High‐Throughput Chiral LC–MS/MS Method Using Overlapping Injection Mode for the Determination of Pantoprazole Enantiomers in Human Plasma with Application to Pharmacokinetic Study

A sensitive and high‐throughput chiral liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of R‐pantoprazole and S‐pantoprazole in human plasma. Sample extraction was carried out by using ethyl acetate liquid–liquid extraction in 96‐well plate format. The separation of pantoprazole enantiomers was performed on a CHIRALCEL OJ‐RH column and an overlapping injection mode was used to achieve a run time of 5.0 min/sample. The mobile phase consisted of 1) 10 mM ammonium acetate in methanol: acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) and 2) 20 mM ammonium acetate in water. Isocratic elution was used with flow rate at 500 μL/min. The enantiomers were quantified on a triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with m/z 382.1/230.0 for pantoprazole and m/z 388.4/230.1 for pantoprazole‐d7. Linearity from 20.0 to 5000 ng/mL was established for each enantiomer (r² > 0.99). Extraction recovery ranged from 91.7% to 96.4% for R‐pantoprazole and from 92.5% to 96.5% for S‐pantoprazole and the IS‐normalized matrix factor was 0.98 to 1.07 for R‐pantoprazole and S‐pantoprazole, respectively. The method was demonstrated with acceptable accuracy, precision, selectivity, and stability and the method was applied to support a pharmacokinetic study of a phase I clinical trial of racemic pantoprazole in healthy Chinese subjects. Chirality 28:569–575, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Validated Method for Strigolactone Quantification by Ultra High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography – Electrospray Ionisation Tandem Mass Spectrometry Using Novel Deuterium Labelled Standards

Introduction

Strigolactones (SLs) are important plant hormones. They are difficult to analyse because they occur in very small concentrations especially in comparison with other plant hormones and other substances can interfere with their detection.

Objective

To develop a procedure for the extraction, purification and quantification of SLs from plant roots.

Methodology

Samples were prepared by extraction of plant root tissues with ethyl acetate. Then the extracts were further purified with silica column chromatography. The natural SLs in the final extracts were quantified using novel deuterium labelled SLs. The results of the methodology were compared with those of the procedure of Yoneyama and coworkers.

Results

This procedure required about 1‐g root samples to detect and quantify simultaneously the SLs (orobanchyl acetate and fabacyl acetate) concentration with high reliability.

Conclusion

A method was developed for determining endogenous fabacyl acetate and orobanchyl acetate in plant tissue based on novel deuterium labelled standards. A method of orobanchol quantification using a synthetic SL GR24 as internal standard was proposed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enantioselective Determination of the Insecticide Indoxacarb in Cucumber and Tomato by Chiral Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A convenient and precise chiral method was developed and validated for measuring indoxacarb enantiomers in cucumber and tomato using liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) with a reversed‐phase Chiralpak AD‐RH column. The target analytes were extracted by acetonitrile and then purified by solid phase extraction (SPE) using NH₂/Carb combined‐cartridge. Parameters including the matrix effect, linearity, precision, accuracy, and stability were used. Then the proposed method was successfully applied to investigate the possible enantioselective degradation of rac‐indoxacarb in cucumber and tomato under open conditions. The results indicated that the degradation of indoxacarb enantiomers followed first‐order kinetics in cucumber and tomato. The half‐lives of (+)‐S‐indoxacarb in cucumber and tomato were 3.0 and 5.9 days, respectively; while the (–)‐R‐indoxacarb were 7.3 and 12.2 days, respectively. The data of the half‐lives showed that (+)‐S‐indoxacarb was preferentially degraded in cucumber and tomato. Moreover, indoxacarb degraded faster in cucumber than in tomato. Chirality 25:350–354:, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Novel Stereoselective High‐Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for Simultaneous Determination of Guaifenesin and Ketorolac Enantiomers in Human Plasma

A novel method was developed for the simultaneous determination of guaifenesin (GUA) and ketorolac tromethamine (KET) enantiomers in plasma samples. Since GUA probably increases the absorption of coadministered drugs (e.g., KET), it would be extremely important to monitor KET plasma levels for the purpose of dose adjustment with a subsequent decrease in the side effects. Enantiomeric resolution was achieved on a polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phase, amylose‐2, as a chiral selector under the normal phase (NP) mode and using ornidazole (ORN) as internal standard. This innovative method has the advantage of the ease and reliability of sample preparation for plasma samples. Sample clean‐up was based on simply using methanol for protein precipitation followed by direct extraction of drug residues using ethanol. Both GUA and KET enantiomers were separated using an isocratic mobile phase composed of hexane/isopropanol/trifluoroacetic acid, 85:15:0.05 v/v/v. Peak area ratios were linear over the range 0.05–20 µg/mL for the four enantiomers S (+) GUA, R (–) GUA, R (+) KET, and S (–) KET. The method was fully validated according to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines in terms of system suitability, specificity, accuracy, precision, robustness, and solution stability. Finally, this procedure was innovative to apply the rationale of developing a chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of drug isomers in clinical samples. Chirality 26:629–639, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Analysis of Oxcarbazepine and the 10‐Hydroxycarbazepine Enantiomers in Plasma by LC‐MS/MS: Application in a Pharmacokinetic Study

Oxcarbazepine is a second‐generation antiepileptic drug indicated as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial seizures or generalized tonic–clonic seizures in adults and children. It undergoes rapid presystemic reduction with formation of the active metabolite 10‐hydroxycarbazepine (MHD), which has a chiral center at position 10, with the enantiomers (S)‐(+)‐ and R‐(?)‐MHD showing similar antiepileptic effects. This study presents the development and validation of a method of sequential analysis of oxcarbazepine and MHD enantiomers in plasma using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS). Aliquots of 100 μL of plasma were extracted with a mixture of methyl tert‐butyl ether: dichloromethane (2:1). The separation of oxcarbazepine and the MHD enantiomers was obtained on a chiral phase Chiralcel OD‐H column, using a mixture of hexane:ethanol:isopropanol (80:15:5, v/v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.3 mL/min with a split ratio of 1:5, and quantification was performed by LC‐MS/MS. The limit of quantification was 12.5 ng oxcarbazepine and 31.25 ng of each MHD enantiomer/mL of plasma. The method was applied in the study of kinetic disposition of oxcarbazepine and the MHD enantiomers in the steady state after oral administration of 300 mg/12 h oxcarbazepine in a healthy volunteer. The maximum plasma concentration of oxcarbazepine was 1.2 µg/mL at 0.75 h. The kinetic disposition of MHD is enantioselective, with a higher proportion of the S‐(+)‐MHD enantiomer compared to R‐(?)‐MHD and an AUC^0‐12 _{S‐(+)/R‐(?)} ratio of 5.44. Chirality 25:897–903, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Studies on Enantioselective Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Amino‐(4‐nitro‐phenyl)‐acetic Acid Enantiomers: Modeling and Optimization

BINAP‐metal complexes were prepared as extractant for enantioselective liquid–liquid extraction (ELLE) of amino‐(4‐nitro‐phenyl)‐acetic acid (NPA) enantiomers. The influence of process variables, including types of organic solvents and metal precursor, concentration of ligand, pH, and temperature on the efficiency of the extraction, were investigated experimentally. An interfacial reaction model was established for insightful understanding of the chiral extraction process. Important parameters required for the model were determined. The experimental data were compared with model predictions to verify the model prediction, It was found that the interfacial reaction model predicted the experimental results accurately. By modeling and experiment, an optimal extraction condition with pH of 7 and host (extractant) concentration of 1 mmol/L was obtained and high enantioselectivity (α_op) of 3.86 and performance factor (pf) of 0.1949 were achieved. Chirality 26:79–87, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stereoselective Determination of Metoprolol and its Metabolite α‐Hydroxymetoprolol in Plasma by LC‐MS/MS: Application to Pharmacokinetics during Pregnancy

Metoprolol is available for clinical use as a racemic mixture. The S‐(?)‐metoprolol enantiomer is the one expressing higher activity in the blockade of the β₁‐adrenergic receptor. The α‐hydroxymetoprolol metabolite also has activity in the blockade of the β₁‐adrenergic receptor. The present study describes the development and validation of a stereoselective method for sequential analysis of metoprolol and of α‐hydroxymetoprolol in plasma using high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS). 1‐ml aliquots of plasma were extracted with dichloromethane : diisopropyl ether (1:1, v/v). Metoprolol enantiomers and α‐hydroxymetoprolol isomers were separated on a Chiralpak AD column (Daicel Chemical Industries, New York, NY, USA) and quantitated by LC‐MS/MS. The limit of quantitation obtained was 0.2 ng of each metoprolol enantiomer/ml plasma and 0.1 ng/ml of each α‐hydroxymetoprolol isomer/ml plasma. The method was applied to the study of kinetic disposition of metoprolol in plasma samples collected up to 24 h after the administration of a single oral dose of 100‐mg metoprolol tartrate to a hypertensive parturient with a gestational age of 42 weeks. The clinical study showed that the metoprolol pharmakokinetics is enantioselective, with the observation of higher area under the curve (AUC)^0?∞ values for S‐(?)‐metoprolol (AUC_S‐(?)/AUC_R‐(+) = 1.81) and the favoring of the formation of the new chiral center 1′R of α‐hydroxymetoprolol (AUC^0?∞_1′R/1′S = 2.78). Chirality, 25:1–7, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Use of a Novel Sub‐2 µm Silica Hydride Vancomycin Stationary Phase in Nano‐Liquid Chromatography. II. Separation of Derivatized Amino Acid Enantiomers

A novel vancomycin silica hydride stationary phase was synthesized and the particles of 1.8 µm were packed into fused silica capillaries of 75 µm internal diameter (I.D.). The chiral stationary phase (CSP) was tested for the separation of some derivatized amino acid enantiomers by using nano‐liquid chromatography (nano‐LC). Some experimental parameters such as the type and the content of organic modifier, the pH, and the concentration of the buffer added to the mobile phase were modified and the effect on enantioselectivity, retention time, and enantioresolution factor was studied. The separation of selected dansyl amino acids (Dns‐AAs), e.g., Asp, Glu, Leu, and Phe in their enantiomers was initially achieved utilizing a mobile phase containing 85% (v/v) methanol (MeOH) and formate buffer measuring the enantioresolution factor and enantioselectivity in the range 1.74–4.17 and 1.39–1.59, respectively. Better results were obtained employing a more polar organic solvent as acetonitrile (ACN) in the mobile phase. Optimum results (Rs 1.41–6.09 and α 1.28–2.36) were obtained using a mobile phase containing formate buffer pH 2.5/water/MeOH/ACN 6:19:12.5:62.5 (v/v/v/v) in isocratic elution mode at flow rate of 130 nL/min. Chirality 27:767–772, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stereoselective Determination of a Novel Chiral Insecticide,Sulfoxaflor, in Brown Rice,Cucumber and Apple by Normal‐Phase High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

An effective high‐performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the stereoselective determination of a new sulfoximines insecticide, sulfoxaflor, in brown rice, cucumber and apple. Target compounds were extracted with acetonitrile and an aliquot cleaned with Cleanert PestiCarb/PSA (primary and secondary amine) cartridge. Five polysaccharide‐based columns were investigated on the separation of sulfoxaflor stereoisomers and the best was achieved on a ChromegaChiral CCA column with n‐hexane/ethanol/methanol (90:2:8, v/v/v) as mobile phase by UV detection at 220 nm at 20ºC. The resolutions of the four stereoisomers were 1.85, 1.54 and 3.08, and the elution order was identified by optical rotation and stereoisomers ratio. The mean recoveries of sulfoxaflor stereoisomers ranged from 77.1% to 99.3%, with relative standard deviations less than 8.9% at three concentration levels in all matrices. The limits of detection for all stereoisomers varied from 0.05 mg/kg to 0.07 mg/kg, while the limit of quantification did not exceed 0.22 mg/kg. The method was then successfully applied to determine the sulfoxaflor stereoisomers in authentic samples, confirming that it is convenient and reliable for stereoselective determination of sulfoxaflor stereoisomers in food. Chirality 26:114–120, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.