Rapid quantification of fatty acids in plant oils and biological samples by LC-MS.

Analysis of fatty acids (FA) in food and biological samples such as blood is indispensable in modern life sciences. We developed a rapid, sensitive and comprehensive method for the quantification of 41 saturated and unsaturated fatty acids by means of LC-MS. Optimized chromatographic separation of isobaric analytes was carried out on a C8 reversed phase analytical column (100 × 2.1 mm, 2.6 µm core-shell particle) with a total run time of 15 min with back pressure lower than 300 bar. On an old triple quadrupole instrument (3200, AB Sciex), pseudo selected reaction monitoring mode was used for quantification of the poorly fragmenting FA, yielding limits of detection of 5-100 nM. Sample preparation was carried out by removal of phospholipids and triglycerides by solid-phase extraction (non-esterified fatty acids in oils) or saponification in iso-propanol (fatty acyls). This is not only a rapid strategy for quantification of fatty acyls, but allows the direct combination with the LC-MS-based analysis of fatty acid oxidation products (eicosanoids and other oxylipins) from the same sample. The concentrations of fatty acyls determined by means of LC-MS were consistent with those from GC-FID analysis demonstrating the accuracy of the developed method. Moreover, the method shows high precisions with a low intra-day (≤ 10% for almost all fatty acids in plasma and ≤ 15% in oils) and inter-day as well as inter-operator variability (< 20%). The method was successfully applied on human plasma and edible oils. The possibility to quantify non-esterified fatty acids in samples containing an excess of triacylglycerols and phospholipids is a major strength of the described approach allowing to gain new insights in the composition of biological samples.

Development of a stability- indicating HPLC method for simultaneous determination of ten related substances in vonoprazan fumarate drug substance.

Vonoprazan fumarate is a novel potassium-competitive acid blocker for the treatment of acid-related diseases. In the present study, a simple, fast, and economic reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) method was developed for the analysis of ten related substances (raw materials, by-products and degradants) in vonoprazan fumarate. The optimized separation was performed on a Phenomenex Kinetex EVO C18 (250mm×4.6mm, 5.0µm) column. The mobile phase consisted of (A) 0.03M sodium phosphate buffer (pH adjusted to 6.5) - methanol - acetonitrile (72:25:3, v/v/v) and (B) 0.03M sodium phosphate buffer (pH adjusted to 6.5) - acetonitrile (30:70, v/v). Detection of the analytes was conducted at 230nm using a UV detector. The stability-indicating ability of this method was demonstrated by carrying out forced degradation studies. Vonoprazan underwent significant degradation when subjected to alkaline and oxidative stress conditions, while the drug proved to be stable to acidic, thermal and photolytic degradation. The degradants did not interfere with the detection of vonoprazan fumarate and its impurities. The performance of this method was validated in accordance to the regulatory guidelines recommended by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) and this validation included specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, precision and robustness. The method proposed in this paper could be applied for process development as well as quality assurance of vonoprazan in bulk drug, since no monograph is available in official compendia.

Development of a rapid RP-UHPLC-MS method for analysis of modifications in therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

Chemical or enzymatic modifications of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that have high risk to safety and efficacy are defined as critical quality attributes (CQAs). During therapeutic MAbs process development, thorough characterization and quantitative monitoring of CQAs requires a variety of analytical techniques. This paper describes the development of a rapid analytical method to assess modifications in MAbs, based on the analysis of subdomains with molecular weights of ∼25kDa. These subdomains were generated by digestion with a highly specific IdeS protease, followed by disulfide bond reduction. A reversed phase UHPLC-MS method was developed that provides efficient separation and identification of the subdomains (Fc, LC, and Fd) and related variants within 10min. Sample preparation and UHPLC instrument parameters were systematically evaluated. The methodology was applied to MAb stress panel characterization to capture the degradations induced by various stress conditions. Among the CQAs monitored by this method, Fc oxidation levels were compared with the values obtained by the more complicated and time-consuming peptide mapping method. The similar trends observed by the two methods demonstrated that the IdeS-UHPLC method is valuable as a higher throughput alternative to peptide mapping for monitoring modifications. In particular, a high-throughput methodology is preferred for analysis of the many samples associated with process development studies. Overall the method has been demonstrated as a fast, convenient and informative platform approach for analysis of therapeutic MAbs modifications including CQAs.

A reversed-phase/hydrophilic interaction mixed-mode C18-Diol stationary phase for multiple applications.

A mixed-mode chromatographic packing material, C18 and diol groups modified silica (C18-Diol), was prepared with controllable hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity. It demonstrated excellent aqueous compatibility and stability in aqueous mobile phase; compared to the traditional C18 column, improved peak shape of basic analytes was also obtained. Additionally, it exhibited both reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (RPLC) and hydrophilic interaction chromatographic (HILIC) performance; the analyte separation scope was thus enlarged, demonstrated by simultaneous separation of twenty acids, bases and neutrals. More interestingly, a novel on-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography on the single column (2D-LC-1C) was established by modifying the high performance liquid chromatographic instrument only with the addition of an extra six-port two-position valve. The early co-eluted components of the extract of Lonicera japonica on the 1st-dimension (RPLC) were collected for the online re-injection to the 2nd-dimension (HILIC) by conveniently varying the mobile phase components. Six more peaks were obtained. The established system was simple, easy operation and low cost, which had advantages in analyzing complicated samples.

Rapid evaluation of 25 key sphingolipids and phosphosphingolipids in human plasma by LC-MS/MS.

We report on a new, sensitive, and fast LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of 25 key sphingolipid components in human plasma, including phosphorylated sphinganine and sphingosine, in a single 9-min run. This method enables an effective and high-throughput coverage of the metabolic changes involving the sphingolipidome during physiological or pathological states. The method is based on liquid-liquid extraction followed by reversed-phase LC-MS/MS. Exogenous odd-chain lipids are used as cost-effective but reliable internal standards. The method was fully validated in surrogate matrix and naive human plasma following FDA guidelines. Sample stability and dilution integrity were also tested and verified.

Ultrafast Liquid Chromatographic Method Development and its Validation for Quantification of Telaprevir in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form by Using Quality by Design Approach.

Quality by design (QbD) approach thrives to achieve an assured and predicted quality product. A stability-indicating reversed phase ultrafast liquid chromatographic method was developed using the principles of QbD to quantify telaprevir (TEL) in pharmaceutical dosage form. A Box-Behnken experimental design was employed for identifying optimum chromatographic conditions by assessing the method robustness by selecting organic phase composition (%), mobile phase flow rate (mL/min) and pH of the borate buffer as the factors, to study their effect on the responses like retention time, theoretical plate count and tailing factor. Chromatographic separation was achieved on Enable-C18G (250 × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) column using methanol: borate buffer of pH 9.0 (90 : 10, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min and PDA detection at 270 nm. Establishment of calibration curve yielded linearity in the range of 5-70 µg/mL along with values of accuracy and precision within the acceptance limit of mean percent recoveries between 98.9 and 100.7%. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were found to be 1.60 and 4.75 µg/mL. Analysis of system suitability yielded high degree of method reproducibility and robustness. The developed method showed high specificity for TEL and its degradation products formed during forced degradation conditions. The developed method also demonstrated suitability for routine analysis of TEL in bulk drug and pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Liquid Chromatographic Method for Simultaneous Quantitation of Clopidogrel, Aspirin and Atorvastatin in Rat Plasma and Its Application to the Pharmacokinetic Study.

A simple and robust analytical reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for simultaneous chromatographic elution of three cardiovascular drugs, namely clopidogrel, aspirin (ASP) and atorvastatin. The method was developed in rat plasma and dosage formulation with high-quality chromatographic separation between the drug peaks by using a stainless steel analytical column thermo beta-basic, C18 (25 × 0.46 cm, 5 µm). The system was operated at 25°C using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) in the gradient ratio at a flow rate of 1 mL min(-1) with ultraviolet detection monitored at 232 nm. The parametric statistics, i.e., correlation coefficient of 0.999, was assessed for all the drugs having linearity over the tested concentration range (10-10,000 ng mL(-1)) in rat plasma using an unweighted calibration curve. The accuracy of samples for six replicate measurements at lower limit of quantitation level was within limit. The method was applicable for the quality control of the mentioned drugs in raw material, bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulations as well as in pharmacokinetic studies.

Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating Liquid Chromatographic Method for Estimating Olmesartan Medoxomil Using Quality by Design.

The current studies entail systematic quality by design (QbD)-based development of a simple, rapid, sensitive and cost-effective stability-indicating method for the estimation of olmesartan medoxomil. Quality target method profile was defined and critical analytical attributes (CAAs) for the reverse-phase liquid chromatography method earmarked. Chromatographic separation accomplished on a C18 column using acetonitrile and water (containing 0.1% orthophosphoric acid, pH 3.5) in 40 : 60 (v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with UV detection at 243 nm. Risk assessment studies and screening studies facilitated comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting CAAs. The mobile phase ratio and flow rate were identified as critical method parameters (CMPs) and were systematically optimized using face-centered cubic design, evaluating for CAAs, namely peak area, retention time, theoretical plates and peak tailing. Statistical modelization was accomplished followed by response surface analysis for comprehending plausible interaction(s) among CMPs. Search for optimum solution was conducted through numerical and graphical optimization for demarcating the design space. Analytical method validation and subsequent forced degradation studies corroborated the method to be highly efficient for routine analysis of drug and its degradation products. The studies successfully demonstrate the utility of QbD approach for developing the highly sensitive liquid chromatographic method with enhanced method performance.

Rapid Determination of Bile Acids in Bile from Various Mammals by Reversed-Phase Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography.

A valid and efficient reversed-phase ultra-fast liquid chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 13 bile acids in the bile of three mammal species, including rat, pig and human gallstone patients. Chromatographic separation was performed with a Shim-pack XR-ODS column, and the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and potassium phosphate buffer (pH 2.6) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min(-1). The linear detection range of most bile acids ranged from 2 to 600 ng µL(-1) with a good correlation coefficient (>0.9995). The precision of each bile acid was <1.8% for intraday and <4.8% for interday. All bile acids were separated in 15 min with satisfactory resolution, and the total analysis time was 18 min, including equilibration. The method was successfully applied in rapid screening of bile samples from the three mammals. Significant metabolic frameworks of bile acids among various species were observed, whereas considerable quantitative variations in both inter- and intraspecies were also observed, especially for gallstone patients. Our results suggest that detecting the change of bile acid profiles could be applied for the diagnosis of gallstone disease.

Phase-optimized chip-based liquid chromatography.

In this contribution we introduce phase-optimized columns for highly efficient liquid chromatographic separations in microfluidic glass chips. In phase-optimized liquid chromatography the selectivity and geometry of the stationary phase are precisely adjusted to provide an optimal separation of a mixture of interest. The separation of nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under reversed-phase conditions was investigated. Standard HPLC was utilized to explore the retention parameters of each analyte on a set of five commercially available stationary phases. From these experiments the properties of an optimal on-chip column were calculated assuming a zero-void-volume performance for the chip chromatography. A phase-optimized on-chip column only 30 mm long provided baseline resolution of all signals within 4 min. The separation performance of a chip column comprising various stationary phases can be precisely predicted by a set of traditional HPLC experiments. The approach has great potential for the directed development of tailor-made chromatography chips for specific applications.

One-step separation and purification of two chromones and one pyrone from Aloe barbadensis Miller: a comparison between reversed-phase flash chromatography and high-speed counter current chromatography.

INTRODUCTION: Chromones and pyrones are the major secondary metabolites of Aloe barbadensis Miller. As they are minor components of the plant, an efficient purification procedure for them is of great importance for promoting their pharmacological studies. OBJECTIVE: To develop efficient methods for one-step separation and purification of two chromones (5-((S)-2'-oxo-4'-hydroxypentyl)-2-hydroxymethylchromone (1) and 5-((4E)-2'-oxo-pentenyl)-2-hydroxymethylchromone (3)) and one pyrone (aloenin aglycone (2)) from A. barbadensis via reversed-phase flash chromatography (RP-FC) and high-speed counter current chromatography (HSCCC). METHODS: The RP-FC separation was performed using methanol:water (26:74, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 20 mL/min. A solvent system composed of dichloromethane:methanol:water (3:1.5:1, v/v/v) was used for the HSCCC separation, at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min. RESULTS: A one-step RP-FC operation within 110 min was successfully used for the purification of compounds 1 (27.9 mg, 96.5%), 2 (32.4 mg, 98.2%) and 3 (4.1 mg, 99.0%) from 129 mg of crude sample, and a one-step HSCCC separation within 95 min was successfully implemented for the purification of compounds 1 (31.1 mg, 97.6%), 2 (35.8 mg, 96.7%) and 3 (2.7 mg, 98.1%) from 134 mg of crude sample. CONCLUSION: The developed procedures were efficient, with low cost and high yield, which would afford sufficient amounts of high-purity compounds for chromatographic purposes and pharmacological activity screening.

On-line coupled reversed phase liquid chromatography and gas chromatography: a new sealing design for the TOTAD interface.

Total elimination of the eluent resulting from the pre-separation step is the critical point when coupling LC to GC. As a helium flow is applied during transfer to eliminate the solvent, the interface used for linking the two chromatographic systems must be properly sealed to prevent gas leaks and to achieve an effective evaporation of the eluent. The aim of this work was to improve the performance of the Through Oven Transfer Adsorption Desorption (TOTAD) interface to remove the eluent coming from LC by modifying the way in which the injector sealing system is held in place. As with the original design, the new approach makes it possible to transfer high volumes at a high rate, but the proposed modification also simplifies the experimental work because the displacement risk of the sealing system is reduced. Analyses of an ester mixture by RPLC-GC were performed to confirm the applicability of the system modification. In this work, volumes of up to 5 ml, at flow rates as high as 2 ml/min, were transferred from LC to GC with almost complete solvent removal even when working in reversed phase mode in the LC step.

Impact of the nature and composition of the mobile phase on the mass transfer mechanism in chiral reversed phase liquid chromatography. Application to the minimization of the solvent cost in chiral separations.

The mechanism of mass transfer was studied on a cellulose-based chiral stationary phase (CSP, Lux Cellulose-1) using aqueous mixtures of acetonitrile (50/50-90/10, v/v) or methanol (90/10 and 100/0, v/v) as the mobile phase. An experimental protocol validated in RPLC and HILIC chromatography and recently extended to chiral RPLC was applied. The five mass-transfer contributions (longitudinal diffusion, short-range and long-range eddy dispersion, solid-liquid mass transfer resistances due to finite intra-particle diffusivity and slow adsorption-desorption) to the reduced height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) were measured. The experimental results show that the adsorption rate constants kads of trans-stilbene enantiomers onto the CSP are three times larger with acetonitrile than with methanol as the organic modifier. This is correlated to the decrease of enantioselectivity from 1.4 (in methanol) to only 1.1 (in acetonitrile). The amount of solvent needed to achieve a separation factor of exactly 2.0 was determined. This showed that analysis cost could be reduced seven times by selecting pure methanol as the eluent for a 5cm long column rather than an acetonitrile-water mixture for a longer (20-45cm) column.

Rapid speciation and determination of vanadium compounds using ion-pair reversed-phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry.

Environmental vanadium contamination is a potential concern to public health, as evidenced by its place on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List as a priority contaminant. Vanadium toxicity varies significantly between different oxidation states; therefore, it is crucial to be able to monitor the speciation of vanadium in environmental samples. In this study, a novel method is described that utilizes ion-pair reversed-phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry (IP-RP-UHPLC-ICP-SFMS) to separate vanadyl and vanadate ions and resolve a major polyatomic spectral interference ((35)Cl(16)O(+)) in less than a minute. Detection limits were obtained in the low ngL(-1) (part per trillion) range with linear calibrations across several orders of magnitude (50ngL(-1)-100µgL(-1)). The mechanism of chromatographic retention was elucidated through investigation of the role of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, tetrabutylammonium ion and pH on elution. The optimized method was then applied to the speciation of vanadium in local lake water samples.

Validated stability-indicating reversed-phase-HPLC method for simultaneous determination of orphenadrine citrate, caffeine and aspirin.

New, simple, rapid and precise reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the simultaneous determination of orphenadrine citrate, caffeine and aspirin in presence of aspirin degradation products, orphenadrine citrate and caffeine process related impurities, and excipients. Good resolution and quantization were achieved on reversed-phase column [Phenomenex™ Luna ODS C(18) (25 cm×4.6 mm, 5 µm particles)]. Gradient elution based on; eluant [A]: 0.1% triethylamine in aqueous potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (50 mM; pH 3.0), while as, eluant [B]: acetonitrile, at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min(-1). UV quantitation was set at 215 nm. Linearity was exhibited for orphenadrine citrate, caffeine and aspirin within 0.5-150, 0.5-360 or 0.7-301 µg mL(-1) ranges, respectively. Satisfactory validation results were ascertained in terms of low limits of quantiation (6.33×10(-2)-7.94×10(-2)), mean percentage recovery (98.9-101.4%), precision (<2%) and robustness. The proposed method was proved to be specific, robust and accurate for the determination of cited drugs in pharmaceutical preparations in presence of their degradation products.

Simple and low-cost high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of D- and L-amino acids.

In this article, a simple and low-cost method for the analysis of amino acid enantiomers by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. In this method, the amino acids are modified to diastereomers in order to be separated into enantiomers on a usual C(18) reversed-phase column. Methanol instead of acetonitrile is used as an elution solvent; the results of HPLC with methanol elution are comparable with those of HPLC with acetonitrile elution. Sub-nanomolar sensitivity is attained by measuring the absorbance at 340 nm in analysis of 15 amino-acid enantiomers.

Stability-indicating RP-LC method for the determination of vildagliptin and mass spectrometry detection for a main degradation product.

A simple, precise and stability-indicating reversed-phase liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for the determination of vildagliptin (VLG) in pharmaceutical dosage form. The chromatographic separation was obtained within 6 min and was linear in the range of 20-80 µg/mL (r(2) = 0.9999). Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.63 and 2.82 µg/mL, respectively. The method was validated in accordance with International Conference on Harmonization acceptance criteria for specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, robustness and system suitability. Stress studies were carried out and no interference of the degradation products was observed. The excipients did not interfere in the determination of VLG. Furthermore, the main degradation product obtained from the stress studies (thermal, oxidative and alkaline hydrolysis) was evaluated for mass spectrometry and its molecular structure was predicted. The proposed method was successfully applied for the quantitative analysis of VLG in tablet dosage form, which will help to improve quality control and contribute to stability studies of pharmaceutical tablets containing this drug.

A validated LC method for determination of 2,3-dichlorobenzoic acid and its associated regio isomers.

A simple, selective and sensitive gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography method has been developed for the separation and determination of 2,3-dichlorobenzoic acid, which is an intermediate of the lamotrizine drug substance, and its regio isomers. The separation was achieved on a reversed-phase United States Pharmacopeia L1 (C-18) column using 0.01 M ammonium acetate buffer at pH 2.5 and methanol (50:50 v/v) mixture as mobile phase A and a methanol and water mixture (80:20 v/v) as mobile phase B in a gradient elution at flow rate 1.2 mL/min with ultraviolet detection at 210 nm. The method is found to be selective, precise, linear, accurate and robust. It was used for quality assurance and monitoring the synthetic reactions involved in the process development of lamotrizine. The method is found to be simple, rapid, specific and reliable for the determination of unreacted levels of raw materials and isomers in reaction mixtures and finished product lamotrizine. The method was fully validated as per International Conference of Harmonization guidelines and results from validation confirm that the method is highly suitable for its intended purpose.

Development of a simple and stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for determining olanzapine and related impurities generated in the preparative process.

A simple and stability-indicating reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of olanzapine (OLN) and related impurities in bulk drugs. Eight impurities were characterized respectively, and particularly a new process impurity from OLN synthesis was structurally confirmed as 1-(5-methylthionphen-2-yl)-1H-benzimidazol-2(3H)-one (Imp-7) by X-ray single crystal diffraction, MS, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and HSQC. A mechanism of formation pathway for Imp-7 was proposed. Optimum separation for OLN and eight related impurities was carried out on an Agilent Octyldecyl silica column (TC-C(18), 4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 µm) using a gradient HPLC method. The method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD and LOQ. Regression analysis showed good correlation (r(2) > 0.9985) between the investigated component concentrations and their peak areas within the test ranges for OLN and eight impurities. The repeatability and intermediate precision, expressed as RSD, were less than 1.74%. The proposed stability-indicating method was suitable for routine quality control and drug analysis of OLN in bulk drugs.

Fast chromatographic determination of the bile salt critical micellar concentration.

In a line of research focused on the design, synthesis and development of new bile acid-based compounds, the physico-chemical profile of the molecules must be thoroughly explored and analyzed. In this scenario, a fast and reliable information on the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of specific compounds through a profitable chromatographic parameter can be of aid to rationally direct the synthesis of new molecular entities, mainly during the early stages of the drug-discovery process. The derived 'chromatographic hydrophobicity index' (CHI), usually employed for a fast access to the log P/log D value of physico-chemically diverse compounds and obtained via RP-gradient elution, was for the first time engaged in the bile acid field. Accordingly, 14 unconjugated bile acids harboured with a different number, position and orientation of hydroxy groups, as well as other substituents onto the steroidal backbone and side chain, were selected to build up a calibration curve. Such a collection of compounds was rationally assembled in order to manage an almost continuous range of CMC values (spanning the spectrophotometrically obtained CMCs between 5 and 25 mM). A high degree of correlation between CMC and CHI values was obtained (R(2) and cross-validated R(xv)(2) of the pCMC vs CHI plot equal to 0.975 and 0.966, respectively). A selected new subset of five confidential research bile acids with experimental CMCs in the range 6-19 mM was finally recruited to validate the proposed method. The high statistical quality of the established mathematical model turned out into a very appreciable predictive power.