Determination of multiclass pesticides in food commodities by pressurized liquid extraction using GC–MS/MS and LC–MS/MS

Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) was applied to the simultaneous extraction of a wide range of pesticides from food commodities. Extractions were performed by mixing 4 g of sample with 4 g of Hydromatrix and (after optimization) a mixture of ethyl acetate:acetone (3:1, v/v) as extraction solvent, a temperature of 100°C, a pressure of 1000 psi and a static extraction time of 5 min. After extraction, the more polar compounds were analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC), and the apolar and semipolar pesticides by gas chromatography (GC); in both cases LC and GC were coupled with mass spectrometry in tandem (MS/MS) mode. The overall method (including the PLE step) was validated in GC and LC according to the criteria of the SANCO Document of the European Commission. The average extraction recoveries (at two concentration levels) for most of the analytes were in the range 70–80%, with precision values usually lower than 15%. Limits of quantification (LOQ) were low enough to determine the pesticide residues at concentrations below or equal to the maximum residue levels (MRL) specified by legislation. In order to assess its applicability to the analysis of real samples, aliquots of 15 vegetable samples were processed using a conventional extraction method with dichloromethane, and the results obtained were compared with the proposed PLE method; differences lower than 0.01 mg kg⁻¹ were found.     

LC–MS/MS法测定动物性食品中万古霉素残留

建立液相色谱–串联质谱(LC–MS/MS)法检测动物性食品中万古霉素药物残留的方法。用磷酸盐缓冲溶液对动物性食品中的万古霉素进行提取,经HLB固相萃取柱净化,采用电喷雾离子源,以正离子检测方式进行质谱分析。实验结果表明,万古霉素质量浓度在1~500μg/L范围内与色谱峰面积呈良好的线性,相关系数r=0.998。低、中、高3个质量浓度添加水平的回收率为84.8%~118.2%,相对标准偏差为2.2%~7.2%(n=5),检出限为2μg/kg。     

Determination of Eleutherosides in Dietary Supplements by LC–MS/MS

A simple and specific method for the simultaneous determination of eleutherosides B and E in powdered rhizomes of Eleutherococcus senticosus extract and in solid and liquid dietary supplements was developed and validated. E. senticosus extracts, often mixed with other plants or herbal extracts, are widely used in food supplements because of the tonic and adaptogenic activities referred to the eleutherosides B and E. In this study, samples were analyzed by a liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS) method operated in single reaction monitoring (SRM). Validation was carried out in terms of limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), linearity, precision and trueness. LOD and LOQ values were fixed at 3 μg L^?1 and 10 μg L^?1, respectively, whereas linearity was established within 10–1,000 μg L^?1 range for both compounds. Good precision was obtained for both eleutherosides in terms of intra-day precision (RSD % lower than 4 %) and inter-day precision (RSD % lower than 6 %). Good percentage recoveries were obtained for both eleutherosides (91.5–103.6 %). Finally, the developed method was successfully applied to analyze a number of solid and liquid commercial dietary supplements containing E. senticosus extracts, also mixed with other herbal extracts.     

Determination of steroid hormones in blood by GC–MS/MS

This paper presents the development, optimization and validation of a methodology to determine nine key steroid hormones (viz. pregnenolone, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, estrone, 17α-estradiol and 17β-estradiol) expressed in the steroidogenesis in biological fluids. The analytical method allows for the determination of steroid hormones in blood plasma and serum down to 0.08–0.16 ng/mL for estrogens, 0.20–0.36 ng/mL for androgens and 0.36–0.43 ng/mL for progestagens. These limits of detection were obtainable using a two-step solid-phase clean-up for fractionation and elimination of interfering lipids (fatty acids, phospholipids, glycerides and sterols) from the steroid hormones. The accuracy of the method was 50–112% in the range 0.10 to 2.00 ng/mL.     

Simultaneous quantification of ten cytotoxic drugs by a validated LC–ESI–MS/MS method

A liquid chromatography separation with electrospray ionisation and tandem mass spectrometry detection method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of ten commonly handled cytotoxic drugs in a hospital pharmacy. These cytotoxic drugs are cytarabine, gemcitabine, methotrexate, etoposide phosphate, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, irinotecan, doxorubicin, epirubicin and vincristine. The chromatographic separation was carried out by RPLC in less than 21 min, applying a gradient elution of water and acetonitrile in the presence of 0.1% formic acid. MS/MS was performed on a triple quadrupole in selected reaction monitoring mode. The analytical method was validated to determine the limit of quantification (LOQ) and quantitative performance: lowest LOQs were between 0.25 and 2 ng mL(-1) for the ten investigated cytotoxic drugs; trueness values (i.e. recovery) were between 85% and 110%, and relative standard deviations for both repeatability and intermediate precision were always inferior to 15%. The multi-compound method was successfully applied for the quality control of pharmaceutical formulations and for analyses of spiked samples on potentially contaminated surfaces.     

Determination of Fenofibric Acid in Human Plasma by LC–MS/MS and LC–UV

A sensitive, high-throughput and economic liquid chromatographic method for determination of fenofibric acid in human plasma was developed and validated by ultraviolet detection and tandem mass spectrometry, then applied in pharmacokinetic study to investigate Lipanthyl™ 200 mg MC bioavailability under food and fasting conditions. Fenofibric acid with 2-chloro fenofibric acid-d6 (internal standard) was extracted from 100 µL of human plasma by acetonitrile in a single extraction step. 25 and 2 µL from supernatant were injected onto ACE column, 50 mm, 5 micron with 4.6 mm inner diameter for LC–UV and 2.1 mm for LC–MS/MS, and both systems were eluted isocratically by water:methanol:formic acid (35:65:0.1, v/v/v), with a constant flow rate of 1 mL min⁻¹. The established calibration curve was linear between 0.05–20 µg mL⁻¹, and the within- and between-day precisions were all below 13 % in both LC–MS/MS and LC–UV systems during validation, and accuracies ranged between 91 and 112 %. Twenty-eight healthy adult subjects participated in this clinical study, and the pharmacokinetic parameters including coefficient of variation were calculated and discussed. A dramatic decrease in C _max and AUC0-72 (3.63- and 1.85-fold, respectively) were observed for Lipanthyl™ MC under fasting conditions with more variable inter subject measurements comparing to the fed state.

     

Simultaneous Determination of Toxic Alkaloids in Blood and Urine by HPLC–ESI–MS/MS

A sensitive and selective method for simultaneous determination of 29 toxic alkaloids in human blood and 31 in urine using high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. The samples were diluted with 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HCl, and the target alkaloids were purified by solid phase extraction. The separation of 31 alkaloids was carried out on a C18 column using a gradient mobile phase with 10 mmol L⁻¹ ammonium formate in water with 0.1% formic acid and methanol at the rate of 0.25 mL min⁻¹. The triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source in the positive mode was set up in the dynamic multiple reactions monitoring mode (dynamic MRM) to detect the ion transitions of 31 alkaloids. The calibration curves were linear over a range of 0.5–400, 1–400, or 4–400 μg L⁻¹ for target alkaloids in human blood and urine, and the correlation coefficients (r ²) was higher than 0.9943. The limit of determination and limit of quantification were 0.2–1 and 0.5–4 μg L⁻¹ for blood and urine, respectively. The only exceptions were sanguinarine and chelerythrine in human blood. All the target alkaloids were stable under the test condition. In addition, the solvent effect and reconstituted solution were investigated. The method was validated and proved to be accurate and precise over the studied concentrations and suitable for poisoning diagnosis and forensic toxicology.

     

LC–MS/MS analysis of coccidiostats in meat supply chain safety

The presence of coccidiostats in meat products represents an important topic because of the animal administration of these substances, authorized as feed additives for targeted species, in order to prevent and inhibit coccidiosis. Coccidiostats include both ionophores and synthetic molecules characterized by different chemical–physical properties such as polarity. Meat is a matrix characterized by many interfering compound groups, such as proteins, phospholipids, and fats. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) analysis allows the required selectivity and sensitivity for discriminating analytes and matrix interferences. For these reasons, an LC–MS/MS method for the analysis of coccidiostats in meat products was developed without SPE purification steps. The correct analyte quantification is allowed by matrix-matched calibration. The method validation was performed by the replicated analysis of spiked meat samples at two different concentration levels (limit of quantification—LOQ—and a 10 times LOQ) in order to evaluate method recovery and repeatability, plus spiked samples at higher concentrations up to 10,000 μg/kg. Moreover, the metrological approach was used for the calculation of method uncertainty. The application of the developed method to real samples evidenced the presence of some non-ionophores coccidiostats in the meat and liver of chicken and rabbit species. Although, the determined concentration was below the established MRLs, the monitoring of coccidiostats in the meat supply chain is confirmed as a good strategy in order to safeguard consumer health.     

Thermal decomposition of RDX/AP by TG–DSC–MS–FTIR

The method of TG–DSC–MS–FTIR simultaneous analysis has been used to study the thermal decomposition mechanism of the RDX/AP (1/2) mixture. TG–DSC showed that there were two mass loss processes for thermal decomposition of RDX/AP. The first one was mainly ascribed to the thermal decomposition of RDX. Addition of AP to RDX causes decomposition to take place abruptly, after melting, resulting in a very sharp and strong peak at lower temperature. The apparent activation energies, calculated by model-free Friedman method, of this process were negative. The second mass loss process of RDX/AP was confirmed to be the thermal decomposition of AP, catalyzed by RDX. This process can be divided into three stages, which were an nth-order autocatalytic and two one-dimensional diffusion stages, respectively. There was a competition among the formation reactions of N₂O, HNCO, and HCl for the first stage and between NO₂ and N₂O for the later two stages. The production of N₂O dominated in the second stage, while NO₂ did in the third stage.     

Quantitative determination of cationic modified polysaccharides on hair using LC–MS and LC–MS–MS

Cationic polysaccharides containing N-hydroxypropyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium substituents are widely used as conditioning agents for hair-care products. A sensitive method has been developed for the quantitation of these polymers. After acidic extraction from hair the polysaccharides are hydrolyzed using trifluoroacetic acid. The cationic monoglycosides are determined using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS). The developed method is independent of hair treatment. Even hair cut from test persons after customary hair wash can be analyzed. After treatment of natural and bleached hair tresses using a real-life treatment procedure 180 g and 300 g of polymer per gram hair were quantified, respectively. Additionally the fragmentation mechanism of the cationic N-hydroxypropyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium group during electrospray ionization was investigated. A mass loss of 60 Da in combination with loss of a single charge is observed and associated with cleavage of trimethylamine and a proton. It is assumed that this process is promoted by the anionic counter-ion which might be hydroxide in an aqueous environment.     

LC–MS–MS Determination of Nikethamide in Human Plasma

A sensitive LC–MS–MS method with electrospray ionization has been developed for determination of nikethamide in human plasma. After addition of atropine as internal standard, liquid–liquid extraction was used to produce a protein-free extract. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a 150 mm × 2.1 mm, 5 μm particle, Agilent Zorbax SB-C₁₈ column, with 45:55 (v/v) methanol–water containing 0.1% formic acid as mobile phase. LC–MS–MS was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using target fragment ions m/z 178.8 → 107.8 for nikethamide and m/z 289.9 → 123.8 for the internal standard. Calibration plots were linear over the range of 20.0–2,000 ng mL^?1. The lower limit of quantification was 20.0 ng mL^?1. Intra-day and inter-day precisions were better than 4.2 and 6.1%, respectively. Mean recovery of nikethamide from human plasma was in the range 65.3–71.1%.     

LC–MS/MS Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Free Urinary Steroids

Cortisol homeostasis is implicated in hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Two enzymes modulate cortisol availability; 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) preferentially converts inactive cortisone to cortisol, whereas 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) converts cortisol to cortisone. In contrast, 5α and 5β reductases inactivate cortisol by conversion to its tetrahydrometabolites: tetrahydrocortisol, allo-tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone. A subtle local increase in cortisol can be detected by measuring 24-h urine metabolites, LC–MS/MS being the reference method. The 11β-HSD2 activity is assessed based on the cortisol/cortisone ratio, and the 11β-HSD1 activity on the (tetrahydrocortisol + allo-tetrahydrocortisol)/tetrahydrocortisone ratio. To better understand hypertension and/or metabolic syndrome pathogenesis a method for simultaneous determination of cortisol, cortisone, tetrahydrocortisol, allo-tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone was developed and validated in an LC coupled with the new detector AB Sciex QTrap^® 4500 tandem mass spectrometer. The steroids were extracted from 1 mL urine, using cortisol-D4 as internal standard. The quantification range was 0.1–120 ng/mL for cortisol and cortisone, and 1–120 ng/mL for tetrahydrometabolites, with >89 % recovery for all analytes. The coefficient of variation and accuracy was <10 %, and 85–105 %, respectively. Our LC–MS/MS method is accurate and reproducible in accordance with Food and Drug Administration guidelines, showing good sensitivity and recovery. This method allows the assessment of 11β-HSD2 and 11β-HSD1 activities in a single analytical run providing an innovative tool to explain etiology of misclassified essential hypertension and/or metabolic syndrome.     

Identification of polymer building blocks by Py–GC/MS and MALDI-TOF MS

The main goal of this work is to identify polyurethane (PU) building blocks by pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) are widely used polymer building blocks. Py–GC/MS and MALDI-TOF MS were proved to be powerful methods to distinguish TDI-PU and MDI-PU according to the characteristic pyrolysis products and the different repeated units, respectively. In Py–GC/MS, the specific pyrolyzates are TDI for TDI-PU and MDI for MDI-PU. In MALDI-TOF MS, the weights of repeated units are 264?g/mol for TDI-PU and 340?g/mol for MDI-PU.     

Recent progress in the LC–MS/MS analysis of oxidative stress biomarkers

The presence of a dynamic and balanced equilibrium between the production of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species and the in-house antioxidant defense mechanisms is characteristic for a healthy body. During oxidative stress (OS), this balance is switched to increased production of ROS and RNS, exceeding the capacity of physiological antioxidant systems. This can cause damage to biological molecules, leading to loss of function and even cell death. Nowadays, there is increasing scientific and clinical interest in OS and the associated parameters to measure the degree of OS in biofluids. An increasing number of reports using LC–MS/MS methods for the analysis of OS biomarkers can be found. Since bioanalysis is usually complicated by matrix effects, various types of cleanup procedures are used to effectively separate the biomarkers from the matrix. This is an essential part of the analysis to prepare a reproducible and homogenous solution suitable for injection onto the column. The present review gives a summary of the chromatographic methods used for the determination of OS biomarkers in both urine and plasma, serum, and whole blood samples. The first part mainly describes the biological background of the different OS biomarkers, while the second part reports examples of chromatographic methods for the analysis of different metabolites connected with OS in biofluids, covering a period from 2015 till early 2020. The selected examples mainly include LC–MS/MS methods for isoprostanes, oxidized proteins, oxidized lipoproteins, and DNA/RNA biomarkers. The last part explains the clinical relevance of this review.     

HPLC–MS/MS法测定南美白对虾苗中硝基呋喃类代谢物残留

研究了南美白对虾苗中4种硝基呋喃代谢物呋喃唑酮代谢物(AOZ)、呋喃它酮代谢物(AMOZ)、呋喃妥因代谢物(AHD)、呋喃西林代谢物(SEM)的高效液相色谱–串联质谱(HPLC–MS/MS)测定方法。以水解衍生并添加4种同位素内标的方法对样品进行处理,补偿了衍生化效率,提高了定量的准确性。实验结果表明,AOZ,AMOZ的检出限为0.10μg/kg,SEM,AHD的检出限为0.25μg/kg;AOZ,AMOZ的定量下限为0.40μg/kg,SEM,AHD的定量下限为0.50μg/kg。方法加标回收率在88.2%~97.6%之间,相对标准偏差在4.6%~8.1%(n=6)之间。该法检测灵敏度高,测量结果的精密度和准确度满足药物残留检测要求。