Automated hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction followed by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry for the determination of benzodiazepine drugs in biological samples

Development of a hollow fiber-liquid phase microextraction method using tissue culture oil for the extraction of free metoprolol from plasma samples

In this research, a method known as a hollow fiber-liquid-phase microextraction was employed to extract and concentrate free metoprolol from plasma samples. The extracted analyte was subsequently determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode-array detector. Several parameters, including hollow fiber length, sonication time, extraction temperature, and salt addition, were investigated and optimized to enhance extraction efficiency. After extracting the analyte under optimum conditions from plasma samples, the enrichment factor and extraction recovery were 50 and 86 %, respectively. Moreover, the method exhibited detection and quantification limits of 0.41 and 1.30 ng mL-1, respectively. The analysis of real samples demonstrated satisfactory relative recoveries in the range of 91-99 %.

Quantification of sedative-hypnotics in human urine and plasma via polystyrene-based solid phase extraction-LC-MS/MS analysis

Owing to the adverse effects of the overuse of common sedative-hypnotics on human health, the development of an efficient analytical method for the detection of drugs in clinical emergencies and forensic science is significant. Although conventional analytical methods, such as immunoassay, liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry (MS) are reliable, they exhibit drawbacks such low-throughput screening and high costs. Thus, in this study, we developed a novel high-throughput method consisting of a polystyrene-based solid phase extraction (SPE) and an LC with tandem MS analysis for the detection of drugs in biological samples and investigated its precision and reliability via the detection of twelve sedative-hypnotics in human urine and plasma samples. Good linear relationship (r ≥ 0.99) were achieved within the concentration range of 0.1-20 ng/mL for the 12 analytes in urine samples. Whereas, in the plasma samples, the correlation coefficient was greater than 0.99 in the concentration range 1-100 ng/mL for lorazepam and clonazepam and in the range 0.5-100 ng/mL for the remaining analytes. The intra- and inter-day precision, autosampler and freeze-thaw stabilities, and lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) for all twelve analytes in the urine and plasma samples were favorable. Furthermore, sedative-hypnotics were detected in clinical samples obtained from the Hebei General Hospital using this method. These results indicated that the analytical method proposed in this study can be effectively applied in toxicology screening and drug abuse monitoring.The method developed in this study could be applied in clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories for sedative-hypnotic drug screening, providing support for drug abuse monitoring and clinical diagnosis.

Microextraction by packed sorbent of some β-blocker drugs with chitosan@mof-199 bio-composite in human saliva, plasma, and urine samples

The current study introduces microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) to extract three beta-blocker drugs (propranolol, atenolol, and betaxolol) from biological samples. The separation and detection of the drugs were performed by high performance liquid chromatography followed by UV detection. A green approach was applied for synthesizing chitosan@MOF-199 bio-composite, which was packed into the initial part of a metal spinal (22 gage). The effective parameters on the adsorption and desorption efficiencies, including sample solution pH, eluent flow rate, cycle numbers, type and volume of eluent solvent were evaluated and optimized. Under optimal conditions linear ranges (LRs = 5-600 µg L-1), limits of detection (LODs = 1.5-4.5 µg L-1), and relative standard deviations (RSDs% = 4.7 -5.3% with three replicates and concentration of 100 µg L-1) were obtained. Relative recoveries (RR%) for plasma (77-99%), saliva (81-108%), and urine (80-112%) samples were obtained. In this study, the drug release profile of propranolol in urine was evaluated. The results showed that the highest amount of propranolol is released 4 h after taking the drug. Based on the obtained results, this is an effective, fast, sensitive, reproducible, green, and user-friendly method for beta-blocker drug extraction in biological samples.

Modern automated microextraction procedures for bioanalytical, environmental, and food analyses

Sample preparation frequently is considered the most critical stage of the analytical workflow. It affects the analytical throughput and costs; moreover, it is the primary source of error and possible sample contamination. To increase efficiency, productivity, and reliability, while minimizing costs and environmental impacts, miniaturization and automation of sample preparation are necessary. Nowadays, several types of liquid-phase and solid-phase microextractions are available, as well as different automatization strategies. Thus, this review summarizes recent developments in automated microextractions coupled with liquid chromatography, from 2016 to 2022. Therefore, outstanding technologies and their main outcomes, as well as miniaturization and automation of sample preparation, are critically analyzed. Focus is given to main microextraction automation strategies, such as flow techniques, robotic systems, and column-switching approaches, reviewing their applications to the determination of small organic molecules in biological, environmental, and food/beverage samples.

Calcium/Copper Alginate Framework Doped with CuO Nanoparticles as a Novel Adsorbent for Micro-extraction of Benzodiazepines from Human Serum

Background:

Sample preparation is one of the most challenging phases in pharmaceutical analysis, especially in biological matrices, affecting the whole analytical methodology.

Objective:

In this study, a new Ca(II)/Cu(II)/alginate/CuO Nanoparticles Hydrogel Fiber (CCACHF) was synthesized through a simple, green procedure and applied for fiber micro solid-phase extraction (FMSPE) of diazepam (DIZ) and oxazepam (OXZ) as model drugs prior to high-performance liquid chromatography-UV detection (HPLC-UV).

Methods:

Composition and morphology of the prepared fiber were characterized and the effect of main parameters on the fiber fabrication and extraction efficiency have been studied and optimized.

Results:

In optimal conditions, calibration curves were linear, ranging between 0.1–500 μg L−1 with regression coefficients of 0.9938 and 0.9968. Limit of Detection (LOD) (S/N=3) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) (S/N=10) of the technique for DIZ and OXZ were 0.03 to 0.1 μg L−1. Within-day and between-day Relative Standard Deviations (RSDs) for DIZ and OXZ were 6.0–12.5% and 3.3–9.4%, respectively.

Conclusion:

The fabricated adsorbent has been substantially employed to the extraction of selected benzo-diazepines (BZDs) from human serum real specimens and the obtained recoveries were also satisfactory (82.1-109.7%).

Interpol review of toxicology 2016-2019

This review paper covers the forensic-relevant literature in toxicology from 2016 to 2019 as a part of the 19th Interpol International Forensic Science Managers Symposium. The review papers are also available at the Interpol website at: https://www.interpol.int/content/download/14458/file/Interpol%20Review%20.Papers%202019.pdf.

High throughput bar adsorptive microextraction: A novel cost-effective tool for monitoring benzodiazepines in large number of biological samples

In this work, we propose an innovative high throughput (HT) apparatus using the bar adsorptive microextraction (BAμE) technique, which enables the simultaneous enrichment of up to 100 samples. This novel configuration was combined with microliquid desorption and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection to monitor trace levels of eight benzodiazepines (diazepam, prazepam, bromazepam, oxazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam, temazepam and loflazepate) in biological samples. The proposed methodology was fully developed, optimized and validated, resulting in suitable intraday and interday precision (RSD ≤ 15%), with recovery yields ranging from 33.0% to 104.5%. The lower limits of quantification were between 20.0 and 100.0 µg L^-1, using 1.0 mL of urine and 0.5 mL of plasma or serum samples. The application of the proposed methodology to real matrices resulted in average sample preparation time of around 2 min per sample, demonstrating that it is user-friendly, cost-effective and a rapid decision-making tool, whenever large number of samples are involved.

Evaluation of a Hollow-Fiber Liquid-Phase Microextraction Technique for the Simultaneous Determination of PPI Drugs in Human Plasma by LC-DAD

This study involved the development, validation and application of a three-phase hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) and liquid chromatography with diode array detection (LC-DAD) method for the simultaneous determination of the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs omeprazole, pantoprazole and lansoprazole in human plasma. The evaluation of the HF-LPME parameters was crucial for the determination of the drugs and the conditions selected were: 1-octanol as solvent; phosphate buffer at pH 5 as donor phase; borate buffer at pH 10 as acceptor phase; extraction time of 15 min; stirring at 750 rpm and NaCl was added at 5% (w/v). Validation of the method according to US-FDA recommendations showed a good linear range (0.2-2.0 μg/mL) for all analytes, with a determination coefficient >0.9910. Precision was evaluated using intra- and inter-day assays, which showed relative standard deviations (RSD), <15% for all concentrations, with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.2 μg/mL. Accuracy was also assessed at these concentration levels and was in the range from 80 to 130%. Finally, the sensitive, selective and reproducible HF-LPME/LC-DAD developed method was successfully applied to human plasma samples from patients undergoing therapy with the PPI drugs.

Novel generation of deep eutectic solvent as an acceptor phase in three-phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction for extraction and preconcentration of steroidal hormones from biological fluids

In this study, a novel generation of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was used as an acceptor phase in three-phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) based on two immiscible organic phases. It was compared with other common DESs for extraction and preconcentration of dydrogesterone (DYD) and cyproterone acetate (CPA) from urine and plasma samples. The extracted analytes were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with UV-vis detector (HPLC-UV). This phosphonium based DES due to low volatility, low price and multifunctionality introduced itself as worthy next generation of acceptor phase in HF-LPME. The factors affected on extraction efficiency of the analytes were investigated and optimized. The performance of the proposed method was studied in terms of linear ranges (LRs from 1 to 500µgL^-1 with R² ≥ 0.9946), precision (RSD% ≤ 6.3) and limits of detection (LODs in the range of 0.5-2µgL^-1). Under the optimized conditions, preconcentration factors in the range of 187-428 were obtained. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of DYD and CPA in human urine and plasma samples and desirable results were obtained.