Comparison of derivatization and chromatographic methods for GC–MS analysis of amino acid enantiomers in physiological samples

GC–MS analysis of fluorinated and non-fluorinated chloroformate and anhydride derivatives of amino acid (AA) enantiomers on two different chiral columns was compared for the direct quantification of free l- and d-AAs in human serum and urine in a single analytical run. Best sensitivity was achieved with pentafluoropropionic anhydride/heptafluorobutanol derivatives separated on a Chirasil-l-Val column. However, the occurrence of racemization during derivatization precluded accurate quantification of AA enantiomers. Derivatization with methyl chloroformate/methanol and separation on an Rt-γDEXsa column did not exhibit racemization and yielded ten baseline separated racemates of proteinogenic AAs with resolution values greater than 2.4. However, protein and peptide hydrolysis occurred in serum and urine during the highly exothermal derivatization reaction under alkaline conditions. Removing serum proteins by precipitation before derivatization and performing the reaction at neutral pH enabled the determination of accurate free AA enantiomer concentrations. Accuracy of quantification was validated by an established nonchiral GC–MS method for AA analysis. Reliable quantification was achieved using stable-isotope labeled l-AAs as internal standards. Limits of detection (LOD) and lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) for the d-AAs were in the range of 3.2–446 nM and 0.031–1.95 μM, respectively. Relative standard deviations (N = 6) for the measurement of AAs in urine and serum ranged from 0.49–11.10% to 0.70–3.87%, respectively. The method was applied to the analysis of urine from 19 patients with renal insufficiency. In comparison to healthy probands, D-ratios of Ala, Val, Pro, Thr, Asp, and Asn were significantly increased.     

Gas chromatographic analysis of amino acid enantiomers in Carbetocin peptide hydrolysates after fast derivatization with pentafluoropropyl chloroformate

A novel sample preparation protocol for gas chromatographic (GC) analysis of amino acid enantiomers in peptides was developed. It comprises traditional acid hydrolysis, a novel treatment of the analytes with a fluoroalkyl chloroformate and GC/FID separation of enantiomers on a chiral capillary column. The major improvements consist in that the derivatization step proceeds in organic-aqueous media within seconds and the amino acid derivatives are volatile enough to suit the temperature range of the chiral Chirasil-Val capillary column. The approach was found beneficial for chiral analysis of pharmaceutically important Carbetocin peptide.     

Enantioselective and highly sensitive determination of carvedilol in human plasma and whole blood after administration of the racemate using normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A highly sensitive HPLC method for enantioselective determination of carvedilol in human whole blood and plasma was developed. Carvedilol and S-carazolol as an internal standard extracted from whole blood or plasma were separated using an enantioselective separation column (Chiralpak AD column; 2.0 diameter x 250 mm) without any chiral derivatizations. The mobile phase was hexane:isopropanol:diethylamine (78:22:1, v/v). The excitation and emission wavelengths were set at 284 and 343 nm, respectively. The limits of quantification for the S(-)- and R(+)-carvedilol enantiomers in plasma and blood were both 0.5 ng/ml. Intra- and inter-day variations were less than 5.9%. As an application of the assay, concentrations of carvedilol enantiomer in plasma and blood samples from 15 patients treated with carvedilol for congestive heart failure were determined.     

Direct enantioselective HPLC monitoring of lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of tiaprofenic acid in nonstandard HPLC organic solvents

The first straightforward lipase-catalyzed enantioselective access to enantiomerically enriched tiaprofenic acid as a versatile method in chiral separation of racemates is demonstrated. The latter was directly monitored by enantioselective HPLC using a 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate derivative of cellulose-based chiral stationary phase namely Chiralpak IB (the immobilized version of Chiralcel OD). Non-standard HPLC organic solvents were used as diluent to dissolve the "difficult to dissolve" enzyme substrate (the acid) and as eluent for the simultaneous enantioselective HPLC baseline separation of both substrate and product in one run without any further derivatization. The existence of a non-standard HPLC organic solvent (e.g., methyl tert-butyl ether) in the mobile phase composition is mandatory to accomplish the simultaneous enantioselective HPLC baseline separation of both substrate and product.     

Enantiomeric separation of norgestrel by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography using eluents containing hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin in stereoselective skin permeation study

The chiral separation of norgestrel enantiomers using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was studied with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) as chiral mobile phase additive. The effect of mobile phase composition, concentration of HP-beta-CD and column temperature on enantioselective separation were investigated. The quantification properties of the developed RP-HPLC method were examined. A baseline separation of norgestrel enantiomers was achieved on a Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C8 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm). The mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer (pH 5.0, 20 mM) containing 25 mM HP-beta-CD (30:70, v/v) with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The UV detector was set at 240 nm. Calibration curves were linear (n=8) in the range of 0.2-25 microg/ml, the limit of detection and quantitation were 0.10 and 0.20 microg/ml, respectively, for racemic norgestrel. The values of RSD of repeatability and intermediate precision for spiked sample were less than 4.8%. The method was successfully applied to the enantioselective determination of this drug in stereoselective skin permeation study.     

Separation and aquatic toxicity of enantiomers of 1-(substituted phenoxyacetoxy)alkylphosphonate herbicides

A series of organophosphorous compounds (OPs), 1-(substituted phenoxyacetoxy)alkylphosphonates containing a chiral carbon atom, show notable herbicidal activities. In this study, the enantioselective separation and biological toxicity of all these compounds were investigated. The enantioselective separation on the columns of Chiralpak AD, Chiralpak AS, Chiralcel OD, and Chiralcel OJ were compared under various chromatographic conditions. All the analytes investigated obtained baseline resolution (R(s) > 1.5) on Chiralpak AD column, which showed best chiral separation capacity. Further investigation was carried out on Chiralpak AD to evaluate the influence of the mobile phase composition and column temperature. The effect of the structural features on discrimination was also examined. The resolved enantiomers were distinguished by their signs of circular dichroism. The acute aquatic toxicity of enantiomers and racemate to Daphnia magna (D. magna) were assessed. The in vivo assays showed that compound 3 was about 2-148.5 times more toxic than the other four analogues to D. magna. The racemates of compounds 3 and 5 showed intermediate toxicity compare to their enantiomers, while those of compounds 1, 2, and 4 showed synergistic or antagonistic effect. These results suggest that the biological toxicity of chiral OPs to nontarget organisms is enantioselective and therefore should be evaluated with their pure enantiomers.     

Chiral separation and quantification of R/S-amphetamine, R/S-methamphetamine, R/S-MDA, R/S-MDMA, and R/S-MDEA in whole blood by GC-EI-MS

The enantioselective composition of the amphetamines is of interest, as the enantiomers show differences in their pharmacological effects and several methods for chiral separation of amphetamines have been described. Only a few methods have used whole blood as matrix and none of these separates both classic amphetamines (amphetamine and methamphetamine) and designer amphetamines (MDA, MDMA and MDEA). The aim of this study was, therefore, to develop a method for enantioselective analysis of AM, MA, MDA, MDMA, and MDEA in whole blood. The amphetamines were extracted from 0.5 g of whole blood by liquid-liquid extraction. After derivatization with R-MTPCl, the resulting diastereomers were separated by GC on a HP-5MS column and detected by SIM-MS. R-MTPCl was used as derivatization reagent because of the stability of this reagent and good separation of these analytes. Through the method, development time and temperature of the derivatization were optimized, and by admixture of 0.02% triethylamine it became possible to detect the amphetamines in adequately low concentrations as more analytes were derivatized. The method was validated and it was linear from 0.004 to 3 microg/g per enantiomer. The accuracy was within 91-115%, while the repeatability and reproducibility were < or =15% R.S.D. A method suitable for enantioselective separation and analysis of the amphetamines has been achieved, and the method was applied to analysis of whole blood samples originating from traffic and criminal cases and post mortem cases.     

Simultaneous enantioselective separation of polychlorinated biphenyls and their methyl sulfone metabolites by heart-cut MDGC: determination of enantiomeric fractions in fish oils and cow liver samples

The potential of three capillary columns based on β-cyclodextrin (i.e., Chirasil-Dex, BGB-172, and BGB-176SE) has been studied for the simultaneous enantiomeric separation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylsulfonyl metabolites of PCBs (MeSO(2)-PCBs) employing a heart-cut multidimensional gas chromatographic system (heart-cut MDGC). Among the columns studied, the BGB-176SE capillary column provided the best results, allowing the simultaneous enantioselective resolution of six MeSO(2)-PCBs and six chiral PCBs; the Chirasil-Dex column did not resolve any of the studied MeSO(2)-PCBs; and a poor resolution was obtained for three MeSO(2)-PCBs when the BGB-172 column was employed. The developed method was successfully applied to two fish oil and one cow liver samples commercially available, which showed different enantioselective pattern. PCBs 91 and 176 presented a clear enrichment of the second eluted atropisomer in codfish oil, whereas in fish oil sample, slight enrichment of the first eluted atropisomer of CB45 and the second eluted atropisomer of CB136 were observed.     

Direct resolution of optically active isomers on chiral packings containing ergoline skeleton. 6. Enantioseparation of profens

The enantioselective behaviour of some underivatized 2-arylpropionic acids (profens) and flobufen by HPLC using a terguride-based chiral stationary phase was tested. X-ray analysis of crystals of the chiral selector and its complexes with naproxen allowed a deeper insight into the enantiodiscriminative process. The column stability and reproducibility, and the potential of the packing for semipreparative scale separations were also determined. A method for determining flobufen enantiomers and metabolites in plasma samples is described.     

Stereoselective degradation of metalaxyl and metalaxyl-M in soil and sunflower plants.

A high proportion of agrochemicals are chiral compounds. Since stereoisomers often show different biological and physiological properties, the biological and metabolic responses to these compounds and their fate in the environment are expected to be different. In this work we investigate a possible stereo and/or enantioselective degradation in soil and plants (sunflower) of the fungicide Metalaxyl (rac-Metalaxyl) and the new compound Metalaxyl-M ((-)-(R)-Metalaxyl) and propose procedures for extraction, cleanup, chromatographic separation of enantiomers, and determination of the R : S ratio by using an HPLC chiral column. The degradation of the two stereoisomers of Metalaxyl proved to be enantioselective and dependent on the media: the (+)-(S)-enantiomer showed a faster degradation in plants, while the (-)-(R)-enantiomer showed a faster degradation in soil. In this study there was no evidence that racemization of Metalaxyl-M took place either in soil or in sunflowers.     

Determination of amino acids in rat brain microdialysate with 1,2,5,6-dibenzocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate as labeling reagent by high performance liquid chromatographic fluorescence detection and mass spectrometric identification

A high performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of 20 amino acids (AAs), using 1,2,5,6-dibenzocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (DBCEOC-Cl) as a novel fluorescent labeling reagent, has been developed and applied for the analysis of AAs in rat brain microdialysate. The simultaneous separation of 20 AA derivatives was achieved on a Hypersil BDS C(18) column with gradient elution. And the identification of AA derivatives was carried out by on-line electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in positive ion mode. The AA derivatives were detected with excitation and emission at 300 nm and 395 nm, respectively. Excellent linear responses were observed with coefficients of >0.9988. The detection limits ranged from 0.217 to 4.75 nmol/L, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The intra-day and inter-day precision for each AA was <3.2% and <4.3%, respectively. The mean recoveries for all AAs studied were in the range of 92.5-105.6%. Good compositional data could be obtained from as little as 15 μL of microdialysate. Facile DBCEOC-Cl derivatization coupled with high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection allowed the development of a highly sensitive method for the quantitative analysis of trace levels of AAs from microdialysate.     

Separation of enantiomers by open capillary electrochromatography on polysiloxane-bonded permethyl-beta-cyclodextrin

The separation of enantiomers by open capillary electrochromatography (o-CEC) using Chirasil-Dex as chiral stationary phase (CSP) is reviewed. In Chirasil-Dex, permethylated beta-cyclodextrin is linked via a single octamethylene spacer to polydimethylsiloxane. The CSP is coated and thermally immobilized onto the internal surface of a fused-silica column (i.d. 50 microm). Employing a single open-tubular column coated with Chirasil-Dex, a unified enantioselective approach can be realized using the four common chromatographic techniques: o-GC, o-SFC, o-LC and o-CEC. The chiral stationary phase Chirasil-Dex can be combined with a charged cyclodextrin derivative, which is added into the mobile phase. In the resulting dual chiral recognition system, enhancement of enantioselectivity (matched case) or compensation of enantioselectivity (mismatched case) are observed. The overall enantioselectivity is dependent on the sense of enantioselectivity of the selectors chosen and their influence on the electrophoretic and electroosmotic migration of the enantiomers of a selectand. The feasibility to couple chiral o-CEC and ESI/MS is demonstrated for trace analysis of enantiomeric drugs in body fluids.     

Chiral separation of amino acids in biological fluids by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A method is presented for the chiral analysis of amino acids in biological fluids using micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The amino acids are derivatized with the chiral reagent (+/−)-1-(9-anthryl)-2-propyl chloroformate (APOC) and separated using a mixed micellar separation system. No tedious pre-purification of samples is required. The excellent separation efficiency and good detection capabilities of the MEKC-LIF system are exemplified in the analysis of urine and cerebrospinal fluid. This is the first time MEKC has been reported for chiral analysis of amino acids in biological fluids. The amino acids -alanine, -glutamine, and -aspartic acid have been observed in cerebrospinal fluid, and -alanine and -glutamic acid in urine. To the best of our knowledge no measurements of either -alanine in cerebrospinal fluid or -glutamic acid in urine have been presented in the literature before.     

Polarimetric detection in high-performance liquid chromatography

Chiroptical detection for HPLC is particularly useful as a selective detection method for chiral molecules, and in enantiomeric purity determination with partial chiral separation or without chiral separation. The recent development of laser-based polarimeters with microdegree sensitivity has increased the applicability of optical rotation detection in HPLC. The detection limit of these instruments is submicrogram on-column for many chiral compounds in analytical HPLC. A variety of applications of the selective detection of optically active molecules are reviewed. The use of polarimetric detection with partial chiral separation is considered, both as an aid to method development and for enantiomeric purity determination. Finally applications to enantiomeric purity determination without chiral separation are reviewed, with the dual use of nonchirally selective and chiroptical detectors to determine the total amount and optical purity of the analyte. Determinations of chiral purity for samples of high enantiomeric excess are described, which with laser-based instrumentation may give accuracies of better than +/- 1% with sample loadings of 50 micrograms on an achiral column. Applications to the study of enantioselective reactions are also considered, with determination of enantiomeric excess in near-racemates to better than +/- 0.1%.     

Enantioselective HPLC determination of E-6087, a new COX-2 inhibitor, in human plasma: Validation and pharmacokinetic application

E-6087 is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory compound that selectively inhibits cyclooxygenase-2. Because E-6087 has a chiral center, this compound is a racemic mixture of two stereoisomers, (+)-(R)-E-6087 (E-6231) and (-)-(S)-E-6087 (E-6232). A normal-phase liquid-chromatographic method for the enantioselective determination of E-6087 in human plasma was developed and validated. The samples were extracted using solid-phase extraction cartridges containing C(18) sorbent, and the extracts were redissolved in absolute ethanol and injected into the chromatographic system. The enantiomeric separation was achieved on a chiral stationary-phase column of derivatized amylose, and the enantiomers were quantified by fluorescence detection. The method was validated for drug concentrations ranging from 5 to 400 ng/ml for both enantiomers. No peaks interfering with the quantification of enantiomers were observed. The limit of quantification was 5 ng/ml, with precision expressed as a coefficient of variation lower than 10.6% and accuracy expressed as relative error lower than 12.2%. The utility of this method was demonstrated by analysis of plasma samples from healthy volunteers given an oral dose of rac-E-6087. Peak plasma levels of E-6231 were higher than levels obtained for E-6232. Results were consistent with those obtained with a conventional reversed-phase method used for determination of the racemic compound.     

Direct high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of beta-lactam stereoisomers

High-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for the separation of the enantiomers of 12 beta-lactams. Direct separations were performed on chiral stationary phases (CSPs) containing cellulose-tris-3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate (Chiralcel OD-RH and OD-H columns), the macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotic teicoplanin (Chirobiotic T column), or teicoplanin aglycone (Chirobiotic TAG column) as the chiral selector. It was clearly established that, with teicoplanin-based columns, the teicoplanin aglycone was most often responsible for the enantioseparation of the beta-lactams. The difference in enantioselective free energy between the aglycone CSP and the teicoplanin CSP was in the range between 0.02 and 0.97 kJ mol(-1) for these beta-lactam stereoisomer separations. The separations were carried out with high selectivity and resolution, and the method was therefore suitable for monitoring of the enantiomeric excess after chiral synthesis. The Chirobiotic and Chiralcel columns appear to be highly complementary to one another. The best separation of this class of beta-lactam compound could be obtained using the Chirobiotic TAG in the polar-organic mode plus the Chiralcel OD-H in the normal-phase mode. The elution sequence was also determined.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of mexiletine enantiomers in plasma using direct and indirect enantioselective separations

Two methods were developed for the determination of mexiletine enantiomers in plasma samples suitable for studies on the stereoselective disposition of this drug. Both methods used fluorescence detection to improve sensitivity and selectivity. The direct enantioselective separation was based on the chiral resolution of mexiletine-2-naphthamide derivatives on a Chiralcel OJ column. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range 50–500 ng/ml for each enantiomer; therefore the method can be used only for therapeutic monitoring, drug interaction and multiple dose pharmacokinetic studies. The indirect method was based on the formation of diastereomers using o-phthaldialdehyde and N-acetyl-l-cysteine reagents. The diastereomers were resolved on a reversed-phase RP-18 column. The method proved to be suitable for single or multiple dose pharmakokinetic studies based on the loq quantification limit ng/ml) and the broader linear range (1–1000 ng/ml) obtained.     

A green and effective method for the determination of metalaxyl enantiomers in tobacco and soil by supercritical fluid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

We reported a new methodology for the stereoselective determination of metalaxyl enantiomers in tobacco and soil. The QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method was used for the extraction and clean-up of the tobacco and soil samples. Separation of the metalaxyl enantiomers was performed on an ACQUITY UPC2 Trefoil CEL1 chiral column coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (SFC-MS/MS), and the run time was only 5 minutes. Under the optimized conditions, the recoveries for the enantiomers were between 78.2% and 93.3% with intraday relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 1.1% to 5.4%. The limit of detection (LOD) for the enantiomers in tobacco and soil varied from 0.005 to 0.007 mg/kg, and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) ranged from 0.017 to 0.020 mg/kg. In this method, only a small amount of methanol was consumed to obtain a rapid stereoselective separation. This proposed method showed good accuracy and precision and might be suitable for fast enantioselective determination of metalaxyl in food and environmental samples. The developed method was further validated by application to the analysis of authentic samples.     

Chiral stationary phase covalently bound with a chiral pseudo-18-crown-6 ether for enantiomer separation of amino compounds using a normal mobile phase

In order to apply the excellent chiral recognition ability of chiral pseudo-18-crown-6 ethers that we developed to chiral separation, we prepared a chiral stationary phase (CSP) by immobilizing a chiral pseudo-18-crown-6-type host on 3-aminopropyl silica gel. A chiral column was prepared by the slurry-packing method in a stainless steel HPLC column. A liquid chromatography system using this CSP combined with the detection by mass spectrometry was used for enantiomer separation of amino compounds. A normal mobile phase can be used on this CSP as opposed to conventional dynamic coating-type CSPs. Enantiomers of 18 common natural amino acids were efficiently separated. The chiral separation observed for amino acid methyl esters, amino alcohols, and lipophilic amines was fair using this HPLC system. In view of the correlation between the enantiomer selectivity observed in chromatography and the complexion in solution, the chiral recognition in host-guest interactions might contribute to this enantiomer separation.     

Chiral discrimination of multiple profens as diastereomeric (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamides by achiral dual-column gas chromatography

Profens were converted into diastereomeric (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamides using ethyl chloroformate and triethylamine in dichloromethane. Gas chromatographic analysis on dual-columns with different polarities provided complete enantioresolution of eight profens, facilitating chiral discrimination based on matching with retention index sets characteristic of each enantiomer. The present method was linear (r >/= 0.9992) with good precision (0.8-6.0%) and accuracy (-9.3 to 0.003%), allowing detection of trace (R)-profens in optical purity test on four (S)-profen mixture in a single run. And the method allowed simultaneous enantiomeric screening for ibuprofen enantiomers and their chiral metabolites excreted in urine following administration of racemic ibuprofen.