Determination of caudatin-2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methy-beta-d-cymaropyranoside in rat plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A selective, sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed for the determination of caudatin-2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methy-beta-d-cymaropyranoside (CDMC) in rat plasma. This method involves a plasma clean-up step using liquid-liquid extraction, followed by LC separation and positive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection (LC/ESI-MS/MS). Chromatographic separation of the analytes was achieved using a C(18) column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and water (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Low energy collision tandem mass spectrometric analysis (CID-MS/MS) using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used for analyte quantification. For the MRM analysis of CDMC, the following transition at m/z 658.4 --> 529.6 derived from the protonated molecule [M + Na](+). A calibration curve was linear in the 5-500 ng/mL range for CDMC, and the limit of detection was 5 ng/mL. The inter- and intra-day precisions (RSD) were 相似文献   

Validation and application of a method for the determination of nicotine and five major metabolites in smokers' urine by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

An SPE-LC-MS/MS method was developed, validated and applied to the determination of nicotine and five major metabolites in human urine: cotinine, trans-3'-hydroxycotinine, nicotine-N-glucuronide, cotinine-N-glucuronide and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine-O-glucuronide. A 500 microL urine sample was pH-adjusted with phosphate buffer (1.5 mL) containing nicotine-methyl-d3, cotinine-methyl-d3 and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine-methyl-d3 internal standards. For the unconjugated metabolites, an aliquot (800 microL) of the buffered solution was applied to a 30 mg Oasis HLB-SPE column, rinsed with 2% NH4OH/H2O (3.0 mL) and H2O (3.0 mL) and eluted with methanol (500 microL). The eluate was analyzed isocratically (100% methanol) by LC-MS/MS on a diol column (50 x 2.1 mm). For the total metabolites, a beta-glucuronidase/buffer preparation (100 microL) was added to the remaining buffered solution and incubated at 37 degrees C (20 h). An aliquot (800 microL) of the enzymatically treated buffered solution was extracted and analyzed in the same manner. The conjugated metabolites were determined indirectly by subtraction. The quantitation range of the method (ng/mL) was 14-10,320 for nicotine, 15-9800 for cotinine and 32-19,220 for trans-3'-hydroxycotinine. The validated method was used to observe diurnal variations from a smoker's spot urine samples, elimination half-lives from a smoker's 24 h urine samples and metabolite distribution profiles in the spot and 24 h urine samples.     

Identification and determination of the major constituents in Kai‐Xin‐San by UPLC‐Q/TOF MS and UFLC‐MS/MS method

In order to have overall chemical material information of Kai‐Xin‐San (KXS), the reliable ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer (UHPLC–Q‐TOF‐MS) and ultra‐fast liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (UFLC‐MS/MS) methods were developed for the identification and determination of the major constituents in KXS. Moreover, the UHPLC–Q‐TOF‐MS method was also applied to screen for multiple absorbed components in rat plasma after oral administration of KXS. The UHPLC–Q‐TOF‐MS method was achieved on Agilent 6520 Q‐TOF mass and operated in the negative ion mode. Good separation was performed on a ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C18 column with a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min. A total of 92 compounds in KXS were identified or tentatively characterized based on their exact molecular weights, fragmentation patterns, and literature data. A total of 26 compounds including 23 prototype components and three metabolites were identified in rat plasma after oral administration of KXS. Then, 16 major bioactive constituents were chosen as the benchmark substances to evaluate the quality of KXS. Their quantitative analyses were performed by a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (MS/MS) operating in multiple‐reaction monitoring mode(MRM). The analysis was completed with a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min within 35 min. The simple and fast method was validated and showed good linearity, precision, and recovery. Furthermore, the method was successful applied for the determination of 16 compounds in KXS. All results would provide essential data for identification and quality control of active chemical constituents in KXS. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of β‐blockers in groundwater using large‐volume injection coupled‐column reversed‐phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Atenolol, nadolol, metoprolol, bisoprolol and betaxolol were simultaneously determined in groundwater samples by large‐volume injection coupled‐column reversed‐phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD) and liquid chromatography‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐TOF‐MS). The LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD method combines analyte isolation, preconcentration and determination into a single step. Significant reductions in costs for sample pre‐treatment (solvent and solid phases for clean up) and method development times are also achieved. Using LC‐TOF‐MS, accurate mass measurements within 3 ppm error were obtained for all of the β‐blockers studied. Empirical formula information can be obtained by this method, allowing the unequivocal identification of the target compounds in the samples. To increase the sensitivity, a solid‐phase extraction step with Oasis MCX cartridge was carried out yielding recoveries of 79–114% (n=5) with RSD 2–7% for the LC‐TOF‐MS method. SPE gives a high purification of β‐blockers compared with the existing methods. A 100% methanol wash was allowed for these compounds with no loss of analytes. Limit of quantification was 1–7 ng/L for LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD and 0.25–5 ng/L for LC‐TOF‐MS. As a result of selective extraction and effective removal of coextractives, no matrix effect was observed in LVI‐LC‐LC‐FD and LC‐TOF‐MS analyses. The methods were applied to detect and quantify β‐blockers in groundwater samples of Almería (Spain).     

Simultaneous separation of eight beta-adrenergic drugs using titanium dioxide nanoparticles as additive in capillary electrophoresis

The analysis is described for separating seven beta-adrenergic blocking agents (atenolol, celiprolol, clorprenaline, fenoterol, metoprolol, propranolol, terbutaline) and clenbuterol (sympathomimetic beta-2 receptor stimulating agonist, decongestant and bronchodilator, illicit anabolic used in athletics) by CE with UV detection. In order to simultaneously separate all analytes, Tris-H3PO4 solution was applied containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) as BGEs. The effects of important factors, such as concentration of TiO2 NPs, optimum pH, run buffer concentration, and separation voltage, were investigated so as to achieve best CE separation. The eight analytes could be well separated applying a separation voltage of 15 kV in 75 mM Tris-H3PO4 buffer at a pH of 2.40, containing 6.0 x 10(-6) g/mL TiO2 NPs. Under these optimal conditions, the RSDs for peak areas and for migration times were less than 2.7 and 2.3%, respectively. The detection limits were 0.1 microg/mL for celiprolol, 0.1 microg/mL for propranolol, 0.2 microg/mL for fenoterol, 1.0 microg/mL for atenolol, 1.0 microg/mL for clenbuterol, 1.0 microg/mL for clorprenaline, 1.0 microg/mL for metoprolol, and 1.0 microg/mL for terbutaline. The proposed method was successfully applied for the rapid CE determination of the frequently applied antihypertensive beta-blocking compounds atenolol, metoprolol, terbutaline, and propranolol in pharmaceutical tablets.     

A highly sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of midazolam, 1'-hydroxymidazolam and 4-hydroxymidazolam in human plasma

A highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of midazolam and its major metabolites 1'-hydroxymidazolam and 4-hydroxymidazolam in human plasma was developed and validated. Stable isotope-labeled midazolam-D(4) and 1'-hydroxymidazolam-D(4) were used as internal standards. Compounds were extracted from 0.5 mL plasma by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate-heptane (1:4). Chromatography was achieved using a Sunfire C(18) column. The mobile phase was a gradient with 10 m m formic acid in Milli-Q water and methanol at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Total run time was 10 min. Detection was performed using a tandem mass spectrometer with positive electrospray ionization. Calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.10-50.0 ng/mL for midazolam and 0.025-25.0 ng/mL for both metabolites. For all compounds the lower limit of quantification was 0.10 ng/mL. Imprecision was assessed according to the NCCLS EP5-T guideline and was below 10% for all compounds. Mean recoveries were between 94 and 109% for midazolam and its metabolites. The validated method was successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study investigating in vivo CYP3A-activity in a large cohort of renal allograft recipients using sub-therapeutic doses of midazolam as a drug-probe.     

Analysis of amphetamines and fentanyls by atmospheric pressure desorption/ionization on silicon mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and its application to forensic analysis of drug seizures

The suitability of atmospheric pressure desorption/ionization on silicon mass spectrometry (AP-DIOS-MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (AP-MALDI-MS) for the identification of amphetamines and fentanyls in forensic samples was studied. With both ionization techniques, the mass spectra recorded showed abundant protonated molecules, and the background did not disturb the analysis. The use of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allowed unambiguous identification of the amphetamines and fentanyls. AP-DIOS-MS/MS and AP-MALDI-MS/MS were also successfully applied to the identification of authentic compounds from drug seizures. Common diluents and tablet materials did not disturb the analysis and compounds were unequivocally identified. The limits of detection (LODs) for amphetamines and fentanyls with AP-DIOS-MS/MS were 1-3 pmol, indicating excellent sensitivity of the method. The LODs with AP-MALDI-MS/MS were about 5-10 times higher.     

Mass spectrometric profiling of flavonoid glycoconjugates possessing isomeric aglycones

In fields such as food and nutrition science or plant physiology, interest in untargeted profiling of flavonoids continues to expand. The group of flavonoids encompasses several thousands of chemically distinguishable compounds, among which are a number of isobaric compounds with the same elemental composition. Thus, the mass spectrometric identification of these compounds is challenging, especially when reference standards are not available to support their identification. Many different types of isomers of flavonoid glycoconjugates are known, i.e. compounds that differ in their glycosylation position, glycan sequence or type of interglycosidic linkage. This work focuses on the mass spectrometric identification of flavonoid glycoconjugate isomers possessing the same glycan mass and differing only in their aglycone core. A non‐targeted HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS profiling method using a triple quadrupole MS is presented herein, which utilizes in‐source fragmentation and a pseudo‐MS³ approach for the selective analysis of flavonoid glycoconjugates with isomeric/isobaric aglycones. A selective MRM‐based identification of the in‐source formed isobaric aglycone fragments was established. Additionally, utilizing the precursor scanning capability of the employed triple quadrupole instrument, the developed method enabled the determination of the molecular weight of the studied intact flavonoid glycoconjugate. The versatility of the method was proven with various types of flavonoid aglycones, i.e. anthocyanins, flavonols, flavones, flavanones and isoflavones, along with their representative glycoconjugates. The developed method was also successfully applied to a commercially available sour cherry sample, in which 16 different glycoconjugates of pelargonidin, genistein, cyanidin, kaempferol and quercetin could be tentatively identified, including a number of compounds containing isomeric/isobaric aglycones. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A strategy for extending the applicability of a validated plasma calibration curve to quantitative measurements in multiple tissue homogenate samples: a case study from a rat tissue distribution study of JI-101, a triple kinase inhibitor

A general practice in bioanalysis is that, whatever the biological matrix the analyte is being quantified in, the validation is performed in the same matrix as per regulatory guidelines. In this paper, we are presenting the applicability of a validated LC‐MS/MS method in rat plasma for JI‐101, to estimate the concentrations of JI‐101 in various tissues that were harvested in a rat tissue distribution study. A simple protein precipitation technique was used to extract JI‐101 and internal standard from the tissue homogenates. The recovery of JI‐101 in all the matrices was found to be >70%. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a binary gradient using mobile phase A (acetonitrile) and B (0.2% formic acid in water) at a flow rate of 0.30 mL/min on a Prodigy ODS column with a total run time of 4.0 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were 466.1 → 265 for JI‐101 and 180.1 → 110.1 for internal standard. The linearity range was 5.02–4017 ng/mL. The JI‐101 levels were quantifiable in the various tissue samples harvested in this study. Therefore, the use of a previously validated JI‐101 assay in plasma circumvented the tedious process of method development/validation in various tissue matrices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of norisoboldine and its major metabolite in rat plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

Norisoboldine (NIB) is one of the main bioactive isoquinoline alkaloids in Linderae Radix. A rapid, selective and sensitive method using UPLC‐ESI/MS was first developed for simultaneous determination of NIB and norisoboldine‐9‐O‐α‐glucuronide (NIB‐Glu), its major metabolite in rat plasma. A one‐step protein precipitation with methanol was employed as sample preparation technique. Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Acquity UPLC BEH C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, i.d. 1.7 µm) with a gradient mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid. Detection and quantification were performed using a quadrupole mass spectrometer by selective ion reaction‐monitoring mode. Good linearity was achieved using weighted (1/x²) least squares linear regression over the concentration ranges 0.01–2 µg/mL for NIB and 0.025–25 µg/mL for NIB‐Glu. The lower limit of quantification of NIB and NIB‐Glu was 0.01 and 0.025 µg/mL, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (relative standard deviations) of the assay at all three quality control levels were 4.6–14.1% for NIB, and 5.0–12.2% for NIB‐Glu. The accuracies (relative error) were −13.5–8.1% for NIB and −12.8–7.6% for NIB‐Glu, respectively. This developed method was successfully applied to an in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rats after a single intravenous dose of 10 mg/kg NIB. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of a LC–MS/MS method developed for the determination of p‐phenylenediamine,N‐acetyl‐p‐phenylenediamine and N,N‐diacetyl‐p‐phenylenediamine in human urine specimens

Cases of poisoning by p‐phenylenediamine (PPD) are detected sporadically. Recently an article on the development and validation of an LC–MS/MS method for the detection of PPD and its metabolites, N‐acetyl‐p‐phenylenediamine (MAPPD) and N,N‐diacetyl‐p‐phenylenediamine (DAPPD) in blood was published. In the current study this method for detection of these compounds was validated and applied to urine samples. The analytes were extracted from urine samples with methylene chloride and ammonium hydroxide as alkaline medium. Detection was performed by LC–MS/MS using electrospray positive ionization under multiple reaction‐monitoring mode. Calibration curves were linear in the range 5–2000 ng/mL for all analytes. Intra‐ and inter‐assay imprecisions were within 1.58–9.52 and 5.43–9.45%, respectively, for PPD, MAPPD and DAPPD. Inter‐assay accuracies were within ?7.43 and 7.36 for all compounds. The lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL for all analytes. The method, which complies with the validation criteria, was successfully applied to the analysis of PPD, MAPPD and DAPPD in human urine samples collected from clinical and postmortem cases.     

Analysis of alkannin derivatives from Alkanna species by high-performance liquid chromatography/photodiode array/mass spectrometry

Alkannin, shikonin (A/S) and their derivatives are enantiomeric hydroxynaphthoquinone red pigments found in the roots of almost 150 species of the Boraginaceae family. A/S have been shown to exhibit strong wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and recent extensive research has well established their antitumor properties. A/S and their derivatives comprise the active ingredients of several pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations. Although A/S have been efficiently synthesized and have been produced by cell tissue cultures in high yield, most of the pharmaceutical preparations worldwide contain A/S extracted from the roots of Boraginaceous species, found in nature. In the present study, a high-performance liquid chromatography/photodiode array/mass spectrometry (HPLC/PDA/MS) method was established to identify monomeric hydroxynaphthoquinones of the alkannin series and other metabolites from Boraginaceous root extracts. This method can be applied for the identification of alkannin derivatives and other metabolites from Boraginaceous cell cultures, and also to determine active ingredients in pharmaceutical preparations containing A/S derivatives. A phytochemical investigation of the Alkanna genus grown in Greece was also performed. Fifty-three root samples belonging to 10 species of the genus Alkanna (A. calliensis, A. corcyrensis, A. graeca, A. methanaea, A. orientalis, A. pindicola, A. primuliflora, A. sieberi, A. stribrnyi and A. tinctoria) were collected from several regions of the Greek flora and analyzed for their constituent hydroxynaphthoquinones and other metabolites. In most of the above Alkanna samples tested, the main hydroxynaphthoquinones were determined to be beta,beta-dimethylacrylalkannin, isovalerylalkannin + alpha-methyl-n-butylalkannin and acetylalkannin. The hydroxynaphthoquinone constituents and their proportions were found to vary among Alkanna species. Unknown metabolites (not monomeric hydroxynaphthoquinones) were detected by HPLC-PDA-MS, while in several Alkanna species hydroxynaphthoquinones were detected for the first time.     

Rapid stereoselective separations of amphetamine derivatives with highly sulfated gamma-cyclodextrin

The highly sulfated gamma-CD (HS-gamma-CD) is a chiral selector widely used in CE for the enantioseparation of pharmaceutical compounds. This paper investigated different approaches to reduce the stereoselective analysis time of amphetamine (AT) derivatives according to the chiral selector concentration in the BGE. With high HS-gamma-CD concentration, tested analytes were separated in 3.5 min as anionic complexes with short-end injection technique in reversed polarity mode. However, this procedure presented some limitations in terms of efficiency and resolution, excessive Joule heating and poor compatibility with MS detection. With low HS-gamma-CD concentration, compounds were separated as cations. Conventional approaches to reduce CE analysis time demonstrated critical resolution between some analytes. Therefore, the use of the partial-filling technique compatible with MS detection was carried out. Under optimized conditions, the analysis time for the chiral separation of seven AT like compounds was reduced to 6 min. Moreover, sensitivity of CE-MS was sufficient for the determination of ATs in plasma following a simple liquid-liquid extraction.     

Profiling of grape monoterpene glycosides (aroma precursors) by ultra‐high performance‐liquid chromatography‐high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC/QTOF)

A ‘suspect screening analysis’ method for grape metabolomics by ultra‐high performance‐liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and high‐resolution quadrupole‐time of flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry was recently developed. This method was applied to study grape monoterpene glycosides, the main grape aroma precursors. Since standard compounds were not available, they were tentatively identified by overlapping various analytical approaches, in agreement with the indications recommended in mass spectrometry (MS)‐based metabolomics. Accurate mass and isotopic pattern, MS/MS fragmentation, correlation between fragments observed and putative structures and between liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry signals were studied. Seventeen monoterpene glycosides were identified without performing the hydrolytic artifacts commonly used to study these compounds which may affect sample profile. This is the first time that a detailed study of these aroma precursors has been carried out by direct LC/MS analysis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural elucidation of amino amide‐type local anesthetic drugs and their main metabolites in urine by LC‐MS after derivatization and its application for differentiation between positional isomers of prilocaine

The demand for clinical toxicology analytical methods for identifying drugs of abuse and medicinal drugs is steadily increasing. Structural elucidation of amino amide‐type local anesthetic drugs and their main metabolites by GC‐EI‐MS and LC‐ESI‐MS/MS is of great analytical challenge. These compounds exhibit only/mostly fragments/product ions representing the amine‐containing residue, while the aromatic amide moiety remains unidentified. This task becomes even more complicated when discrimination between positional isomers of such compounds is required. Here, we report the development of a derivatization procedure for the differentiation and structural elucidation of a mixture of local anesthetic drugs and their metabolites that possess tertiary and secondary amines in water and urine. A method based on two sequential “in‐vial” instantaneous derivatization processes at ambient temperature followed by LC‐ESI‐MS/MS analysis was developed. 2,2,2‐Trichloro‐1,1‐dimethylethyl chloroformate (TCDMECF) was utilized to selectively convert the secondary amines into their carbamate derivatives, followed by hydrogen peroxide addition to produce the corresponding tertiary amine oxides. The resulting derivatives exhibited rich fragmentation patterns, enabling improved structural elucidation of the original compounds. The developed method was successfully applied to the differentiation and structural elucidation of prilocaine and its four positional isomers, which all possess similar GC and LC retention times and four of them exhibit almost identical EI‐MS and ESI‐MS/MS spectra, enabling their structural elucidation in a single LC‐ESI‐MS/MS analysis. The developed technique is fast and simple and enables discrimination between isomers based on different diagnostic ions/fragmentation patterns.     

Enantiomeric analysis of baclofen analogs by capillary zone electrophoresis, using highly sulfated cyclodextrins: Inclusion ionization constant pKa determination

Using cyclodextrin-capillary zone electrophoresis (CD-CZE), baseline separation of baclofen phaclofen, saclofen, and hydroxy-saclofen, potent gamma-aminobutyric acid(B) (GABA(B)) agonist or antagonists was achieved. A method for the enantioresolution of those analogs of GABA was developed using anionic cyclodextrins (highly sulfated CD or highly S-CD) as chiral selectors and capillaries dynamically coated with polyethylene oxide (PEO). With charged CDs we observed good resolutions due to the large electrophoretic mobility of these chiral selectors opposite to the mobility of the solutes. The highly S-alpha-CD and S-beta-CD were found to be complementary and the most effective complexing agent, allowing good enantiomeric resolution in short runtimes. The complete resolution was obtained using 25 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 containing 3% w/v of highly S-alpha-CD or S-beta-CD at 25 degrees C with an applied field of 0.30 kV/cm. The apparent binding constants of the inclusion complexes were evaluated and the migration order was determined. A comparison was possible to investigate the importance of the anionic group of the molecules in the separations. The pK(a) values were determined for all four compounds in order to explain relative electrophoretic migration of the solutes.     

A rapid and sensitive LC–MS/MS method for quantification of quercetin‐3‐O‐β‐d‐glucopyranosyl‐7‐O‐β‐d‐gentiobioside in plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A rapid and sensitive LC–MS/MS method with good accuracy and precision was developed and validated for the pharmacokinetic study of quercetin‐3‐O‐β‐d ‐glucopyranosyl‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐gentiobioside (QGG) in Sprague–Dawley rats. Plasma samples were simply precipitated by methanol and then analyzed by LC–MS/MS. A Venusil® ASB C₁₈ column (2.1 × 50 mm, i.d. 5 μm) was used for separation, with methanol–water (50:50, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 300 μL/min. The optimized mass transition ion‐pairs (m/z) for quantitation were 787.3/301.3 for QGG, and 725.3/293.3 for internal standard. The linear range was 7.32–1830 ng/mL with an average correlation coefficient of 0.9992, and the limit of quantification was 7.32 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were less than ±15%. At low, medium and high quality control concentrations, the recovery and matrix effect of the analyte and IS were in the range of 89.06–92.43 and 88.58–97.62%, respectively. The method was applied for the pharmacokinetic study of QGG in Sprague–Dawley rats. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method capable of simultaneously quantitating celiprolol and atenolol in human plasma for a cassette cold-microdosing study

A highly sensitive simultaneous quantitative method for a cassette cold-microdosing study on celiprolol and atenolol was developed with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method utilizes a combination of solid-phase extraction (SPE) with strong cation exchange (SCX) cartridge columns and reversed-phase chromatography with an ODS analytical column. SCX-SPE cartridge columns (100 mg sorbent) were used for a selective extraction of celiprolol, atenolol and metoprolol (internal standard) from 500 μL of human plasma samples. Turbo-ion spray at positive mode was employed for the ionization of the drug compounds. Quantitation was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer by selected reaction monitoring with the transitions of m/z 380 to m/z 251 for celiprolol and m/z 267 to m/z 145 for atenolol. Separation of analytes was achieved on an ODS column (100 mm length × 2.1 mm id, 3 μm) by a gradient elution with 10 mM formic acid and methanol by varying their proportion at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The method was validated in the range of 1-250 pg/mL for celiprolol and 2.5-250 pg/mL for atenolol and was successfully applied to the elucidation of pharmacokinetic profiling in a cold cassette microdosing study of the β-blockers.     

Highly sensitive determination of tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol A in environmental water samples by solid‐phase extraction and liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry

Using bamboo‐activated charcoal as SPE adsorbent, a novel SPE method was developed for the sensitive determination of tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol A in environmental water samples by rapid‐resolution LC‐ESI‐MS/MS. Important parameters influencing extraction efficiency, including type of eluent, eluent volume, sample pH, volume and flow rate, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal extraction conditions (eluent: 8 mL methanol, pH: 7; flow rate: 4 mL/min; sample volume: 100 mL), low LODs (0.01–0.02 ng/mL), good repeatability (6.2–8.3%) and wide linearity range (0.10–10 ng/mL) were obtained. Satisfied results were achieved when the proposed method was applied to determine the two target compounds in real‐world environmental water samples with spiked recoveries over the range of 80.5–119.8%. All these facts indicate that trace determination of tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol A in real‐world environmental water samples can be realized by bamboo‐activated charcoal SPE‐rapid resolution‐LC‐ESI‐MS/MS.