对其进行了色谱性能评价。结果表明,该固定相对5种氨基酸、9种磺胺以及10种碱基核苷有较好的分离选择性。实验考察了流动相中有机相乙腈体积分数和水相中乙酸铵浓度对待分离物质保留行为的影响,并进一步对固定相分离的重复性进行了考察,其保留时间的相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.08%～2.30%(n=10)。该亲水色谱固定相制备方法简单,并且表现出了优异的亲水色谱分离性能,有望在磺胺类药物及生物样品中碱基核苷等亲水性物质的分离分析中有一定应用。     

Development and evaluation of new zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography stationary phases based on 3-P,P-diphenylphosphonium-propylsulfonate

New zwitterionic stationary phases were synthesized by covalently bonding 3-P,P-diphenylphosphonium-propylsulfonate to silica gel. The resulting materials possess both a negatively charged sulfonate group and a positively charged quaternary phosphonium group, which means that there is no net charge over a wide pH range. The retention mechanism and chromatographic behavior of polar solutes under HILIC conditions were studied on these zwitterionic phases. Compared to the commercial ZIC-HILIC column and a bare silica gel stationary phase, the newly synthesized zwitterionic stationary phases provided greater retention, higher peak efficiency and better peak symmetry in the HILIC mode. The analytes examined included: β-blockers, nucleic acid bases and nucleosides, salicylic acid and its analogues, and water soluble vitamins. Factors, such as the type of organic modifiers, solvent composition, pH and the buffer concentration of the mobile phase, have been considered as potential variables for controlling the chromatographic retention of polar analytes.     

糖类化合物亲水作用色谱保留行为评价

以糖类化合物为研究对象,系统评价了其在亲水模式下的色谱保留行为。分别考察了流动相、固定相和缓冲盐等对糖类化合物保留的影响,建立了糖类化合物在亲水模式下的保留方程。结果表明,糖类化合物随着流动相中乙腈比例的降低,保留时间减小;随着缓冲盐浓度的增加,保留时间增加;同时,糖类化合物的保留行为还会受到有机溶剂种类和固定相类型的影响;其保留行为可使用顶替吸附-液相相互作用模型定量描述。将该模型进一步用于实际样品中糖类化合物保留行为的预测,获得了较好的实验结果,预测保留时间与实测保留时间的相对误差小于0.3%。对糖类化合物亲水模式下的保留行为进行了系统的评价和定量描述,该研究结果将有助于糖类化合物亲水作用色谱分离方法的发展。     

新型咪唑嵌合氨基亲水作用色谱固定相的制备及其色谱性能

发展新型高效的亲水作用色谱分离材料对于极性化合物的分离分析具有重要的意义。本文设计合成了一种新型咪唑嵌合的氨基亲水作用色谱固定相（Sil-IEASP）,并分别采用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪、热重分析仪和元素分析仪对该固定相进行了表征,结果表明该固定相制备成功。以核苷和核酸碱基为样品,分别考察了流动相中的水含量、盐浓度和pH对其保留的影响,结果表明所发展的固定相具有良好的亲水作用特性;此外,缓冲盐浓度和pH几乎不影响上述物质的保留。进一步将该固定相应用于分离尿嘧啶、腺嘌呤、胞嘧啶、尿苷和3种位置异构体（邻三联苯、间三联苯和苯并菲）,与常用的氨基固定相相比,本文所发展的固定相具有更好的分离效果,有望在亲水作用色谱分离领域发挥潜在的应用价值。     

多羟基化合物键合亲水色谱固定相的制备及其分离性能

用硅胶与氨丙基三甲氧基硅烷反应,再与δ-葡萄糖酸内酯反应,制备了一种多羟基化合物键合的新型亲水色谱固定相。以水-有机溶剂(乙醇、乙腈、四氢呋喃)为流动相,通过改变流动相中有机溶剂的种类及浓度、缓冲盐浓度和柱温,考察了该固定相对6种强极性中药组分的保留行为和保留机理。当水的比例在0～40%(v/v)范围时,溶质的保留随着流动相中水的比例的增大而减小,属于典型的亲水色谱分离模式;而当流动相中水的比例在0～100%(v/v)范围内变化时,溶质的保留随着水的比例变化呈“U”形曲线,属于亲水色谱和反相色谱的混合保留机理。缓冲盐的浓度和pH效应说明,所选用的中药组分与所制备的固定相间还存在弱的静电作用。该固定相对6种中药组分以及丹参注射液具有良好的分离性能,表明其在强极性中药有效成分的分离及其他强极性物质的分离分析中具有一定的应用前景。     

Separation of phospholipid classes by hydrophilic interaction chromatography detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A new isocratic separation method was developed for separation of phospholipid (PL) classes based on a silica hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column with electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometric detection. Although HILIC is typically used for polar compounds, also amphiphilic molecules like phospholipids can be separated very well. Compared to normal-phase (NP) chromatography, which is usually used for PL class separation, HILIC has the advantage to use on-line ESI-MS detection because its eluents are ESI compatible. Furthermore, this HILIC method is isocratic and hence less time consuming than most (gradient) NP HPLC methods. A chromatographic baseline separation of a standard mixture containing phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), sphingomyelin (SM) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) was achieved within a total run time of 17 min using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile, methanol and ammonium acetate 10 mM. The new method was subsequently tested on phospholipid fractions of a body fluid (human blood plasma) and a tissue extract (swine brain) whereby it achieved nearly the same baseline separation of the PL classes. The detected classes in both cases were PE, PC, SM and LPC.     

Quantitative analysis of N-glycans from human alfa-acid-glycoprotein using stable isotope labeling and zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction capillary liquid chromatography electrospray mass spectrometry as tool for pancreatic disease diagnosis

In this work we demonstrate the potential of glycan reductive isotope labeling (GRIL) using [¹²C]- and [¹³C]-coded aniline and zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction capillary liquid chromatography electrospray mass spectrometry (μZIC-HILIC-ESI-MS) for relative quantitation of glycosylation variants in selected glycoproteins present in samples from cancer patients. Human α₁-acid-glycoprotein (hAGP) is an acute phase serum glycoprotein whose glycosylation has been described to be altered in cancer and chronic inflammation. However, it is not clear yet whether some particular glycans in hAGP can be used as biomarker for differentiating between these two pathologies. In this work, hAGP was isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) from serum samples of healthy individuals and from those suffering chronic pancreatitis and different stages of pancreatic cancer, respectively. After de-N-glycosylation, relative quantitation of the hAGP glycans was carried out using stable isotope labeling and μZIC-HILIC-ESI-MS analysis. First, protein denaturing conditions prior to PNGase F digestion were optimized to achieve quantitative digestion yields, and the reproducibility of the established methodology was evaluated with standard hAGP. Then, the proposed method was applied to the analysis of the clinical samples (control vs. pathological). Pancreatic cancer samples clearly showed an increase in the abundance of fucosylated glycans as the stage of the disease increases and this was unlike to samples from chronic pancreatitis. The results gained here indicate the mentioned glycan in hAGP as a candidate structure worth to be corroborated by an extended study including more clinical cases; especially those with chronic pancreatitis and initial stages of pancreatic cancer. Importantly, the results demonstrate that the presented methodology combining an enrichment of a target protein by IAC with isotope coded relative quantitation of N-glycans can be successfully used for targeted glycomics studies. The methodology is assumed being suitable as well for other such studies aimed at finding novel cancer associated glycoprotein biomarkers.     

碳青霉烯类抗生素亲水作用色谱方法研究及其应用

建立了测定人尿液和自来水中4种碳青霉烯类抗生素(比阿培南、美罗培南、多利培南和厄他培南)的亲水作用色谱方法,所用流动相具有较好的质谱兼容性,可用于色谱-质谱联用。以XAmide为色谱柱,考察了乙腈比例、缓冲盐浓度和pH值对4种抗生素保留的影响,提出了可能的保留机理;所发展的方法对目标样品具有良好的线性响应:比阿培南、多利培南和厄他培南的线性范围为0.1~250 mg/L, R²=0.9999;美罗培南的线性范围为0.5~250 mg/L, R²=0.9998; 4种抗生素的定量限(LOQ)为0.1~0.5 mg/L。尿液样品和自来水样品在5 mg/L和25 mg/L两个水平的加标回收率分别为100.4%~111.9%和79.6%~107.4%,相对标准偏差(RSD)分别不大于1%和5%。该方法准确、灵敏、简便,可用于人尿液和自来水中多种碳青霉烯类抗生素的检测。     

一种聚合型弱阳离子交换/亲水相互作用色谱固定相的制备及色谱性能

通过亲核取代反应将聚乙烯马来酸酐键合到氨基硅胶表面,然后将残余的马来酸酐水解,制备了一种弱阳离子交换/亲水相互作用高效液相色谱固定相(Sil-PolyCOOH),通过固体核磁、ζ-电势及元素分析对固定相进行了表征。选取核苷和核酸碱为模型化合物,通过考察流动相组成,离子强度和pH等因素对溶质保留的影响,探讨了固定相的分离性能和保留机理,结果表明,该固定相的保留机理同时涉及亲水分配相互作用和多重主客体作用力。该固定相还对糖类、敌草快与百草枯等化合物具有良好的分离性能。上述研究结果表明该固定相在极性化合物的分离上具有良好的应用前景。     

Enhanced fluidity liquid chromatography for hydrophilic interaction separation of nucleosides

The application of enhanced fluidity liquid (EFL) mobile phases to improving isocratic chromatographic separation of nucleosides in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode is described. The EFL mobile phase was created by adding carbon dioxide to a methanol/buffer solution. Previous work has shown that EFL mobile phases typically increase the efficiency and the speed of the separation. Herein, an increase in resolution with the addition of carbon dioxide is also observed. This increase in resolution was achieved through increased selectivity and retention with minimal change in separation efficiency. The addition of CO₂ to the mobile phase effectively decreases its polarity, thereby promoting retention in HILIC. Conventional organic solvents of similar nonpolar nature cannot be used to achieve similar results because they are not miscible with methanol and water. The separation of nucleosides with methanol/aqueous buffer/CO₂ mobile phases was also compared to that using acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases. A marked decrease in the necessary separation time was noted for methanol/aqueous buffer/CO₂ mobile phases compared to acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases. There was also an unusual reversal in the elution order of uridine and adenosine when CO₂ was included in the mobile phase.