Determination of a potent urokinase-type plasminogen activator, UK-356,202, in plasma at pg/mL levels using column-switching HPLC and fluorescence detection.

A rapid, sensitive and selective method using column-switching HPLC with fluorescence detection has been developed for the determination of UK-356,202, a potent urokinase-type plasminogen activator, in human plasma. A structural isomer of UK-356,202 is used as an internal standard. The lower limit of quantification is 20 pg/mL and the method is linear over a 100-fold concentration range. UK-356,202 is extracted from plasma simply through the removal of proteins by precipitation with acetonitrile. The HPLC system comprises three columns and the cycle time is 9.5 min per sample. The eluate from the extraction column is heart-cut onto a trace enrichment cartridge which is then back-flushed onto a narrow-bore Supelco ABZ+ Plus analytical column. The method has been used to analyze many thousands of samples from clinical and toxicological studies support. Its ruggedness is demonstrated by the use of a single extraction column for the analysis of over 1200 clinical samples.

96-Well solid-phase extraction: a brief history of its development.

This communication describes the invention and further development of the first 96-well solid-phase extraction system and the original purposes to which it was put. We also describe the adaption of this system for bioanalysis of pharmaceutically active small molecules and the needs underlying it. The system has become a world-wide standard for high-throughput bioanalysis and has been extended by others to include, for example, disk-phase extraction and supported liquid-liquid extraction, as well as 384-well systems. The factors that enabled this leap forward in productivity are discussed.

A direct comparison of the performance of ground, beaded and silica-grafted MIPs in HPLC and turbulent flow chromatography applications.

Spherical molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) specific to the beta-blocker propranolol have been synthesised using two different approaches and compared to traditional ground monolithic MIPs in HPLC and TFC applications. TFC is a LC technique used for rapid extraction of compounds directly from complex matrices. It can be easily coupled to HPLC and MS for automation of an extraction/analysis procedure. Spherical MIP beads were produced using a suspension polymerisation technique and silica/MIP composite beads by grafting MIP to spherical silica particles using a surface-bound initiator species. Synthesis of both beaded and silica-grafted MIPs was more practical than using the traditional grinding method and yields of spherical particles of the required size between 80 and 100% were routinely achieved. Under HPLC conditions, beaded and ground MIP materials showed a degree of chiral separation for all of the nine beta-blockers tested. The beaded MIP, however, showed much better flow properties and peak shape than the ground material. Silica-grafted MIP showed some separation in five of the drugs and a large improvement in peak shape and analysis times compared with both ground and beaded MIPs. The materials prepared were also used in extraction columns for Turbulent Flow Chromatography (TFC). Although no imprinting effect was observed under typical TFC conditions, beaded polymer materials showed promise for use as TFC extraction columns due to the good flow properties and clean extracts obtained.