Profiling histidine-containing dipeptides in rat tissues by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

The histidine-containing dipeptides carnosine (CAR) and structurally related anserine (ANS) and homocarnosine (HCAR), widely distributed in vertebrate organisms, have recently been proposed as endogenous quenchers for highly cytotoxic alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes generated by peroxidation. A sensitive, selective, specific and rapid liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric assay was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of these peptides in biological matrices in order to establish their plasma/tissue distribution. Samples (plasma or tissue homogenates from male rats) were prepared by protein precipitation with HClO(4) (1 : 1, v/v) containing H-Tyr-His-OH as internal standard. The supernatant was separated on a Phenomenex Sinergy polar-RP column with a mobile phase of water-acetonitrile-heptafluorobutyric acid (9 : 1 : 0.01, v/v/v) at a flow-rate of 0.2 ml min(-1), with a run time of 10 min. Detection was effected on an ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization interface operating in positive ionization mode. The acquisitions were in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the following precursor --> product ion combinations: H-Tyr-His-OH (internal standard) m/z 319 --> 301; CAR m/z 227 --> 210 + 209; ANS m/z 241 --> 224 + 197 + 170; HCAR m/z 241 --> 156. The method was validated over the concentration range 15-1000 nmol g(-1) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) were 12.5 and 4.2 pmol injected, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions were <10% (< or =17.47% at the LOQ) and the intra- and inter-assay accuracies were within +/-10% for all concentrations. The mapping profile in rat tissue gave the following results: the highest concentrations of CAR and ANS were found in skeletal muscles (soleus, gastrocnemius, tibialis), followed by the heart, cerebellum and brain (ANS below the LOQ). HCAR was found only in the brain and cerebellum. No histidine-containing dipeptides were detectable in plasma, liver, kidney and lung.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the disposition of mazindol and its metabolite 2-(2-aminoethyl)-3-(p-chlorophenyl)-3-hydroxyphthalimidine in mouse brain and plasma

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the analysis of the appetite suppressant mazindol and its metabolite 2-(2-aminoethyl)-3-(p-chlorophenyl)-3-hydroxyphthalimidine (Met) in mouse brain and plasma. The two compounds were quantified by measuring Met after two different sample pretreatments. For mazindol determination, the treatment involved the hydrolysis of mazindol to Met, by incubating the sample at 80 °C for 15 min at pH 10.6 followed by liquid-liquid extraction procedure while for the determination of Met, the hydrolysis step was omitted. The obtained Met was analyzed by HPLC after its derivatization with the fluorescent reagent 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzoyl chloride (DIB-Cl). The separation was performed on an ODS column with mobile phase consisted of a mixture of acetonitrile-methanol-0.1 M acetic acid (46:4:50, v/v/v) containing tetrahydrofuran (6%). The effluent was monitored at excitation and emission wavelengths of 330 and 445 nm, respectively. Calibration curves of mazindol and Met ranged from 0.1 to 25 ng/ml and from 0.5 to 250 ng/g in spiked mouse plasma and brain tissue, respectively. The method is highly sensitive with the limits of detection for Met on column of 2.8 and 3.5 fmol in plasma and brain, respectively, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The intra- and inter-day precisions were less than 4.5 and 9.7%, in plasma and less than 8.8 and 7.2% in brain, respectively. The developed method was applied for the monitoring of mazindol and Met levels in mouse plasma and brain tissue regions after single intraperitoneal administration of mazindol, 0.5 mg/kg.     

Determination of exifone in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with electrochemical detection was developed for the determination of exifone in human plasma and urine. Exifone was extracted from acidified plasma or neutralized urine with diethyl ether and the evaporated extracts were analysed on a C18 reversed-phase column. The compound was eluted in about 8 min with acetonitrile-0.3 M orthophosphoric acid (15:85, v/v) at a flow-rate of 0.9 ml/min. This method gave accurate and reproducible results; the calibration graphs were linear (r greater than 0.99) over the range of 2.8-360 nmol/l for plasma and 0.18-36 mumol/l for urine, and concentrations as low as 1 nmol/l in plasma could be quantified. These results allowed this assay to be used for determinations in single-dose pharmacokinetic studies.     

HPLC analysis and pharmacokinetic study of quercitrin and isoquercitrin in rat plasma after administration of Hypericum japonicum thunb. extract

A simple HPLC method was developed for determination of quercitrin and isoquercitrin in rat plasma. Reversed-phase HPLC was employed for the quantitative analysis using kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside as an internal standard. Following extraction from the plasma samples with ethyl acetate-isopropanol (95:5, v/v), these two compounds were successfully separated on a Luna C(18) column (250 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) with isocratic elution of acetonitrile-0.5% aqueous acetic acid (17:83, v/v) as the mobile phase. The flow-rate was set at 1 mL/min and the eluent was detected at 350 nm for both quercitrin and isoquercitrin. The method was linear over the studied ranges of 50-6000 and 50-5000 ng/mL for quercitrin and isoquercitrin, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions of the analysis were better than 13.1 and 13.2%, respectively. The lower limits of quantitation for quercitrin and isoquercitrin in plasma were both of 50 ng/mL. The mean extraction recoveries were 73 and 61% for quercitrin and isoquercitrin, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of the two analytes in rat plasma after the oral administration of Hypericum japonicum thunb. ethanol extract.     

LC-MS/MS method for the determination of cynandione A in rat plasma and tissues

A rapid and sensitive method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of cynandione A in rat plasma and tissues. The plasma samples were pretreated by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate after the internal standard (honokiol) had been spiked. The tissue samples were homogenized with physiological saline and treated further like the plasma samples. The separation was performed using a Zorbax SB-C(18) column (3.5 microm, 2.1 x 100 mm) and a C18 guard column (5 microm, 4.0 x 2.0 mm) with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol-0.1% formic acid (78:22, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The Agilent G6410A triple quadrupole LC/MS system was operated under the multiple-reaction monitoring mode using the electrospray ionization technique in negative mode. The nominal retention times for cynandione A and honokiol were 1.41 and 2.63 min, respectively. The method was validated within the concentration range 0.2-1000 ng/mL in plasma and homogenized tissue for cynandione A, and the calibration curves were linear with correlation coefficients >0.992. The lower limit of quantification of cynandione A was 0.2 ng/mL. The intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy of the assay in plasma were less than 14.4%, while the intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy of the assay in tissue homogenate were less than 14.2%. This method proved to be suitable for study of pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of cynandione A in rat.     

高效液相色谱-荧光检测法同时测定血清中的犬尿氨酸和犬尿喹啉酸

建立了在线衍生、双波长高效液相色谱-荧光检测器同时检测血清中犬尿氨酸(kynurenine, Kyn)和犬尿喹啉酸(kynurenic acid, KYNA)含量的方法。血清标本经5%高氯酸溶液去除蛋白质后,上清液直接进样分析测定。采用的色谱柱为Hypersil C8柱;流动相为0.25 mol/L醋酸锌-50 mmol/L醋酸溶液(含3%乙腈),流速为1.5 mL/min。在0～10 min时间段,在激发波长和发射波长分别为365 nm和480 nm时检测Kyn;10 min后,在激发波长和发射波长分别变换为344 nm和404 nm时检测KYNA。Kyn的保留时间约为8.1 min,线性范围为98～19600 nmol/L,最低检出浓度为50 nmol/L,平均回收率为94.88%,日内、日间测定值的相对标准偏差(RSD)均低于4%。KYNA的保留时间约为13.0 min,线性范围为2.62～1047 nmol/L,最低检出浓度为0.11 nmol/L,平均回收率为102.72%,日内、日间测定的RSD均低于4%。苯丙氨酸、酪氨酸、色氨酸和5-羟色胺等物质对目标物的检测无干扰。71例健康成人血清中,Kyn和KYNA含量分别为(1.40±0.34) μmol/L和(24.22±8.67) nmol/L。该方法简便、快速、灵敏、特异,适于临床和科研应用。     

高效液相色谱-程序波长紫外检测法同时测定血浆中的色氨酸及其代谢物

建立了一种高效液相色谱-程序波长紫外检测法同时测定血浆中色氨酸(Trp)及其主要代谢产物犬尿氨酸(Kyn)和5-羟色胺(5-HT)。以茶碱为内标(IS),采用BDS-Hypersil-C8柱(150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm)分离。流动相为10 mmol/L醋酸钠缓冲液(pH 4.5)-乙腈(94:6, v/v),流速为0.6 mL/min;柱温为25 ℃;紫外检测波长设定: Kyn和IS为360 nm, 5-HT为220 nm, Trp为302 nm。3种物质的平均回收率为87%～113%;线性范围分别为3.97～400 μmol/L(Trp), 0.421～20.2 μmol/L(Kyn), 4.36～980 nmol/L(5-HT);检出限分别为0.134 μmol/L(Trp), 0.0160 μmol/L(Kyn), 2.03 nmol/L(5-HT)。利用该方法对15例抑郁症患者和15例健康志愿者的血浆进行测定,结果表明两组间Trp的代谢存在显著的差异。     

亲水作用色谱法测定组织中全基因组DNA甲基化水平

建立了亲水作用色谱(HILIC)测定组织中全基因组DNA甲基化水平的方法。采用苯酚-氯仿提取组织中的DNA,提取的DNA用88%甲酸在140 ℃下裂解,经N2吹干后,加乙腈-水(9:1, v/v)溶解,用Waters BEH HILIC柱进行分离,在277 nm波长下检测胞嘧啶(Cyt)及5-甲基胞嘧啶(5-mCyt)含量。结果表明,以乙腈-10 mmol/L甲酸铵溶液(94:6, v/v)为流动相,流速为0.5 mL/min, Cyt与5-mCyt分离较好,保留时间分别为2.6与3.1 min。胞嘧啶的线性范围为1～900 μmol/L,相关系数为0.9999; 5-甲基胞嘧啶的线性范围为1～64 μmol/L,相关系数为0.9998。胞嘧啶和5-甲基胞嘧啶的检出限为54 nmol/L(柱中为0.54 pmol),定量限为250 nmol/L(柱中为2.5 pmol);在5～900 μmol/L的添加水平下,胞嘧啶和5-甲基胞嘧啶的平均加标回收率为94.7%～100.5%,相对标准偏差小于1.48%。用该方法检测了结肠癌组织中DNA甲基化水平,结果显示该癌组织中全基因组的DNA甲基化均值为4.0%。该方法快速、简单,稳定性好,灵敏度较高,能满足全基因组DNA甲基化的检测要求。     

Analysis of neuropeptide Y and its metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and integrated sample clean-up with a novel restricted-access sulphonic acid cation exchanger

A novel restricted access cation exchanger with sulphonic acid groups at the internal surface was proven to be highly suitable in the sample clean up of peptides on-line coupled to HPLC-electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and several of its fragments in plasma were subjected to the sample clean-up procedure. The peptides were eluted by a step gradient from the restricted access column, applying 10 mM phosphate buffer pH 3.5 from 5 to 20% (v/v) of acetonitrile with 1 M NaCl and transferred to a Micra ODS II column (33x4.6 mm). The separation of the peptides and their fragments was performed by a linear gradient from 20 to 60% (v/v) acetonitrile in water with 0.1% formic acid and 0.01% trifluoroacetic acid in 4 min at a flow-rate of 0.75 ml/min. An integrated and completely automated system composed of sample clean up-HPLC-ESI-MS was used to analyze real life samples. The sample volumes ranged between 20 and 100 microl. Peaks due to the fragments NPY 1-36, 3-36 and 13-36 in porcine plasma were identified by ESI-MS. The limit of detection was in the 5 nmol/ml range. The total analysis required 21 min and allowed the direct injection of plasma.     

Determination of metoprolol and its alpha-hydroxylated metabolite in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of metoprolol and its alpha-hydroxylated metabolite in plasma, Metoprolol, alpha-hydroxymetoprolol and alprenolol (internal standard) are extracted from plasma at alkaline pH with diethyl ether-dichloromethane (4:1, v/v) and back-extracted with 0.01 N sulfuric acid. A 100-microliter volume of the acidic extract is injected into the chromatographic system. The compounds are eluted in about 12 min with acetonitrile-acetate buffer (75:25, v/v) on a LiChrosorb RP-8 (5 micron) column. The quantitative determinations are made fluorometrically. Concentrations down to 35 nmol/1 (10 ng/ml) of metoprolol base and 30 nmol/1 (8 ng/ml) of alpha-hydroxymetoprolol base in plasma can be determined with good precision and accuracy.     

Determination of bradykinin and arg-bradykinin in rat muscle tissue by microdialysis and capillary column-switching liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection

Quantification of bradykinin peptides in limited amounts of rat muscle tissue dialysate has been performed using a packed capillary LC-ESI-TOF-MS method. The micro dialysate samples (450 microL) with added internal standard were loaded onto a 1 mm x 5 mm loading column packed with 5 microm Kromasil C18 particles by a carrier solution of 0.1% formic acid in ACN/water (5:95, v/v) at a flow rate of 250 microL/min for online preconcentration of the analytes. Back-flushed elution onto a 150 mm x 0.5 mm Zorbax C18 column packed with 5 microm particles was conducted using a linear solvent ACN/H2O gradient containing 0.1% formic acid. (Tyr8)-bradykinin was used as an internal standard and was added to the dialysis sample prior to injection. Baseline separation of bradykinin, arg-bradykinin and (tyr8)-bradykinin was achieved within 10 min. Positive ESI was performed in the m/z range of 200-1300. The method was validated in the range 0.2-1.0 ng/mL dialysate, yielding correlation coefficients of 0.995 and 0.990 for bradykinin and arg-bradykinin, respectively. The within-assay and between-assay precisions were between 4.3-9.6% and 6.2-10.6%, respectively. Both arg-bradykinin and bradykinin were detected in dialysate from rat muscle tissue, at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.4 ng/mL for bradykinin and arg-bradykinin, respectively, confirming the presence of arg-bradykinin in rat muscles.     

Study of tanshinone IIA tissue distribution in rat by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determining tanshinone IIA in rat tissues. After a single step liquid-liquid extraction with diethyl ether, tanshinone IIA and loratadine (internal standard) was subjected to LC/MS/MS analysis using positive electro-spray ionization under selected reaction monitoring mode. Chromatographic separation of tanshinone IIA and loratadine was achieved on a Hypersil BDS C(18) column (i.d. 2.1 x 50 mm, 5 microm) with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-1% formic acid (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 300 microL/min. The intra-day and inter-day precision of the method were less than 10.2 and 12.4%, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day accuracies ranged from 99.7 to 109.7%. The lowest limit of quantification for tanshinone IIA was 1 ng/mL. The method was applied to a tanshinone IIA tissue distribution study after an oral dose of 60 mg/kg to rats. Tanshinone IIA tissue concentrations decreased in the order of stomach > small intestine > lung > liver > fat > muscle > kidneys > spleen > heart > plasma > brain > testes. Tanshinone IIA still could be detected in most of the tissues at 20 h post-dosing. These results indicate that the LC/MS/MS method was rapid and sensitive to quantify tanshinone IIA in different rat tissues.     

在线衍生-高效液相色谱法同时测定血浆中的色氨酸及其代谢物

建立了醋酸锌在线衍生高效液相色谱法同时测定血浆中色氨酸(Trp)、犬尿氨酸(Kyn)、5-羟吲哚乙酸(5-Hiaa)和犬尿喹啉酸(Kyna)的方法。以3-硝基酪氨酸为内标(IS),采用Hypersil C-18柱(250 mm×4.0 mm, 5 μ m),以250 mmol/L醋酸锌溶液(pH 5.5)-乙腈(95:5, v/v)为流动相,流速为0.8 mL/min,柱温30℃。荧光检测波长设定:5-Hiaa为278 nm(λ_ex)/343 nm(λ_em), Kyna为244 nm(λ_ex)/400 nm(λ_em);紫外检测波长设定:Kyn和IS为360 nm, Trp为302 nm。4种物质的回收率在91.62%~114.17%之间;线性范围分别为2.50~320.00 μ mol/L(Trp), 0.32~15.36 μ mol/L(Kyn), 3.27~104.60 nmol/L(5-Hiaa), 14.00~464.80 nmol/L(Kyna);检出限分别为0.078 μ mol/L(Trp), 0.056 μ mol/L(Kyn), 0.690 nmol/L(5-Hiaa), 1.290 nmol/L(Kyna)。利用该方法对30例正常孕妇和28例女性健康志愿者的血浆进行测定,结果表明两组间Trp, Kyn和Kyna含量有显著性差异。该方法操作简便,重复性好,灵敏度高,适合于临床检测。     

Determination of tramadol and O-desmethyltramadol in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection

A new simple, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for quantification of tramadol and its active metabolite O-desmethyltramadol in human plasma was validated. The tramadol and its metabolite were separated on a reversed phase column (Zorbax SB-C18, 100 mm x 3.0 mm I.D., 3.5 microm) under isocratic conditions using a mobile phase of a 10:90 (v/v) mixture of acetonitrile and 0.2% (v/v) trifluoroacetic acid in water. The flow rate was 1 ml/min at the column temperature 45 degrees C. In these chromatographic conditions, the retention times were 2.3 min for O-desmethyltramadol and 3.5 min for tramadol, respectively. The detection of both analytes was in SIM mode using an ion trap mass spectrometer with electrospray positive ionisation. The monitored ions were m/z 264 for tramadol and m/z 250 for its metabolite. The sample preparation was very simple and rapid and consisted in plasma protein precipitation from 0.2 ml plasma using 0.2 ml solution of perchloric acid 7%. Calibration curves were generated over the range of 2-300 ng/ml for both analytes with values for coefficient of correlation greater than 0.998 and by using a weighted (1/y) quadratic regression. The values of precision and accuracy for tramadol at quantification limit were less than 10.9% and 5.1, respectively, both for within- and between-run. For O-desmethyltramadol, precision and accuracy at quantification limit were 10.1% and -9.9% for within-run determinations and 6.7% and 10.4% for between-run determinations, respectively. The mean recovery for both analytes was 96%. Both tramadol and its metabolite demonstrated good short-term, long-term, post-preparative and freeze-thaw stability. This is the first reported method for analysis of tramadol and O-desmethyltramadol in human plasma that uses protein precipitation as sample processing procedure. The method is very simple and allows obtaining a very good recovery of both analytes. The validated LC/MS method has been applied to a pharmacokinetic study of 50 mg tramadol tablets on healthy volunteers.     

Sunitinib LC–MS/MS Assay in Mouse Plasma and Brain Tissue: Application in CNS Distribution Studies

Sunitinib malate is a multi-targeted tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, currently in clinical trials for glioma. Previously developed methods for preclinical studies in species such as mice have either employed high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or did not describe a detailed analytical method, which could be employed by other preclinical laboratories. In this paper, we have developed and validated a simple, sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometric method (LC–MS/MS) for the determination of sunitinib concentration in mouse plasma and brain tissue homogenate using dasatinib-free base as the internal standard. A single step liquid–liquid extraction method was used for both the matrices. Since sunitinib exhibits light-induced E/Z isomerism, all sample preparation was done in light-protected conditions. Separation was performed on a ZORBAX Eclipse XDB C18 column 4.6 × 50 mm, 1.8 μm. The mobile phase consisted of 20 mM ammonium formate (with 0.1 % formic acid): acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) pumped isocratically at a flow rate of 0.25 mL min^?1 with a total run-time of 13 min. The retention times of sunitinib and dasatinib were 7.8 and 5.5 min, respectively. The calibration curve was linear over the range from 1.95 to 500 ng mL^?1 in both plasma and brain tissue homogenate with 1.95 ng mL^?1 as the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for both the matrices. Inter- and intra-day accuracy and precision was <15 % for low QC, med QC and high QC and <20 % for LLOQ. The method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in FVB wild-type mice to determine the plasma and brain concentrations after a single oral sunitinib malate dose of 20 mg kg^?1.     

高效液相色谱法测定家兔血浆中桂皮酸的浓度及其药代动力学初探

 建立了采用高效液相色谱(HPLC)测定家兔血浆中桂皮酸含量的方法,并应用此法进行了桂皮酸的药代动力学研究。 采用的色谱柱为Kromasil C18柱(250 mm×4.6 mm i.d.,5 μm)；流动相为甲醇-乙腈-水-冰醋酸(体积比为10∶22∶55 ∶0.5),流速0.8 mL/min；检测波长为270 nm;柱温为室温；内标物为苯丙酸。实验结果表明,低、中、高浓度的提取回 收率分别为84.9%,84.4%,87.7%,方法回收率分别为98.4%,99.2%,100.1%,相对标准偏差(RSD)分别为5.5%,3.6%,3.7%, 日内及日间测定值的RSD均小于6%。所建立的HPLC方法灵敏、专一、准确、精密,可作为桂皮酸在家兔体内药代动力学研 究的检测手段。口服冠心苏合丸和冠心苏合胶囊后,桂皮酸在家兔体内的代谢呈一级吸收双室模型。     

Simultaneous LC‐MS/MS bioanalysis of etoposide and paclitaxel in mouse tissues and plasma after oral administration of self‐microemulsifying drug‐delivery systems

In this study, a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated to simultaneously determine the anticancer drugs etoposide and paclitaxel in mouse plasma and tissues including liver, kidney, lung, heart, spleen and brain. The analytes were extracted from the matrices of interest by liquid–liquid extraction using methyl tert‐butyl ether–dichloromethane (1:1, v/v). Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Ultimate XB‐C₁₈ column (100 × 2.1 mm, 3 μm) at 40°C and the total run time was 4 min under a gradient elution. Ionization was conducted using electrospray ionization in the positive mode. Stable isotope etoposide‐d3 and docetaxel were used as the internal standards. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of etoposide was 1 ng/g tissue for all tissues and 0.5 ng/mL for plasma. The LLOQ of paclitaxel was 0.4 ng/g tissue and 0.2 ng/mL for all tissues and plasma, respectively. The coefficients of correlation for all of the analytes in the tissues and plasma were >0.99. Both intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision were satisfactory. This method was successfully applied to measure plasma and tissue drug concentrations in mice treated with etoposide and paclitaxel‐loaded self‐microemulsifying drug‐delivery systems.     

Sensitive liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of fluoxetine and its primary active metabolite norfluoxetine in human plasma

A sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of fluoxetine and its major active metabolite norfluoxetine in plasma was developed, using high-performance liquid chromatographic separation with tandem mass spectrometric detection. The samples were extracted from alkalised plasma with hexane-isoamyl alcohol (98:2, v/v) followed by back-extraction into formic acid (2%). Chromatography was performed on a Phenomenex Luna C18 (2) 5 microm, 150x2 mm column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.02% formic acid (340:660, v/v) at a flow-rate of 0.35 ml/min. Detection was achieved by a Perkin-Elmer Sciex API 2000 mass spectrometer (LC-MS-MS) set at unit resolution in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. TurbolonSpray ionisation was used for ion production. The mean recoveries for fluoxetine and norfluoxetine were 98 and 97%, respectively, with a lower limit of quantification set at 0.15 ng/ml for the analyte and its metabolite. This assay method makes use of the increased sensitivity and selectivity of mass spectrometric (MS-MS) detection to allow for a more rapid (extraction and chromatography) and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in human plasma than has previously been described.     

Pharmacokinetic and brain distribution study of an anti-glioblastoma agent in mice by HPLC–MS/MS

Previously compound I showed great anti-glioblastoma activity without toxicity in a mouse xenograft study. In this study, a sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated to investigate the pharmacokinetics and brain distribution of compound I in mice. The protein precipitation method was applied to extract the compound from mouse plasma and brain homogenates, and it was then separated using a Kinetex C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–0.1% formic acid water (50:50, v/v). The analytes were detected with multiple reaction monitoring for the quantitative response of the compounds. The inter- and intra-day precisions were <8.29 and 3.85%, respectively, and the accuracy range was within ±7.33%. The method was successfully applied to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of compound I in mouse plasma and brain tissue. The peak concentration in plasma was achieved within 1 h. The apparent elimination half-life was 4.06 h. The peak concentration of compound I in brain tissue was 0.88 μg/g. The results indicated that compound I was rapidly distributed and could cross the blood–brain barrier. The pharmacokinetic profile summarized provides valuable information for the further investigation of compound I as a potential anti-glioblastoma agent.     

Simultaneous determination of nicotine and its metabolite, cotinine, in rat blood and brain tissue using microdialysis coupled with liquid chromatography: pharmacokinetic application

To elucidate the disposition of nicotine in the brain is important because the neuropharmacological effects from nicotine exposure are centrally predominated. The aim of the present study was to develop a rapid and simple method for the simultaneous determination of unbound nicotine and its main metabolite, cotinine, in rat blood and brain tissue. We coupled a multiple sites microdialysis sampling technique with HPLC-UV system to characterize the pharmacokinetics of both nicotine and cotinine. Microdialysis probes were inserted into the jugular vein/right atrium and brain striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats, and nicotine (2 mg/kg, i.v.) was administered via the femoral vein. Dialysates were collected every 10 min and injected directly into a HPLC system. Both nicotine and cotinine were separated by a phenyl-hexyl column (150 mm x 4.6 mm) from dialysates within 12 min. The mobile phase consisted of an acetonitrile-methanol-20 mM monosodium phosphate buffer (55:45:900, v/v/v, pH adjusted to 5.1) with a flow-rate of 1 ml/min. The wavelength of the UV detector was set at 260 nm. The limit of quantification for nicotine and cotinine were 0.25 microg/ml and 0.05 microg/ml, respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy of both measurements fell well within the predefined limits of acceptability. The blood and brain concentration-time profile of nicotine and cotinine suggests that nicotine is easily to get into the central nervous system and cotinine exhibits a long retention time and accumulates in blood.