Enzymatic determination of L-phenylalanine and phenylpyruvate with L-phenylalanine dehydrogenase

An enzymatic method is described for the determination of L-phenylalanine or phenylpyruvate using L-phenylalanine dehydrogenase. The enzyme catalyzes the NAD-dependent oxidative deamination of L-phenylalanine or the reductive amination of the 2-oxoacid, respectively. The stoichiometric coupling of the coenzyme allows a direct spectrophotometric assay of the substrate concentration. The equilibrium of the reaction favors L-phenylalanine formation; however, by measuring initial reaction velocities, the enzyme can be used for L-phenylalanine determination, too. Standard solutions of L-phenylalanine in the range of 10-300 microM and of phenylpyruvate (5-100 microM) show a linearity between the value for dENADH/min and the substrate concentration. Besides phenylalanine, the enzyme can convert tyrosine and methionine, and their oxoacids, respectively. The Km values of these substrates are higher. The influence of tyrosine on the determination of phenylalanine was studied and appeared tolerable for certain applications.     

Simple HPLC-UV method for determination of iohexol, iothalamate, p-aminohippuric acid and n-acetyl-p-aminohippuric acid in human plasma and urine with ERPF, GFR and ERPF/GFR ratio determination using colorimetric analysis

A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of iohexol, iothalamate, p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) and n-acetyl-p-aminohippuric acid (n-acetyl-PAH) in human plasma and urine. A C(18) column at a flow rate of 1 ml/min with an aqueous mobile phase of trifluoroacetic acid (0.1% TFA in deionized water (pH 2.2), v/v) and methanol gradient was used for component separation. The plasma and urine assay demonstrated linearity from 10 to 50 microg/ml for iohexol and iothalamate, 5 to 40 microg/ml for PAH and 2.5 to 40 microg/ml for n-acetyl-PAH. The HPLC plasma and urine results obtained for PAH were used to calculate the subject kidney effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) and the iohexol results were used to calculate the subject kidney glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The HPLC results for PAH were then compared to an alternative colorimetric method for analyzing PAH to determine if subject metabolism (acetylation) of PAH affected the ERPF results obtained using the colorimetric method, the subsequent ERPF/GFR ratio and clinical impression of subject patient kidney function. The method was utilized in several different clinical studies evaluating the effect of kidney function from medications (phase IV evaluations) marketed for patients with cardiovascular disease.     

Rapid and convenient determination of oxalic acid employing a novel oxalate biosensor based on oxalate oxidase and SIRE technology

A new method for rapid determination of oxalic acid was developed using oxalate oxidase and a biosensor based on SIRE (sensors based on injection of the recognition element) technology. The method was selective, simple, fast, and cheap compared with other present detection systems for oxalate. The total analysis time for each assay was 2-9 min. A linear range was observed between 0 and 5 mM when the reaction conditions were 30 degrees C and 60 s. The linear range and upper limit for concentration determination could be increased to 25 mM by shortening the reaction time. The lower limit of detection in standard solutions, 20 microM, could be achieved by means of modification of the reaction conditions, namely increasing the temperature and the reaction time. The biosensor method was compared with a conventional commercially available colorimetric method with respect to the determination of oxalic acid in urine samples. The urine oxalic acid concentrations determined with the biosensor method correlated well (R=0.952) with the colorimetric method.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the determination of bestatin in rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

Bestatin is a low molecular weight aminopeptidase inhibitor originally isolated from culture filtrates of Streptomyces olivoreticuli. We have developed a sensitive, specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the quantitative determination of bestatin in rat plasma using granisetron as the internal standard. The analyte and internal standard were isolated from 50 microL plasma samples by solid phase extraction (SPE). Reverse-phase HPLC separation was accomplished on a Lichrospher C18 column (4.6 mm x 50 mm, 5 microm) with a mobile phase composed of methanol-water-formic acid (70:30:0.5, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The method had a chromatographic total run time of 3 min. A Varian 1200L electrospray tandem mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source was operated in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode with the precursor-to-product ion transitions m/z 309.2-->120.0 (bestatin) and 313.4-->138.0 (granisetron) used for quantitation. The method was sensitive with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 5 ng/mL, with good linearity (r2 >or= 0.999) over the linear range of 5-2000 ng/mL. All the validation data, such as accuracy, precision, and inter-day repeatability, were within the required limits. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of bestatin in rats.     

Headspace solid-phase microextraction and capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of rivastigmine in canine plasma samples

A simple, rapid and sensitive method for determination of rivastigmine in plasma samples was developed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The optimum conditions for the SPME procedure were: headspace extraction on a 65-microm polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB) fiber; 0.5 ml of plasma modified with 1.0 ml of sodium hydroxide-sodium carbonate solution (0.7 M:0.5M); extraction temperature of 100 degrees C, with stirring at 2000 rpm for 30 min. The calibration curve showed linearity in the range from 0.2 to 80 ng/ml with regression coefficient corresponding to 0.9965 and coefficient of the variation of the points of the calibration curve lower than 10%. The quantification limit for rivastigmine in plasma was 0.2 ng/ml. The method was applied to determination of rivastigmine in canine plasma samples from animals after a single oral administration.     

Evaluation of a colorimetric method for vitamin A estimation

A simple colorimetric procedure for plasma vitamin A is evaluated, which does not require sophisticated or expensive equipment. Vitamin A values obtained with 30 human plasma samples and 11 liver samples obtained from lactating rabbits, using a colorimetric procedure based on Carr-Price reaction with ferric chloride and acetyl chloride were compared with those obtained with spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric micro methods. With widely varying plasma samples, the values showed a high degree correlation and good agreement. The intraassay variation was 3% which is in the acceptable range. The plasma samples could be analysed within 4 weeks and the reagents, were found to be stable, unlike some batches of trifluoro acetic acid (TFA).     

超高压对植物乳杆菌能量代谢影响的研究

以植物乳杆菌ATCC8014为试材,研究超高压对其能量代谢的影响。建立了用氯化碘硝基四唑紫测定ATCC8014的INT代谢还原活性的比色法。用比色法测定了超高压对ATCC8014的INT代谢还原活性与葡萄糖利用的影响。试验结果表明,150~250MPa作用15min在MRS琼脂培养基上随着压力的增大菌落数显著降低,INT代谢还原活性降低显著,葡萄糖的利用变化不明显;超过300MPa后,葡萄糖的利用才显著降低;400MPa处理15min,尽管在MRS琼脂培养基上菌落数低于检测限,INT代谢还原活性为0%,而葡萄糖的利用能力仍为对照组的56.1%,超高压作用下ATCC8014的灭活与INT代谢还原活性的降低的相关性较好。说明ATCC8014的细胞膜上参与葡萄糖的吸收和运输的酶、糖酵解的酶与调节系统比三羧酸循环的酶与调节系统较耐压。三羧酸循环比糖酵解对超高压敏感,三羧酸循环的抑制是超高压灭活其的重要原因,这为了探讨超高压杀灭植物乳杆菌的机制提供了一定的理论依据。     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of xanthinol in human plasma and its application in a bioequivalence study of xanthinol nicotinate tablets

A sensitive, rapid liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric method for the determination of xanthinol in human plasma was developed and validated. Xanthinol nicotinate in plasma (0.5mL) was pretreated with 20% trichloroacetic acid for protein precipitation. The samples were separated using a Lichrospher silica (5mum, 250mmx4.6mm i.d.). A mobile phase of methanol-water containing 0.1% formic acid (50: 50, v/v) was used isocratically eluting at a flow rate of 1mL/min. Xanthinol and its internal standard (IS), acyclovir, were measured by electrospray ion source in positive selected reaction monitoring mode. The method demonstrated that good linearity ranged from 10.27 to 1642.8ng/mL with r=0.9956. The limit of quantification for xanthinol in plasma was 10.27ng/mL with good accuracy and precision. The mean plasma extraction recovery of xanthinol was in the range of 90.9-100.2%. The intra- and inter-batch variability values were less than 4.8% and 7.9% (relative standard deviation, R.S.D.), respectively. The established method has been successfully applied to a bioequivalence study of two xanthinol nicotinate tablets for 20 healthy volunteers.     

Development and validation of a selective and robust LC-MS/MS method for high-throughput quantifying rizatriptan in small plasma samples: application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study

An analytical method based on liquid chromatography with positive ion electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of a potent 5-HT(1B/1D) receptor agonist, rizatriptan in human plasma using granisetron as the internal standard. The analyte and internal standard were isolated from 100 microL plasma samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and chromatographed on a Lichrospher C18 column (4.6mm x 50mm, 5 microm) with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-10mM aqueous ammonium acetate-acetic acid (50:50:0.5, v/v/v) pumped at 1.0 mL/min. The method had a chromatographic total run time of 2 min. A Varian 1200 L electrospray tandem mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source was operated in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode with the precursor-to-product ion transitions m/z 270-->201 (rizatriptan) and 313.4-->138 (granisetron) used for quantitation. The assay was validated over the concentration range of 0.05-50 ng/mL and was found to have acceptable accuracy, precision, linearity, and selectivity. The mean extraction recovery from spiked plasma samples was above 98%. The intra-day accuracy of the assay was within 12% of nominal and intra-day precision was better than 13% C.V. Following a 10mg dose of the compound administered to human subjects, mean concentrations of rizatriptan ranged from 0.2 to 70.6 ng/mL in plasma samples collected up to 24h after dosing. Inter-day accuracy and precision results for quality control samples run over a 5-day period alongside clinical samples showed mean accuracies of within 12% of nominal and precision better than 9.5% C.V.     

Stability of the complex formed between French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and its transition-state analog

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase forms trans-cinnamate from L-phenylalanine, and thus stands at a gateway to secondary metabolism in higher plants. L-alpha-Amino-oxy-beta-phenylpropanoic acid (L-AOPP), a very effective competitive inhibitor of this enzyme, is most probably a transition-state analog for the elimination reaction. A preparation of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), obtained from diluted suspension cultures of French bean cells, was used to investigate the binding of this compound in vitro. After extensive dialysis, the inhibitor remained tightly bound to the enzyme unless both an increased temperature and L-phenylalanine were provided, when the spectrophotometer trace of enzyme activity gradually approached linearity. Under such optimal catalytic conditions (37 degrees C; 25 mM L-phenylalanine; pH 8.8), dissociation of the enzyme-ligand complex took place with a half-time of approx 10 min. (This is much longer than reported for the enzyme from maize.) The consequences of these findings are discussed for investigations where L-AOPP is applied in vivo. These experiments have shown that the irreversible binding of the transition-state analog under appropriate conditions (0-4 degrees C, no L-phenylalanine) gave continued protection against attack on the enzyme by an excess of borohydride. By titrating the enzyme with increasing concentrations of analog and measuring the degree of protection afforded, the active-site concentration has been estimated. The turnover number (kcat = 0.8 s-1) given by this novel approach is of the same order of magnitude as previously reported from extensive purification of enzyme from other species.     

Simultaneous measurement of phenylalanine and tyrosine in phenylketonuric plasma and dried blood by high-performance liquid chromatography

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a disorder characterized by an interruption in the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine, a reaction catalyzed by phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). Animal models of PKU used in this study were induced by daily subcutaneous injections of pups with alpha-methylphenylalanine plus phenylalanine in utero and postnatally from day 4 to day 14. Dry blood and plasma were utilized to measure phenylalanine concentration in PKU rats. The results indicated that the concentration of phenylalanine is higher and more stable in plasma than dry blood. Precolumn derivatization of dried blood and plasma free amino acids were conducted with phenylisothiocyanate (PITC). The phenylthiocarbamyl (PTC) derivatives were separated on a reversed-phase C-18 column (15 cm x 4.6 mm). A gradient high-performance liquid chromatography method with two eluents, 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer and 100% acetonitrile was developed to facilitate the separation of nine amino acids within 11 min. Tyrosine and phenylalanine eluted the column at 5.4 and 9.4 min, respectively. This method provides a quick and reliable technique for neonatal screening.     

High-throughput determination of fudosteine in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, following protein precipitation in the 96-well plate format.

A 96-well protein precipitation, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and fully validated for the determination of fudosteine in human plasma. After protein precipitation of the plasma samples (50 microL) by the methanol (150 microL) containing the internal standard (IS), erdosteine, the 96-well plate was vortexed for 5 min and centrifuged for 15 min. The 100 microL supernatant and 100 microL mobile phase were added to another plate and mixed and then the mixture was directly injected into the LC-MS/MS system in the negative ionization mode. The separation was performed on a XB-CN column for 3.0 min per sample using an eluent of methanol-water (60:40, v/v) containing 0.005% formic acid. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using the precursor-product ion transitions m/z 178-->91 and m/z 284-->91 was performed to quantify fudosteine and erdosteine, respectively. The method was sensitive with a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 0.02 microg mL(-1), with good linearity (r>0.999) over the linear range of 0.02-10 microg mL(-1). The within- and between-run precision was less than 5.5% and accuracy ranged from 94.2 to 106.7% for quality control (QC) samples at three concentrations of 0.05, 1 and 8 microg mL(-1). The method was employed in the clinical pharmacokinetic study of fudosteine formulation product after oral administration to healthy volunteers.     

Determination of a new non-narcotic analgesic, DA-5018, in plasma, urine and bile by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of a new non-narcotic analgesic, DA-5018 (I), in rat plasma, urine and bile samples, using propranolol for plasma samples and protriptyline for urine and bile samples as internal standards. The method involved extraction followed by injection of 100 μl of the aqueous layer onto a C₁₈ reversed-phase column. The mobile phases were 5 mM methanesulfonic acid with 10 mM NaH₂PO₄ (pH 2.5)-acetonitrile, 70:30 (v/v) for plasma samples and 75:25 (v/v) for urine and bile samples. The flow-rates were 1.0 ml/min for plasma samples and 1.2 ml/min for urine and bile samples. The column effluent was monitored by a fluorescence detector with an excitation wavelength of 270 nm and an emission wavelength of 330 nm. The retention time for I was 4.8 min in plasma samples and 10.0 min in urine and bile samples. The detection limits for I in rat plasma, urine and bile were 20, 100 and 100 ng/ml, respectively. There was no interference from endogenous substances.     

Determination of zolmitriptan in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method: application to a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-tandem spectrometry method for the determination of zolmitriptan was developed and validated over the linearity range 0.05-30 ng/ml with 0.5 ml of plasma using diphenhydramine as the internal standard. Liquid-liquid extraction using a mixture of diethyl ether and dichloromethane was used to extract the drug and the internal standard from plasma. The mass spectrometer was operated under the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode using the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) technique. The instrument parameters were optimized to obtain 3.0 min run time. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water-formic acid (70:30:0.5), at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min. In positive mode, zolmitriptan produced a protonated precursor ion at m/z 288 and a corresponding product ion at m/z 58. And internal standard produced a protonated precursor ion at m/z 256 and a corresponding product ion at m/z 167. The inter- and intra-day precision (%R.S.D.) were less than 8.5% and accuracy (%error) was less than -2.5%. The method had a lower limit of quantification of 0.05 ng/ml for zolmitriptan, which offered increased sensitivity and selectivity of analysis, compared with existing methods. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of zolmitriptan after an oral administration of 5 mg zolmitriptan to 20 healthy volunteers.     

Rapid on-line determination of cholesterol distribution among plasma lipoproteins after high-performance gel filtration chromatography

A high-performance gel chromatography (HPGC) system has been developed which allows the unattended on-line determination of lipoprotein cholesterol distribution (VLDL-C, LDL-C, HDL-C), within 40 min, in microliter quantities of plasma using a single, relatively inexpensive column (Superose 6HR). The FAST cholesterol reagent (Sclavo) and a knitted PFTE Kratos reaction coil (Applied Biosystems) were found to provide optimal sensitivity, linearity, resolution, and dispersion characteristics. Validation is provided by comparison to target values for human quality control reference sera, and by comparing the values obtained by HPGC to the beta-quant method (LRC). The utility of the system is illustrated by comparing profiles from seven different species with normal or elevated plasma cholesterol concentrations. This technique allows rapid analysis of samples, regardless of species, without the use of precipitating agents or the ultracentrifuge. It could also be applied for the direct clinical determination of LDL-cholesterol.     

Development and validation of a sensitive HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the direct determination of glucosamine in human plasma

A sensitive and specific HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the direct determination of glucosamine in human plasma has been developed and validated. Plasma samples were analyzed after a simple, one-step protein precipitation clean-up with trichloroacetic acid using a polymer-based amino high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column and a water/acetonitrile mobile phase elution gradient, with d-[1-(13)C]glucosamine as the internal standard. Detection was performed by mass spectrometry, using an electrospray source and employing multiple reaction monitoring to separately monitor glucosamine and the internal standard. The limit of quantification of the method was 10ng/ml of glucosamine and the calibration curve showed a good linearity up to 1000ng/ml. The precision (R.S.D.) and the accuracy (bias) of the method at the limit of quantification were 13.8 and 4.0%, respectively, and the mean recovery of glucosamine at three concentration levels was 101.6+/-5.7%. The method was applied for the determination of glucosamine concentrations in human plasma samples collected from untreated healthy volunteers and, in a separate bioavailability study, to evaluate plasma glucosamine pharmacokinetics profiles after oral administration of crystalline glucosamine sulfate.     

Quantification of 5-azacytidine in plasma by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography

5-Azacytidine (5AC), a nucleoside analogue and hypomethylating agent, has anticancer properties and has been utilized in the treatment of various malignancies. 5AC is unstable and rapidly hydrolyzed to several by-products, including 5-azacytosine and 5-azauracil. A sensitive, reliable method was developed to quantitate 5AC using LC/MS/MS to perform pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies on 5AC combination therapy trials. Blood samples were collected in a heparinized tube and immediately processed for storage. To increase the stability of 5AC in plasma, 25 ng/mL tetrahydrouridine was added to the plasma and snap frozen. Plasma samples were extracted using acetonitrile then cleaned up by Oasis MCX ion exchange solid-phase extraction cartridges. 5AC was separated on an YMC Jsphr M80 C(18) column with gradient elution of ammonium acetate (2 mM) with 0.1% formic acid and methanol mobile phase. 5AC elutes at 5.0 +/- 0.2 min with a total run time of 30 min. Identification was through positive-ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring mode at m/z+ 244.9-->113.0 for 5AC and m/z+ 242.0-->126.0 for 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine, the internal standard. The lower limit of quantitation of 5AC was 5 ng/mL in human plasma, and linearity was observed from 5 to 500 ng/mL fitted by linear regression with 1/x weight. This method is 50 times more sensitive than previously published assays and successfully allows studies to characterize the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of 5AC.     

Direct analysis of salicylic acid,salicyl acyl glucuronide,salicyluric acid and gentisic acid in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the simultaneous direct determination of salicylate (SA), its labile, reactive metabolite, salicyl acyl glucuronide (SAG), and two other major metabolites, salicyluric acid and gentisic acid in plasma and urine is described. Isocratic reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) employed a 15-cm C₁₈ column using methanol-acetonitrile-25 mM acetic acid as the mobile phase, resulting in HPLC analysis time of less than 20 min. Ultraviolet detection at 310 nm permitted analysis of SAG in plasma, but did not provide sensitivity for measurement of salicyl phenol glucuronide. Plasma or urine samples are stabilized immediately upon collection by adjustment of pH to 3–4 to prevent degradation of the labile acyl glucuronide metabolite. Plasma is then deproteinated with acetonitrile, dried and reconstituted for injection, whereas urine samples are simply diluted prior to injection on HPLC. m-Hydroxybenzoic acid served as the internal standard. Recoveries from plasma were greater than 85% for all four compounds over a range of 0.2–20 μg/ml and linearity was observed from 0.1–200 μg/ml and 5–2000 μg/ml for SA in plasma and urine, respectively. The method was validated to 0.2 μg/ml, thus allowing accurate measurement of SA, and three major metabolites in plasma and urine of subjects and small animals administered salicylates. The method is unique by allowing quantitation of reactive SAG in plasma at levels well below 1% that of the parent compound, SA, as is observed in patients administered salicylates.     

Determination of cabergoline and L-dopa in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

We determined cabergoline and L-dopa in human plasma using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The deproteinized plasma samples with organic solvent or acid were analyzed directly by reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM, product ions m/z 381 of m/z 452 for cabergoline and m/z 152 of m/z 198 for L-dopa) on LC-MS-MS with electrospray ionization (ESI), cabergoline and L-dopa in human plasma were determined. Calibration curves of the method showed a good linearity in the range 5-250 pg/ml for cabergoline and 1-200 ng/ml for L-dopa, respectively. The limit of determination was estimated to be approximately 2 pg/ml for cabergoline and approximately 0.1 ng/ml for L-dopa, respectively. The method was applied to the analysis of cabergoline and L-dopa in plasma samples from patients treated with these drugs. The precision of analysis showed coefficients of variation ranging from 3.8% to 10.5% at cabergoline concentration of 13.8-26.2 pg/ml and from 2.9% to 8.9% at an L-dopa concentration of 302.5-522.1 ng/ml in patient plasma. As a result, the procedure proved to be very suitable for routine analysis.     

Rapid determination of 5-fluorouracil in plasma using capillary electrophoresis

A rapid, simple and sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method used for the determination of 5-fluorouracil in rabbit plasma is described in the present paper. In this method, samples were simply pretreated by a solvent extraction procedure prior to injection. With a running buffer composed of 30 mM Tris-H(3)PO(4) (pH 7.0) and 5% isopropanol, 5-fluorouracil was easily separated from the external standard alpha-phenethylol as well as other substances existed in the plasma. A linearity of 5-fluorouracil was determined in the range from 0.17 to 42.50 microg/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. A limit of quantitation (LOQ) corresponding to signal-to-noise ratio of 10 was obtained (LOQ=0.08 microg/ml). The method was successfully used for determining the 5-fluorouracil in real plasma samples from rabbits.