Retention characteristics of some antibiotic and anti-retroviral compounds in hydrophilic interaction chromatography using isocratic elution, and gradient elution with repeatable partial equilibration.

The separation of some zwitterionic, basic and neutral antibiotic and antiretroviral compounds was studied using hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) on bare silica, bonded amide and urea superficially porous phases. The differences in the selectivity and retentivity of these stationary phases were evaluated for compounds with widely different physicochemical properties (logD -3.43 to 2.

Application of machine learning in prediction of hydrotrope-enhanced solubilisation of indomethacin.

Systematic in-vitro studies have been conducted to determine the ability of a range of 10 potential hydrotropes to improve the apparent aqueous solubility of the poorly water soluble drug, indomethacin. Solubilisation of the drug in the presence of the hydrotropes was determined experimentally using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection. These experimental data, together with various known and computed physicochemical properties of the hydrotropes were thereafter used in silico to train an artificial neural network (ANN) to allow for predictions of indomethacin solubilisation.

Development and application of sub-2-μm particle CO -based chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for comprehensive analysis of lipids in cottonseed extracts.

Rationale: Refined cottonseed oil has widespread applications in the food and chemical industries. Although the major lipids comprising cottonseed oil (triacylglycerols) are well known, there are many diverse lipid species in cotton seeds that occur at much lower levels and have important nutritional or anti-nutritional properties.

Methods: The lipid technical samples were prepared in chloroform.

Analysis of polar urinary metabolites for metabolic phenotyping using supercritical fluid chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is frequently used for the analysis and separation of non-polar metabolites, but remains relatively underutilised for the study of polar molecules, even those which pose difficulties with established reversed-phase (RP) or hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic (HILIC) methodologies. Here, we present a fast SFC-MS method for the analysis of medium and high-polarity (-7≤cLogP≤2) compounds, designed for implementation in a high-throughput metabonomics setting. Sixty polar analytes were first screened to identify those most suitable for inclusion in chromatographic test mixtures; then, a multi-dimensional method development study was conducted to determine the optimal choice of stationary phase, modifier additive and temperature for the separation of such analytes using SFC.

Pharmacokinetic variations in cancer patients with liver dysfunction: applications and challenges of pharmacometabolomics.

Purpose: In cancer patients, pharmacokinetic variations between individuals and within individuals due to impairments in organs' function and other reasons such as genetic polymorphisms represent a major problem in disease management, which can result in unpredictable toxicity and variable antineoplastic effects. Addressing pharmacokinetic variations in cancer patients with liver dysfunction and their implications on anticancer and analgesic drugs, in addition to the use of advanced analytical techniques such as metabolomics and pharmacometabolomics, to monitor altered kinetic and discover metabolic biomarkers during therapeutic intervention will help in understanding and reducing pharmacokinetic variations of drugs in cancer patients as a step forward towards personalised medicine.

Methods: Reviewing published literature addressing and/or related to complications resulting from altered pharmacokinetics (PKs) in cancer patients with liver dysfunction, anticancer and analgesic drugs, evaluating recent advances of pharmacokinetic detection using metabolomics/pharmacometabolomics and the challenges that are currently facing these techniques.

An integrated ceramic, micro-fluidic device for the LC/MS/MS analysis of pharmaceuticals in plasma.

An integrated capillary scale (300 μm id) ceramic microfluidic LC system combined with MS/MS has been successfully employed for the quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical compounds in human plasma. The capillary ceramic microfluidic LC/MS/MS system showed an approximate 20-fold (range 11-38-fold) increase in sensitivity compared with a standard 2.1 mm scale UPLC/MS/MS system for a broad range of analytes.

Practical applications of integrated microfluidics for peptide quantification.

Background: Increased pressure to obtain more, higher sensitivity data from less sample is especially critical for large peptides, whose already optimized LC-MS methods are heavily challenged by traditional ligand-binding assays.

Results: Critical bioanalytical assays were adapted to integrated microscale LC to reduce sample volumes while increasing sensitivity. Assays for teriparatide, glucagon and human insulin and five analogs were transferred from 2.

Organic solvent and temperature-enhanced ion chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry for the determination of low molecular weight organic and inorganic anions.

There has recently been increased interest in coupling ion chromatography (IC) to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to enable highly sensitive and selective analysis. Herein, the first comprehensive study focusing on the direct coupling of suppressed IC to HRMS without the need for post-suppressor organic solvent modification is presented. Chromatographic selectivity and added HRMS sensitivity offered by organic solvent-modified IC eluents on a modern hyper-crosslinked polymeric anion-exchange resin (IonPac AS18) are shown using isocratic eluents containing 5-50 mM hydroxide with 0-80% methanol or acetonitrile for a range of low molecular weight anions (<165 Da).

Fabrication of an on-line enzyme micro-reactor coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the digestion of recombinant human erythropoietin.

Our aim was to develop a fast and efficient on-line method using micro-reactors for the digestion and deglycosylation of recombinant human erythropoietin extracted from equine plasma. The trypsin digestion micro reactors were fabricated using fused silica capillaries with either a dextran-modified coating or a porous monolith that was able to immobilise the enzyme. These were both found to be reasonably robust and durable, with the trypsin immobilised on dextran-modified fused silica capillaries offering better reproducibility than the micro-reactor based upon covalent attachment of this enzyme to the polymer.

Ultra high resolution SFC-MS as a high throughput platform for metabolic phenotyping: application to metabolic profiling of rat and dog bile.

Ultra high resolution SFC-MS (on sub-2μm particles) coupled to mass spectrometry has been evaluated for the metabolic profiling of rat and dog bile. The selectivity of the SFC separation differed from that seen in previous reversed-phase UPLC-MS studies on bile, with the order of elution for analytes such as e.g.

Adenosine monophosphate is elevated in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of mice with acute respiratory toxicity induced by nanoparticles with high surface hydrophobicity.

Inhaled nanomaterials present a challenge to traditional methods and understanding of respiratory toxicology. In this study, a non-targeted metabolomics approach was used to investigate relationships between nanoparticle hydrophobicity, inflammatory outcomes and the metabolic fingerprint in bronchoalveolar fluid. Measures of acute lung toxicity were assessed following single-dose intratracheal administration of nanoparticles with varying surface hydrophobicity (i.

A facile and efficient strategy to enhance hydrophilicity of zwitterionic sulfoalkylbetaine type monoliths.

In order to prepare zwitterionic HILIC monolithic columns with high polarity, the highly hydrophilic monomer N,N-dimethyl-N-acryloyloxyethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium betaine (SPDA) and crosslinker N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) were employed for developing a novel sulfoalkylbetaine type stationary phase. The polymerization parameters were systematically optimized in order to obtain a satisfactory performance for column permeability, mechanical stability, hydrophilicity, efficiency and selectivity. Compared to the previously reported poly(N,N-dimethyl-N-methacryloxyethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium betaine-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (poly(SPE-co-EDMA)) monolith and the poly(SPDA-co-EDMA) monolith that we developed, a significantly enhanced hydrophilicity was obtained on the poly(SPDA-co-MBA) monolithic column, illustrated by the lowered critical composition of the mobile phase corresponding to the transition from the HILIC to the RP mode.

Comparison of reversed-phase and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography for the quantification of ephedrines using medium-resolution accurate mass spectrometry.

The separation and quantification of hydrophilic basic compounds continues to challenge reversed-phase chromatography. Ephedrines are an example where the optimal separation of their isomers and related substances is complicated due to both their hydrophilicity and basic nature. Here we study two potential ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) methods and present the merits and limitations of a high pH reversed-phase and a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) approach for the separation and quantification of ephedrines for doping control analysis.

Investigation of basic mobile phases with positive ESI LC-MS for metabonomics studies.

Background: Accurate mass based LC-MS combined with statistical analysis is established as a core analytical technology for metabonomic studies. This is primarily due to the specificity, sensitivity and structural elucidation capabilities of the technology. The vast majority of these studies are performed using acidic-based mobile phases in combination with positive ESI mode LC-MS.

Monolithic poly (SPE-co-BVPE) capillary columns as a novel hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography stationary phase for the separation of polar analytes.

A novel hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) stationary phase was prepared by the co-polymerisation of zwitterionic N,N'-dimethyl-N-methacryloxyethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium betaine (SPE) and the crosslinker 1,2-bis(p-vinylphenyl) ethane (BVPE) in the presence of the porogens, toluene and methanol. Monolithic columns were produced by carrying out the α,α'-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) initiated reaction for 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 h inside a 200 μm i.d.

Investigation of microbore UPLC and nontraditional mobile phase compositions for bioanalytical LC-MS/MS.

Background: The movement towards environmentally friendly or green chemistry solutions has gained more prominence recently in the scientific community. One way in which scientists can address this issue is to limit the use of hazardous chemicals in their everyday processes. Therefore, the focus of this study was on the utilization of microbore-scale chromatography and nontraditional alcoholic mobile phases as an alternative approach to traditional bioanalytical LC-MS/MS assay parameters.

Systematic evaluation of acetone and acetonitrile for use in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of basic small molecules.

Sub-2-µm particle size hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography [HILIC] combined with mass spectrometry has been increasing in popularity as a complementary technique to reversed-phase LC for the analysis of polar analytes. The organic-rich mobile phase associated with HILIC techniques provides increases in compound ionization, due to increased desolvation efficiency during electrospray ionisation mass spectrometric (ESI-MS) analysis. Although recent publications illustrated selectivity and response comparisons between reversed-phase LC/MS and HILIC LC/MS, there are limited discussions evaluating the optimisation of the mass spectrometry parameters regarding analytes and alternative mobile phases.

Determination of trace amount of enantiomeric impurity in therapeutic nicotine derivative using capillary electrophoresis with new imaging technology detection.

One of the many attempts to stop the danger of tobacco smoking is the development of an anti-smoking vaccine using nicotine butyric acid (NBA) linked to a carrier protein to produce anti-nicotine antibodies. NBA is a chiral molecule and there is a need to obtain a high degree of enantiomeric purity. The aim of this work is to develop a novel method for the enantioseparation of NBA and the determination of trace amounts of enantiomeric impurity required by regulatory authorities.

Comprehensive investigation of the influence of acidic, basic, and organic mobile phase compositions on bioanalytical assay sensitivity in positive ESI mode LC/MS/MS.

The sensitivity and accuracy of a bioanalytical method is critical in defining the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of a potential new chemical entity (NCE). Inhaled therapeutics and low dose NCEs present one of the most significant analytical challenges to the bioanalyst, due to their low systemic concentration. The sensitivity of a bioanalytical LC/MS/MS based assay can be influenced by multiple parameters, including: mobile phase composition, extraction efficiency and chromatographic performance.

Comparison of reversed-phase and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography for the separation of ephedrines.

The separation of highly basic solutes is an ongoing challenge, especially in achieving suitable retention and peak shapes for compounds such as ephedrines that have both high pK(a) values (≥ 9.3) and low lipophilicity (log P ≤ 1.74).

UV gradient combined with principal component analysis: highly sensitive and specific high performance liquid chromatography analysis of cosmetic creams.

HPLC has been employed to develop a method for the analysis of cosmetic creams, in particular the compounds hydroquinone, phenol and six preservatives have been studied. UV tuning was optimized as a gradient to achieve lower limits of detection compared to those of a previously validated method. In addition the chromatograms were then exported, aligned and visualized in a principal component analysis (PCA) model.

Metabolites of lorazepam: Relevance of past findings to present day use of LC-MS/MS in analytical toxicology.

The advent of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), with the sensitivity it confers, permits the analysis of both phase I and II drug metabolites that in the past would have been difficult to target using other techniques. These metabolites may have relevance to current analytical toxicology employing LC-MS/MS, and lorazepam was chosen as a model drug for investigation, as only the parent compound has been targeted for screening purposes. Following lorazepam administration (2 mg, p.

Direct injection of human serum and pharmaceutical formulations for glucosamine determination by CE-C(4)D method.

A simple CE-C(4)D method has been developed for the determination of glucosamine by direct injection of human serum and pharmaceutical samples. Glucosamine was electrokinetically injected and analysed in its protonated form using 20mM MES/His (pH 6) as background electrolyte in order to separate it from the matrix and to provide a better response to the C(4)D detector. Separation of glucosamine in human serum and pharmaceutical samples was performed in 3 min without the need for protein precipitation or matrix removal.