Enantioseparation of nicotine alkaloids in cigarettes by CE using sulfated beta-CD as a chiral selector and a capillary coated with amino groups

The impact of chirality on the analysis of alkaloids in plant

Most of the alkaloids are chiral compounds and are clinically administered as the racemic mixture, even though its enantiomers have been known to exert different pharmacological activity. The determination of the enantiomeric composition of alkaloid-containing plants is subject to severe attention from pharmacological and toxicological points of view. This review gives an overview of the chiral analysis of alkaloids that were used in theoretical studies and applications for plants in recent years.

Chiral determination of nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine in tobacco by achiral gas chromatography with (1S)-(-)-camphanic chloride derivatization: Application to enantiomeric profiling of cultivars and curing processes

The alkaloid enantiomers are well-known to have different physiological and pharmacological effects, and to play an important role in enantioselectivity metabolism with enzymes catalysis in tobacco plants. Here, we developed an improved method for simultaneous and high-precision determination of the individual enantiomers of nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine in four tobacco matrices, based on an achiral gas chromatography-nitrogen phosphorus detector (GCNPD) with commonly available Rtx-200 column using (1S)-(-)-camphanic chloride derivatization. The method development consists of the optimization of extraction and derivatization, screening of achiral column, analysis of the fragmentation mechanisms and evaluation of matrix effect (ME). Under the optimized experimental conditions, the current method exhibited excellent detection capability for the alkaloid enantiomers, with coefficients of determination (R2) > 0.9989 and normality test of residuals P > 0.05 in linear regression parameters. The ME can be neglected for the camphanic derivatives. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) ranged from 0.087 to 0.24 μg g - 1 and 0.29 to 0.81 μg g - 1, respectively. The recoveries and within-laboratory relative standard deviations (RSDR) were 94.3%~104.2% and 0.51%~3.89%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to determine the enantiomeric profiling of cultivars and curing processes. Tobacco cultivars had a significant impact on the nornicotine, anatabine, anabasine concentration and enantiomeric fraction (EF) of (R)-nornicotine, whereas the only significant change induced by the curing processes was an increase in the EF of (R)-anabasine.

Racemisation in Chemistry and Biology

The two enantiomers of a compound often have profoundly different biological properties and thus their liability to racemisation in aqueous solutions is an important piece of information. The authors reviewed the available data concerning the process of racemisation in vivo, in the presence of biological molecules (e.g., racemase enzymes, serum albumin, cofactors and derivatives) and under purely chemical but aqueous conditions (acid, base and other aqueous systems). Mechanistic studies are described critically in light of reported kinetic data. The types of experimental measurement that can be used to effectively determine rate constants of racemisation in various conditions are discussed and the data they provide is summarised. The proposed origins of enzymatic racemisation are presented and suggest ways to promote the process that are different from processes taking place in bulk water. Experimental and computational studies that provide understanding and quantitative predictions of racemisation risk are also presented.

Enantioseparation of nornicotine in tobacco by ultraperformance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

Nornicotine, an alkaloid constituent of tobacco, is a precursor to the carcinogen N-nitrosonornicotine that is produced during the curing and processing of tobacco. Accumulating evidence reveals that nornicotine enantiomers have different neurochemical and behavioral effects. In the present study, an accurate and rapid method was developed for the enantioseparation of (R)-(+)-nornicotine and (S)-(-)-nornicotine enantiomers in tobacco by ultra-performance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Chromatographic conditions were investigated to achieve the optimal resolution of two enantiomers. Results indicated that (R)-(+)-nornicotine and (S)-(-)-nornicotine could be separated within 5 min when ammonium hydroxide was added into the cosolvent, and the best resolution (Rs  = 4.76) was achieved on a immobilized cellulose tris-(3,5-dichlorophenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase. The proposed method was validated and was finally applied to analyze the compositions of (R)-(+)-nornicotine and (S)-(-)-nornicotine in three typical types of tobaccos (flue-cured, burley, and oriental). It was found that, enantiomer fraction of nornicotine (the proportion of (S)-(-)-nornicotine in the nornicotine pool) in burley tobacco samples was relatively high and constant compared with flue-cured and oriental tobaccos. The effective and rapid enantioseparation of nornicotine may help the understanding of alkaloid metabolites in different tobacco varieties and may also benefit pharmacological studies of alkaloid enantiomers.

Untangling interactions of a zinc(II) complex containing a coumarin-porphyrin unit with alkaloids in water solutions: a photophysical study

A metal complex 1 derivative from a coumarin bearing a porphyrin unit was spectroscopically characterized and its sensing ability towards the alkaloids caffeine 2, nicotine 3 and cotinine 4 was evaluated in these studies. This probe shows to be sensitive to the alkaloids studied, where a detectable amount of 2.5 ± 0.3 μM of cotinine was determined in dam water from the Vigia Dam located in the Montoito village region, Alentejo district, Portugal. The interaction of 1 with cotinine was also verified by MALDI-TOF-MS, where it was found with peaks at 877.2 and 1053.3 m/z corresponding to the species [1H](+) and [1CotinineH](+), respectively.

"Dilute & shoot" approach for rapid determination of trace amounts of nicotine in zero-level e-liquids by reversed phase liquid chromatography and hydrophilic interactions liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry-electrospray ionization

Two analytical procedures are proposed where HILIC and RPLC techniques are coupled with tandem mass spectrometry detection for rapid determination of trace amounts of nicotine in zero-level liquids for electronic cigarettes. Samples are prepared on the basis of the approach "dilute & shoot" which makes this important step quick and not complicated. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Zorbax XDB column (RPLC method) and Ascentis Si column (HILIC mode). Within-run precisions (CVs) measured at three concentration levels were as follows: 0.73%, 0.98% and 1.44% for RPLC method and 1.39%, 1.44% and 0.57% (HILIC mode). Between-run CVs were as follows: 1.94%, 1.02% and 1.22% for RPLC mode and 1.49%, 1.20% and 1.22% for HILIC mode. The detection limits of RPLC and HILIC modes were 4.08 and 3.90 ng/mL respectively. The proposed procedures are rapid, not complicated, sensitive and are suitable for fast determination of trace amounts of nicotine in zero-level liquids for electronic cigarettes.

Fast and sample cleanup-free measurement of nicotine and cotinine by stable isotope dilution ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

We developed a stable isotope dilution ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry assay to measure nicotine and cotinine, the major oxidative and pharmacologically less active metabolite of nicotine, in human urine. A simple dilution step was used as sample preparation and the measurement of nicotine and cotinine was performed during a 1.5-min run-time using nicotine-D₄ and cotinine-D₄ as internal standards. Multiple calibration curves for the analysis of both nicotine and cotinine exhibited a consistent excellent linearity and reproducibility in the range of 5-35,000 μg/L (r>0.999). Limits of Detection were 0.7 μg/L for nicotine and 0.4 μg/L for cotinine, and Lower Limits of Quantification were 1.7 μg/L for nicotine and 1.1 μg/L for cotinine. The intraassay coefficients of variation (CVs) for nicotine and cotinine were <4% and <2%, respectively, the interassay CVs were <6% for nicotine and <4% for cotinine. The inaccuracy was <6% for both substances. The mean recovery was 103.2% (range 96.8-105.1%) for nicotine and 97.4% (range 94.3-99.2%) for cotinine. A method comparison showed that the values of nicotine metabolites in human urine samples (n=98) measured by a commercially available chemiluminescent immunoassay tested on analyzer IMMULITE 2000 were much higher than the cotinine concentration in the same urine samples measured by our UPLC-MS/MS assay. The Passing-Bablok regression line was: immunoassay=4.62 (UPLC-MS/MS)+3.64 [μg/L]; r=0.75. This robust, sensitive and interference-free UPLC-MS/MS assay permits rapid and accurate determination of nicotine and cotinine in human urine.

Recent approaches in sensitive enantioseparations by CE

The latest strategies and instrumental improvements for enhancing the detection sensitivity in chiral analysis by CE are reviewed in this work. Following the previous reviews by García-Ruiz et al. (Electrophoresis 2006, 27, 195-212) and Sánchez-Hernández et al. (Electrophoresis 2008, 29, 237-251; Electrophoresis 2010, 31, 28-43), this review includes those papers that were published during the period from June 2009 to May 2011. These works describe the use of offline and online sample treatment techniques, online sample preconcentration techniques based on electrophoretic principles, and alternative detection systems to UV-Vis to increase the detection sensitivity. The application of the above-mentioned strategies, either alone or combined, to improve the sensitivity in the enantiomeric analysis of a broad range of samples, such as pharmaceutical, biological, food and environmental samples, enables to decrease the limits of detection up to 10⁻¹² M. The use of microchips to achieve sensitive chiral separations is also discussed.

Recent advances of enantioseparations in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography

A comprehensive survey of recent developments and applications of capillary electromigration techniques for enantioseparations from January 2006 to June 2010 is presented. The techniques include capillary electrophoresis, chip capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography. The separation principles and the chiral recognition mechanisms are discussed. Additionally, on-line preconcentrations in chiral capillary electrophoresis are also reviewed.