Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry of fatty acids as their anthrylmethyl esters

Development and validation of a novel derivatization method for the determination of lactate in urine and saliva by liquid chromatography with UV and fluorescence detection

We developed a novel and straightforward derivatization method for the determination of lactate by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with fluorescence and UV detection in biological matrices as urine and saliva. The derivatization of lactate was achieved employing 9-chloromethyl anthracene (9-CMA) as fluorescence reagent, which has never been previously used to obtain a lactate derivative. Lactate reacts with 9-CMA with high selectivity in a very short time, without requiring extraction procedures from the aqueous solution, and the reaction reaches 70% completion in 30 min. The ester derivative obtained can be easily determined by RP-HPLC with fluorescence detection at 410 nm (λ ex=365 nm) and UV detection at 365 nm. The method was also optimized in order to allow for the simultaneous determination of lactate and creatinine for the application to urine samples. The lactate calibration curve was linear in the investigated range 2 × 10(-4)-3 × 10(-2)mM and the limit of detection, calculated as three times the standard deviation of the blank divided by the calibration curve slope, was 50 nM for both fluorescence and UV detection. Intra-day and inter-day repeatability were lower than 5% and 6%, respectively. The method proposed was successfully applied to the analysis of urine and saliva samples.

Determination of Magnesium Stearate in Pharmaceutical Preparations Using Derivatization with 2-Nitrophenylhydrazine and HPLC

In general, spectrophotometric methods (inductively coupled plasma or atomic absorption spectrophotometry) are used for the assay of magnesium stearate (Mg-St). In this study, a new rapid, selective assay method was developed for Mg-St in pharmaceutical formulations. The method was based on isocratic reverse-phase liquid chromatography using a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (80:20, v/v) after precolumn derivatization with 2-nitrophenyl hydrazine for sensitive UV detection. Margaric acid was used as an internal standard and the substances were detectable at 230 nm or 400 nm. Using a short (2 cm) HPLC column reduced the analytical time to 5 min. Validation of the newly developed method was performed in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The linearity range for Mg-St was 0.00-0.04 mg/ml (as the concentration of injected sample solution) and their correlation factor was 0.9998. The determination and detection limits for Mg-St were 6 microg and 2 microg, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of Mg-St in commercially available tablets with a high recovery percentage, good accuracy, and precision.

Analysis of fatty acids as their anthrylmethyl esters by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of free fatty acids in plasma has been developed which allows the resolution of the major plasma fatty acids in man. A mixture of thirteen fatty acid anthrylmethyl esters is resolved on a Spherisorb 3-micron C8 column at a flow-rate of 1 ml/min by gradient elution. The solvent system consists of acetonitrile-water (93:7) for 12 min, followed by 5 min at acetonitrile-water (86:14) and 23 min at 100% acetonitrile. The eluent is monitored with a fluorescence detector (excitation 360 nm, emission 420 nm). Three different C18 columns were evaluated, and none were able to resolve all the esters. To optimize the separation on the C8 columns it was necessary to construct plots of log capacity factor vs. percent water in the mobile phase. The slope of the line for arachidonic acid (C20:4) was markedly different from that for the saturated acid derivatives. The method was applied to the analysis of plasma free fatty acids in normal and diabetic subjects. As expected, elevated levels of free fatty acids were found in diabetic subjects. The results were shown to correlate well with an established gas chromatographic assay.

A comparison of methods for the high-performance liquid chromatographic and capillary gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of fatty acid esters

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the analysis of free fatty acids in plasma was compared with a method using capillary gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The same extraction procedure was used for both assays. In the RP-HPLC method, the acids were separated as their anthrylmethyl esters on a C18 reversed-phase column, and detected by fluorescence. The coupling agent 2-bromo-1-methylpyridinium iodide was used with 9-(hydroxymethyl)anthracene. A mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (98:2) was used with flow programming. The derivatives of the C14:0, C16:1 and C18:2 acids could not be fully resolved. For capillary GLC, the acids were separated as their methyl esters following on-column injection into a 25-m OV-101 glass capillary column and detected using flame ionization detection. The esterifying agent used was diazomethane. The C18:2 and C18:3 esters were not fully resolved. The precision and sensitivity of both methods were similar. In an application of the methods, the free fatty acid concentrations in the plasma of a group of diabetic patients and their age-matched controls were estimated. Fatty acid concentrations tended to be higher in the diabetic group but, in the small number of patients studied, wide inter-individual variations prevented a significant difference from being detected. Estimates of individual fatty acids were higher by the RP-HPLC method. The identity of the acids in the extract was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of their methyl esters.