Development and validation of HPLC methods for enantioseparation of mirtazapine enantiomers at analytical and semipreparative scale using polysaccharide chiral stationary phases

Novel HPLC methods were developed for the analytical and semipreparative resolution of new antidepressant drug mirtazapine enantiomers. At analytical scale, the separation of the mirtazapine enantiomers was investigated using both cellulose and amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CDMPC and ADMPC) chiral stationary phases under normal-phases and polar organic modes. Good baseline enantioseparation was achieved using cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phases under both normal-phases and polar organic modes. Furthermore, the elution order of mirtazapine enantiomic pairs was found reversed by changing the stationary phase from the amylose-based ADMPC–CSPs to its cellulose-based counterpart, CDMPC–CSPs. The validation of the analytical methods including linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), recovery and precision, together with the semipreparative resolution of mirtazapine racemate were carried out using cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phases and methanol as mobile phase without any basic additives under polar organic mode. At analytical scale, the elution times of both enantiomers were less than 6 min at normal temperature and 1.0 ml/min, with the separation factor () 1.99 and the resolution factor (Rs) 3.56. Then, the analytical methods were scaled up to semipreparative loading to obtain small quantities of both mirtazapine enantiomers. At semipreparative scale, about 16 mg/h enantiomers could be isolated and elution times of both enantiomers were less than 10 min at 2.0 ml/min. To increase the throughput, the technique of boxcar injections was used. One enantiomer ((−)-(R)-mirtazapine) was isolated with purity of >99.9% e.e. and >98.0% yield and another ((+)-(S)-mirtazapine) was isolated with purity of >97.0% e.e. and >99.0% yield. In addition, optical rotation and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy of both mirtazapine enantiomers isolated were also investigated.     

Enantioselective analysis of mirtazapine and its two major metabolites in human plasma by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after three-phase liquid-phase microextraction

A three-phase liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) method using porous polypropylene hollow fibre membrane with a sealed end was developed for the extraction of mirtazapine (MRT) and its two major metabolites, 8-hydroxymirtazapine (8-OHM) and demethylmirtazapine (DMR), from human plasma. The analytes were extracted from 1.0 mL of plasma, previously diluted and alkalinized with 3.0 mL 0.5 mol L⁻¹ pH 8 phosphate buffer solution and supplemented with 15% sodium chloride (NaCl), using n-hexyl ether as organic solvent and 0.01 moL L⁻¹ acetic acid solution as the acceptor phase. Haloperidol was used as internal standard. The chromatographic analyses were carried out on a chiral column, using acetonitrile-methanol-ethanol (98:1:1, v/v/v) plus 0.2% diethylamine as mobile phase, at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹. Multi-reaction monitoring (MRM) detection was performed by mass spectrometry (MS-MS) using a triple-stage quadrupole and electrospray ionization interface operating in the positive ion mode. The mean recoveries were in 18.3-45.5% range with linear responses over the 1.25-125 ng mL⁻¹ concentration range for all enantiomers evaluated. The quantification limit (LOQ) was 1.25 ng mL⁻¹. Within-day and between-day assay precision and accuracy (2.5, 50 and 100 ng mL⁻¹) showed relative standard deviation and the relative error lower than 11.9% for all enantiomers evaluated. Finally, the method was successfully used for the determination of mirtazapine and its metabolite enantiomers in plasma samples obtained after single drug administration of mirtazapine to a healthy volunteer.     

A validated liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of mirtazapine and demethylmirtazapine in human plasma: application to a pharmacokinetic study

A new liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of mirtazapine and demethylmirtazapine in human plasma has been developed and fully validated. The article describes in detail the bioanalytical procedure and summarizes the validation results obtained. The samples were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction with a mixture of 1-chlorobutane/isopropanol/ethyl acetate (88:2:10, (v/v/v)). The chromatographic separation was performed on a reversed-phase XTerrra MS C₈ column ( i.d.; 3.5 μm particle size) using a mobile phase consisting of 0.010 M ammonium formate (pH 7.8) and acetonitrile (35:65, (v/v)), pumped at a flow rate of 0.80 ml min⁻¹. The analytes were detected using a Finnigan LCQ advantage ion-trap mass spectrometer with positive electrospray ionization in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Tandem mass spectrometric detection enabled the quantitation of both compounds down to 0.10 ng ml⁻¹. Calibration graphs were linear (r better than 0.990, n=11), in concentration ranges 0.10 to 200 ng ml⁻¹ for mirtazapine demethylmirtazapine. The intra- and inter-day R.S.D. values were less than 14.8 and 16.6% for mirtazapine and demethylmirtazapine, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a kinetic study in order to assess the main pharmacokinetic parameters of mirtazapine and demethylmirtazapine.     

Determination of the antidepressant mirtazapine and its two main metabolites in human plasma by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination in human plasma of the recent noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA) mirtazapine and its two main metabolites, N-desmethylmirtazapine and 8-hydroxymirtazapine, has been developed. Fluorescence detection was used, exciting at λ = 290 nm and monitoring emission at λ = 370 nm. Separation was obtained by using a reversed-phase column (C8, 250 mm × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μm) and a mobile phase composed of 75% aqueous phosphate buffer containing triethylamine at pH 3.0 and 25% acetonitrile. Melatonin was used as the internal standard. A careful pre-treatment of plasma samples was developed, using solid-phase extraction with phenyl cartridges (100 mg, 1 mL). The calibration curves were linear over a working range of 5-150 ng mL⁻¹ for mirtazapine and of 2.5-75.0 ng mL⁻¹ for N-desmethylmirtazapine and 8-hydroxymirtazapine. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 2.5 ng mL⁻¹ and the limit of detection (LOD) was 1.25 ng mL⁻¹ for all analytes. The method was applied with success to plasma samples from depressed patients undergoing treatment with mirtazapine. Precision data, as well as accuracy results, were satisfactory and no interference from other drugs was found. Hence the method is suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring of mirtazapine and its metabolites in depressed patients’ plasma.     

Enantioselective analysis of mirtazapine,demethylmirtazapine and 8‐hydroxy mirtazapine in human urine after solid‐phase microextraction

A selective and reproducible off‐line solid‐phase microextraction procedure was developed for the simultaneous enantioselective determination of mirtazapine (MRT), demethylmirtazapine and 8‐hydroxymirtazapine in human urine. CE was used for optimization of the extraction procedure whereas LC‐MS was used for method validation and application. The influence of important factors in the solid‐phase microextraction efficiency is discussed, such as the fiber coatings, extraction time, pH, ionic strength, temperature and desorption time. Before extraction, human urine samples were submitted to enzymatic hydrolysis at 37°C for 16 h. Then, the enzyme was precipitated with trichloroacetic acid and the pH was adjusted to 8 with 1 mol/L pH 11 phosphate buffer solution. In the extraction, the analytes were transferred from the aqueous solution to the polydimethylsiloxane‐divinylbenzene fiber coating and then desorbed in methanol. The mean recoveries were 5.4, 1.7 and 1.0% for MRT, demethylmirtazapine and 8‐hydroxymirtazapine enantiomers, respectively. The method was linear over the concentration range of 62–1250 ng/mL. The within‐day and between‐day assay precision and accuracy were lower than 15%. The method was successfully employed in a preliminary cumulative urinary excretion study after administration of racemic MRT to a healthy volunteer.