Gas chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of dopamine and norepinephrine metabolites

A new gas chromatographic method, using only flame ionization detection which can determine nanogram quantities of homovanillic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethyleneglycol in the same reaction, is described. These compounds are treated with diazoethane and n-butylboronic acid. Homovanillic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid are converted to their ethyl esters while 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethyleneglycol from cyclic boronates and are thus assayed. This method is quantitative, highly specific and sensitive. It has been applied to the analysis of these compounds in urine.     

Rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of ketamine and its metabolite dehydronorketamine in equine serum

A simple, rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure has been developed for the determination of ketamine and dehydronorketamine in equine serum. Sample preparation consisted of mixing equal volumes of serum and acetonitrile—phosphoric acid (85%)—water (20:2:78, v/v/v), followed by ultrafiltration through a 10 000 molecular mass cut-off filter. Separation of these two analytes in the ultrafiltrate was accomplished on a reversed-phase phenyl column eluted with methanol—acetonitrile—phosphate buffer solution. Ketamine and dehydronorketamine were detected by a variable photometric UV-Vis detector set at 215 nm, and confirmed by a photodiode array detector operated in the 200–320 nm range. The limit of detection for ketamine was 5–15 ng/ml in equine serum. Additionally, the dehydronorketamine peak identity was tentatively confirmed by thermospray liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry.     

Reliable and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of loratadine and its metabolite in human plasma

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection has been developed for the simultaneous determination of loratadine (L) and its metabolite, descarboethoxyloratadine (DCL), in human plasma. Following a two-step liquid-liquid extraction with toluene, the analytes were separated using a gradient mobile phase consisting of methanol-acetonitrile-phosphate buffer. The linearity for L and DCL was within the concentration range of 0.5-16 ng/ml. The coefficient of variation of intra- and inter-day assay was <8.3%, with accuracy ranging from 98.3 to 105.7%. The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 ng/ml for both L and DCL. This method has been demonstrated to be reliable, and is an improvement over existing methods due to its capability for determining L and DCL simultaneously in a single chromatographic run.     

Direct chromatographic resolution of racemic cyclohexylaminoglutethimide and its acetylated metabolite using cellulose-based chiral stationary phase

Racemic cyclohexylaminoglutethimide (±ChAG) and its acetylated metabolite (±ChAG) were resolved by a direct chromatographic method using a Chiracel OD column without derivatization. Maximum resolutions (R) of 4.89 and 0.74 were obtained for the enantiomers of cyclohexylaminoglutethimide and its acetylated metabolite, respectively.     

Quantitative thin-layer chromatographic method for the determination of procainamide and its major metabolite in plasma

A sensitive and accurate spectrodensitometric method was developed for the determination of procainamide and its major metabolite, N-acetylprocainamide, in plasma. The method involves extraction into organic solvent at alkaline pH, separation by thin-layer chromatography and direct measurement of the adsorbance of the compounds on the plate at 275 nm. Quantities as low as 10 ng could be measured and a linear relationship was obtained between peak areas and amounts of the compounds in the spots from 10 to 200 ng. The recovery of both drugs from plasma was from 95.4 to 104.8%. The method is sensitive and specific, and procainamide was well separated from N-acetylprocainamide at all investigated concentrations. The method is recommended for clinical assays and pharmacokinetics studies.     

Development and validation of a reverse-phase HPLC with fluorescence detector method for simultaneous determination of CZ48 and its active metabolite camptothecin in mouse plasma

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for the analysis of CZ48, a potent anticancer candidate, and its active metabolite camptothecin (CPT) in mouse plasma was developed and validated. CZ44 was used as an internal standard (IS). The samples were injected onto a C18 Synergi Polar-RP column (4 microm, 150 mm x 4.60 mm) maintained at 30 degrees C. The identification of peaks showed high specificity. Shimadzu RF-10AXL fluorescence detector was used at the excitation and emission of 380 and 418 nm, respectively. The mean recoveries were 81.41+/-0.035%, 86.00+/-0.053% and 82.21+/-0.020% for CZ48 and 76.01+/-0.028%, 77.04+/-0.042% and 85.93+/-0.023% for CPT at three concentrations of 10, 100 and 900 ng/ml, respectively. The calibration curve was linear (r(2)=0.9999) over CZ48 and CPT concentrations ranging from 5 to 1000 ng/ml and 10-1000 ng/ml (n=6), respectively. The method had an accuracy of >95% and intra- and inter-day precision (RE%) of <1.2% and <2.2% for CZ48 and CPT, respectively, at three different concentrations (10, 100 and 900 ng/ml). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) using 0.1 ml mouse plasma was 10 ng/ml for CZ48 and 5 ng/ml for CPT. Stability studies showed that CZ48 and CPT were stable in mouse plasma after 4h incubation at room temperature or after 1 month storage at -80 degrees C with three freeze/thaw cycles. The method reported is simple, reliable, precise and accurate and confirmed by the determination of plasma samples in the mice after oral administration of CZ48.     

Gas chromatographic method using photoionization detection for the determination of breath pentane

Lipid peroxidation is thought to be an important event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. It has been suggested that pentane, which can be formed during the oxidation of ω-6 fatty acids, is a marker of lipid peroxidation. Previous studies have reported elevated breath pentane and serum markers of lipid peroxidation in smokers. However, chromatographic separation of pentane from isoprene in virtually all of these studies was incomplete and the methods used did not resolve pentane into its isomers, n-pentane and isopentane. Additionally, most current methods are complicated, requiring trapping and concentrating steps to obtain adequate sensitivity prior to hydrocarbon analysis. The purpose of the current study was to develop a gas chromatographic system to analyze breath pentane, that addressses the above technical problems and that would provide a simple in vivo method for measuring lipid. n-Pentane and isopentane standards were easily separated from isoprene with a Al₂O₃/KCl capillary column contained in a portable gas chromatograph equipped with a photoionization detector. The analysis of repeated measures showed a low coefficient of variation for measurements of n-pentane (10%) and isopentane (9%). We measured breath pentane in 27 subjects (15 smokers, 12 non-smokers). There were no significant difference between the baseline and 4 week interval measurements of n-pentane for smokers both before and after cigarette smoking. The within-subject variability data showed that the assay is highly reproducible for both low and high pentane levels in smokers. Smokers were found to have higher levels of both n-pentane and isopentane than non-smokers (P<0.001). In addition, smokers had further significant elevation of pentane levels 10 min after smoking (P<0.001), which returned to baseline by 1 h. These studies demonstrate that measurement of breath pentane, using a gas chromatograph with a photoionization detector, is simple and reproducible. Additionally, these results suggest that pentane elevation associated with smoking is secondary to the oxidant effects of cigarette smoke and an important temporal relationship exists between cigarette smoking and breath sample analysis.     

Micro method for the gas chromatographic determination of serum theophylline utilizing an organic nitrogen sensitive detector

A gas chromatographic micro method utilizing an organic nitrogen sentitive detector for the determination of serum theophylline is described. The method incorporates 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine as the internal standard and involves extraction and off-column derivatization of theophylline and the internal standard to their pentyl derivatives. Using 50 μl of serum, concentrations of 1 μg/ml in serum can easily be measured. The method is linear up to 50 μg/ml and the precision of the method is 3.4% in the therapeutic range. No interferences from endogenous compounds or from drugs commonly co-administered with theophylline have been encountered.     

Simplified, rapid and inexpensive extraction procedure for a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of disopyramide and its main metabolite mono-N-dealkylated disopyramide in serum

A simplified, rapid and inexpensive extraction procedure for the determination of the antiarrhythmic drug disopyramide and its main metabolite mono-N-desalkylated disopyramide in serum by high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed. The analysis uses ultraviolet detection at 254 nm, and a 5 μm reversed-phase column with a mobile phase of water—triethylamine—acetonitrile—PIC-B8 reagent. Serum extraction is performed with dichloromethane and 1 M sodium hydroxide. p-Chlorodisopyramide is used as internal standard. Recovery rates were 94.5% (S.D. 5.7%) for disopyramide, 96.8% (S.D. 2.2%) for mono-N-desalkylated disopyramide and 97.9% (S.D. 2.8%) for the internal standard.     

Gas chromatographic method for the determination of urinary acetylpolyamines

A gas chromatographic method was developed for the determination of monoacetylputrescine, monoacetylcadaverine, N¹-acetylspermidine and N⁵-acetylspermidine in human urine. The amines were isolated from urine by silica gel column chromatography. 1, 10-Diaminodecane was used as internal standard. The amines were reacted with ethyl chloroformate in aqueous medium to four ethyloxycarbonyl derivatives prior to application to gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. Separation and determination of the derivatives were carried out on a Uniport HP column (1.0 m) impregnated with 0.5% SP-1000 under temperature-programmed conditions. The monoacetylpolyamines could be measured accurately at the nanomole level. The method was used for the determination of the monoacetylpolyamines in urine of healthy volunteers. The values obtained were in the range of the published data.     

A validated high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for the simultaneous determination of denaverine and its N-monodemethyl metabolite in human plasma

An isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of denaverine and its N-monodemethyl metabolite (MD 6) in human plasma is described. The assay involves the extraction with an n-heptane–2-propanol mixture (9:1, v/v) followed by back extraction into 12.5% (w/w) phosphoric acid. The analytes of interest and the internal standard were separated on a Superspher RP8 column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile–0.12 M NH₄H₂PO₄–tetrahydrofuran (24:17.2:1, v/v), adjusted to pH 3 with 85% (w/w) phosphoric acid. Ultraviolet detection was used at an operational wavelength of 220 nm. The retention times of MD 6, denaverine and the internal standard were 5.1, 6.3 and 10.2 min, respectively. The assay was validated according to international requirements and was found to be specific, accurate and precise with a linear range of 2.5–150 ng/ml for denaverine and MD 6. Extraction recoveries for denaverine and MD 6 ranged from 44 to 49% and from 42 to 47%, respectively. The stability of denaverine and MD 6 in plasma was demonstrated after 24 h storage at room temperature, after three freeze–thaw cycles and after 7 months frozen storage below −20°C. The stability of processed samples in the autosampler at room temperature was confirmed after 24 h storage. The analytical method has been applied to analyses of plasma samples from a pharmacokinetic study in man.     

Liquid chromatographic method for the determination of plasma itraconazole and its hydroxy metabolite in pharmacokinetic/bioavailability studies

A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of itraconazole and its active metabolite, hydroxyitraconazole, in human plasma. Prior to analysis, both compounds together with the internal standard were extracted from alkalinized plasma samples using a 3:2 (v/v) mixture of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and dichloromethane. The mobile phase comprised 0.02 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate-acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) adjusted to pH 3.0. Analysis was run at flow-rate of 0.9 ml/min with excitation and emission wavelengths set at 260 and 365 nm, respectively. Itraconazole was found to adsorb on glass or plastic tubes, but could be circumvented by prior treating the tubes using 10% dichlorodimethylsilane in toluene. Moreover, rinsing the injector port with acetonitrile helped to overcome any carry-over effect. This problem was not encountered with hydroxyitraconazole. The method was sensitive with limit of quantification of 3 ng/ml for itraconazole and 6 ng/ml for hydroxyitraconazole. The calibration curve was linear over a concentration range of 2.8-720 ng/ml for itraconazole and 5.6-720 ng/ml for the hydroxy metabolite. Mean recovery value of the extraction procedure for both compounds was about 85%, while the within-day and between-day coefficient of variation and percent error values of the assay method were all less than 15%. Hence, the method is suitable for use in pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies of itraconazole.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of monoethylglycinexylidide and lignocaine

An accurate and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection was developed for the simultaneous measurement of monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and lignocaine in human plasma and serum, using organic solvent extraction and trimethoprim (TMP) as an internal standard. The mean recoveries for MEGX, TMP and lignocaine were 86.1 ± 3.7, 98.3 ± 1.8 and 77.0 ± 4.7%, respectively (n = 6). The relative standard deviations for MEGX concentrations of 10 and 200 ng/ml were < 4% and for lignocaine concentrations of 200 and 1200 ng/ml they were < 8%.