Development and characterization of a small electromembrane extraction probe coupled with mass spectrometry for real-time and online monitoring of in vitro drug metabolism.

A small and very simple electromembrane extraction probe (EME-probe) was developed and coupled directly to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and this system was used to monitor in real time in vitro metabolism by rat liver microsomes of drug substances from a small reaction (incubation) chamber (37 °C). The drug-related substances were continuously extracted from the 1.0 mL metabolic reaction mixture and into the EME-probe by an electrical potential of 2.5 V. The extraction probe consisted of a 1-mm long and 350-µm ID thin supported liquid membrane (SLM) of 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether. The drugs and formed metabolites where extracted through the SLM and directly into a 3 µL min(-1) flow of 60 mM HCOOH inside the probe serving as the acceptor solution. The acceptor solution was directed into the ESI-MS-system, and the MS continuously monitored the drug-related substances extracted by the EME-probe. The extraction efficiency of the EME-probe was dependant on the applied electrical potential and the length of the SLM, and these parameters as well as the volume of the reaction chamber were set to the values mentioned above to avoid serious depletion from the reaction chamber (soft extraction). Soft extraction was mandatory in order not to affect the reaction kinetics by sample composition changes induced by the EME-probe. The EME-probe/MS-system was used to establish kinetic profiles for the in vitro metabolism of promethazine, amitriptyline and imipramine as model substances.

Enantioseparation of phenothiazines in CD-modified CZE using single isomer sulfated CD as a chiral selector.

Enantioseparations of five chiral phenothiazines in CD-modified CZE using the single isomer sulfate-substituted beta-CD (heptakis(2,3-dihydroxy-6-O-sulfo)-beta-CD, SI-S-beta-CD) and dual CD systems consisting of SI-S-beta-CD and a neutral CD as chiral selectors in a citrate buffer at pH 3.0 were investigated. The results indicate that SI-S-beta-CD is an excellent chiral selector for enantioseparation of promethazine. The enantiomers of trimeprazine were well separated, while those of ethopropazine could also be baseline-resolved with SI-S-beta-CD. With dual CD systems, especially with hydroxypropyl-beta-CD (HP-beta-CD) as neutral CD, the enantioselectivity of thioridazine and ethopropazine was considerably enhanced. Effective enantioseparation of phenothiazines, except for methotrimeprazine, could thus be favorably and simultaneously achieved. Moreover, reversal of the enantiomer migration order of ethopropazine and thioridazine occurred by varying the concentration of gamma-CD in the presence of SI-S-beta-CD. These phenomena may be attributable to the opposite effects of sulfated beta-CD and gamma-CD on the mobility of the enantiomers of ethopropazine and of thioridazine. Comparative studies on the enantioseparations of phenothiazines with single CD and dual CD systems containing SI-S-beta-CD and randomly sulfate-substituted beta-CD (MI-S-beta-CD) were made.

Multivariate optimization approach for chiral resolution of drugs using human serum albumin in affinity electrokinetic chromatography-partial filling technique.

The enantiomeric resolution of chiral compounds using HSA by means of affinity EKC (AEKC)-partial filling technique is the result of a delicate balance between different experimental variables such as protein concentration, running pH (background electrophoretic buffer, protein and compound solutions) and protein solution plug length. In this paper multivariate optimization approaches for chiral separation of four basic drugs (alprenolol, oxprenolol, promethazine and propranolol) using HSA as chiral selector in AEKC-partial filling technique are studied. The experimental conditions to achieve maximum resolution are optimized using the Box-Behnken experimental design. Partial least squares and pareto charts are used to analyse the main effects on the resolution. The experimental resolutions observed for all compounds studied in optimum conditions agree with the estimated values based on response surface models. The results obtained show that the range of experimental conditions that provided enantioresolution narrows as hydrophobicity of analytes decreases. This fact can be explained by assuming that hydrophobicity controls the interaction of basic compounds with HSA.

Chiral separation of dioxopromethazine in eye drops by CZE with charged cyclodextrin.

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with carboxyethyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CE-beta-CD) dissolved in the operating buffer was used for the separation and determination of enantiomers of phenothiazine antihistaminic, dioxopromethazine, in commercial pharmaceutical preparation, eye drops. This chiral selector, negatively charged under given separating conditions (20 mmol/l epsilon -aminocaproic acid, acetic acid, pH 4.5), was effective in enantioresolution of the antihistamine even at its low concentrations (3-6 mg/ml) in the buffer solution. CZE identification and quantitation of the relevant constituents present in the preparation (dioxopromethazine enantiomers, phenylephrine) were based on the response of photometric absorbency detector, operating at a 275 nm detection wavelength. Changes in pH, type and concentration of chiral selector were studied in relation to chiral resolution. Acceptable validation criteria for sensitivity, precision, linearity and repeatability are included.

Study of the stability of promethazine enantiomers by liquid chromatography using a vancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase.

Three chiral stationary phases based on macrocyclic antibiotics (teicoplanin, vancomycin and ristocetin A) have been tested for chiral separations of promethazine. The vancomycin phase permits the best, baseline enantioseparation of promethazine, with a mobile phase of a 80:20 (v/v) mixture of methanol with a 1% aqueous triethylamine acetate buffer of pH 4.1 and with the analysis time not exceeding 15 min. The limits of detection amount to 27.5 and 31.0 ng/ml for the earlier and later eluting enantiomers, respectively. This separation system, that also permits a sufficient resolution between the promethazine enantiomers and their degradation products, has further been used for the monitoring of the effects of light, temperature and the promethazine concentration in solution on the stability of methanolic promethazine solutions over a period of 19 days. It has been found that the stability of more concentrated solutions is primarily affected by the temperature, whereas the effects of the temperature and light are comparable with more dilute solutions. After 19 days, a solution of 0.5 mg/ml promethazine stored in darkness at a low temperature still contained 84.0% of the original amount of the enantiomers; this value was 89.6% for a solution with the ten times lower promethazine concentration. If the solutions were stored in darkness but at laboratory temperature, the respective values decreased to 38.1 and 62.6% and for the solutions exposed to light at laboratory temperature they decreased even more to 36.7 and 52.6% of the initial promethazine amount.

Separation of promethazine and thioridazine using capillary electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection.

Promethazine and thioridazine were separated and detected by capillary electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection. The influence of pH value on oxidation potential, the peak current and the resolution were studied and the following conditions was selected: 0.03 M Na2HPO4 and 0.015 M citric acid at pH 3.0, detection potential at 1.10 V. The detection limits of these two substances were in the range of 10(-8) mol/l. The linear range spanned two to three orders of magnitude. This method was applied to the detection of promethazine and thioridazine spiked in urine.

[Determination of epinephrine, chlorpromazine and promethazine by capillary electrophoresis with scanning voltammetric detector].

With a self-constructed electrochemical detection system, the determination of epinephrine, chlorpromazine and promethazine has been studied by using capillary electrophoresis with scanning voltammetric detector. Scanning potential generation and data acquisition were carried out with D/A and A/D converter board that mounted on a 486DX66 computer. A complex software, which was written by authors in BORLAND C++, was serve to data acquisition, abstraction of three-dimension data, display and print of the electrophorograms. Using a 25 microns x 70 cm fused-silica capillary, the optimum conditions for separation and detection of titled drugs are 10 mmol/L K2HPO4 + H3PO4 (pH 3.0) running electrolyte, 20 kV separation voltage, hydrodynamic injection 10 s at 20 cm height, scanning potential from +0.4 to +1.0 V vs. SCE. With the optimizing condition, the separation of titled drugs is satisfactory, and good reproducibility and low limit are obtained. In this study, all experiments are carried out under air-conditioning (18 degrees C) and constant humidity (relative humidity 50%). In comparison to amperometric detection, scanning voltammetric detection has the advantages of minimizing fouling of the working electrode surface, and direct identification of unknown chemicals by voltammetric curves.

Quantitation of promethazine enantiomers in human serum using a chiralcel OJ-R column and mixed-mode disc solid-phase extraction.

A liquid chromatographic method was developed for the assay of R(+)- and S(-)-promethazine enantiomers from human serum. The method involves the use of the mixed mode disc solid-phase extraction technique for sample clean-up. Chromatographic resolution of the enantiomers was performed on a reversed-phase cellulose-based chiral column (Chiralcel OJ-R) under isocratic conditions using a mobile phase consisting of 0.5 M aqueous sodium perchlorate/acetonitrile (63:37, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.5 ml min-1. Recoveries in the range of 97-99% at 20 ng ml-1 levels were obtained for both promethazine enantiomers. Intra-day and inter-day precision calculated as R.S.D.% was in the 3-8% ranges for both enantiomers. Intra-day and inter-day accuracy calculated as percent error was in the 0-10 and 1-7% ranges for both enantiomers, respectively. Linear calibration curves were obtained for each enantiomer in serum in the concentration range 5-90 ng ml-1. The limit of quantitation of each enantiomer was 10 ng ml-1. The detection limit for each enantiomer in serum using UV detection at 249 nm was 2 ng ml-1 (S/N = 2).

Development of a melanin-based high-performance liquid chromatography stationary phase and its use in the study of drug-melanin binding interactions.

Drug-melanin interactions were studied using a melanin-based HPLC column. Two approaches were chosen for the preparation of the stationary phases: covalent coupling of synthetic L-dopa melanin and in situ polymerization of L-dopa. Retention of a series of phenothiazines on melanin-based stationary phases was attributed to binding to melanin. Frontal affinity chromatography experiments on one melanin-based column allowed us to calculate the affinity and binding capacity of chlorpromazine and promethazine. A competition was observed between chlorpromazine and haloperidol which was qualitatively consistent with previously described results. Data indicated that the interaction was not a simple competition at one site.

Oxidative degradation of pharmaceutically important phenothiazines I: Isolation and identification of oxidation products of promethazine.

The thermal degradation of promethazine in water in the presence of oxygen was studied. After degradation, the products were isolated by TLC. Identification was carried out by comparison of the isolated compounds with reference compounds. Melting points, spectral data, and polarographic and chromatographic behavior were compared. The following products were identified: 10-methylphenothiazine, phenothiazine, 3H-phenothiazine-3-one, phenothiazine 5-oxide, promethazine 5-oxide, 7-hydroxy-3H-phenothiazine-3-one, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and dimethylamine.