Capillary electrophoresis method for speciation of iron (II) and iron (III) in pharmaceuticals by dual precapillary complexation

Capillary electrophoretic methods for quality control analyses of pharmaceuticals: A review

Capillary electrophoresis represents a promising technique in the field of pharmaceutical analysis. The presented review provides a summary of capillary electrophoretic methods suitable for routine quality control analyses of small molecule drugs published since 2015. In total, more than 80 discussed methods are sorted into three main sections according to the applied electroseparation modes (capillary zone electrophoresis, electrokinetic chromatography, and micellar, microemulsion, and liposome-electrokinetic chromatography) and further subsections according to the applied detection techniques (UV, capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection, and mass spectrometry). Key parameters of the procedures are summarized in four concise tables. The presented applications cover analyses of active pharmaceutical ingredients and their related substances such as degradation products or enantiomeric impurities. The contribution of reported results to the current knowledge of separation science and general aspects of the practical applications of capillary electrophoretic methods are also discussed.

Iron Redox Speciation Analysis Using Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (CE-ICP-MS)

Neuronal iron dyshomeostasis occurs in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Changes in the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio toward Fe(II) is closely related to oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and represents a hallmark feature of ferroptosis. In particular for body fluids, like cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), reliable quantitative methods for Fe(II)/(III) redox-speciation analysis are needed to better assess the risk of Fe(II)-mediated damage in brain tissue. Currently in the field of metallomics, the most direct method to analyze both iron species is via LC-ICP-MS. However, this Fe(II)/(III) speciation analysis method suffers from several limitations. Here, we describe a unique method using capillary electrophoresis (CE)-ICP-MS for quantitative Fe(II)/(III) speciation analysis that can be applied for cell lysates and biofluid samples. Compared to LC, CE offers various advantages: (1) Capillaries have no stationary phase and do not depend on batch identity of stationary phases; (2) Replacement of aged or blocked capillaries is quick with no performance change; (3) Purge steps are effective and short; (4) Short sample analysis time. The final method employed 20 mM HCl as background electrolyte and a separation voltage of +25 kV. In contrary to the LC-method, no complexation of Fe-species with pyridine dicarboxylic acid (PDCA) was applied, since it hampered separation. Peak shapes and concentration detection limits were improved by combined conductivity-pH-stacking achieving 3 μg/L detection limit (3σ) at 13 nL injection volume. Calibrations from LOD—150 μg/L were linear [r²_[Fe(II)] = 0.9999, r²_[Fe(III)] = 0.9951]. At higher concentrations Fe(II) curve flattened significantly. Measurement precision was 3.5% [Fe(II) at 62 μg/L] or 2.2% [Fe(III) at 112 μg/L] and migration time precision was 2% for Fe(III) and 3% for Fe(II), each determined in 1:2 diluted lysates of human neuroblastoma cells. Concentration determination accuracy was checked by parallel measurements of SH-SY5Y cell lysates with validated LC-ICP-MS method and by recovery experiments after standard addition. Accuracy (n = 6) was 97.6 ± 3.7% Fe(III) and 105 ± 6.6%Fe(II). Recovery [(a) +33 μg/L or (b) +500 μg/L, addition per species] was (a): 97.2 ± 13% [Fe(II)], 108 ± 15% [Fe(III)], 102.5 ± 7% (sum of species), and (b) 99±4% [Fe(II)], 101 ± 6% [Fe(III)], 100 ± 5% (sum of species). Migration time shifts in CSF samples were due to high salinity, but both Fe-species were identified by standard addition.