Quantitative determination of methylphenidate in plasma by gas chromatography negative ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry using o-(pentafluorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-benzoyl derivatives

Chiral Drug Analysis in Forensic Chemistry: An Overview

Many substances of forensic interest are chiral and available either as racemates or pure enantiomers. Application of chiral analysis in biological samples can be useful for the determination of legal or illicit drugs consumption or interpretation of unexpected toxicological effects. Chiral substances can also be found in environmental samples and revealed to be useful for determination of community drug usage (sewage epidemiology), identification of illicit drug manufacturing locations, illegal discharge of sewage and in environmental risk assessment. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the application of chiral analysis in biological and environmental samples and their relevance in the forensic field. Most frequently analytical methods used to quantify the enantiomers are liquid and gas chromatography using both indirect, with enantiomerically pure derivatizing reagents, and direct methods recurring to chiral stationary phases.

Fast quantitative determination of methylphenidate levels in rat plasma and brain ex vivo by MALDI-MS/MS

This study presents a simple and sensitive high-throughput matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS/MS) method for ex vivo quantification of methylphenidate (MPH) in rat plasma and brain. The common MALDI matrix alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid was used to obtain an optimal dried droplet preparation. For method validation, standards diluted in plasma and brain homogenate prepared from untreated (control) rats were used. MPH was quantified within a concentration range of 0.1-40 ng/ml in plasma and 0.4-40 ng/ml in brain homogenate with an excellent linearity (R²  ≥ 0.9997) and good precision. The intra-day and inter-day accuracies fulfilled the FDA's ±15/20 critera. The recovery of MPH ranged from 93.8 to 98.5% and 87.2 to 99.8% in plasma and homogenate, respectively. We show that MPH is successfully quantified in plasma and brain homogenate of rats pre-treated with this drug using the internal standard calibration method. By means of this method, a linear correlation between plasma and brain concentration of MPH in rodents pre-treated with MPH was detected. The simple sample preparation based on liquid-liquid extraction and MALDI-MS/MS measurement requires approximately 10 s per sample, and this significantly reduces analysis time compared with other analytical methods. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first MALDI-MS/MS method for quantification of MPH in rat plasma and brain. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Alternative method for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of short-chain fatty acids in faecal samples

Short-chain fatty acids are the major end products of bacterial metabolism in the large bowel. They derive mostly from the bacterial breakdown of carbohydrates and are known to have positive health benefits. Due to the biological relevance of these compounds it is important to develop efficient, cheap, fast, and sensitive analytical methods that enable the identification and quantification of the short-chain fatty acids in a large number of biological samples. In this study, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the analysis of short-chain fatty acids in faecal samples. These volatile compounds were extracted with ethyl acetate and 4-methyl valeric acid was used as an internal standard. No further cleanup, concentration, and derivatization steps were needed and the extract was directly injected onto the column. Recoveries ranged between 65 and 105%, and no matrix effects were observed. The proposed method has wide linear ranges, good inter- and intraday variability values (below 2.6 and 5.6%, respectively) and limits of detection between 0.49 μM (0.29 μg/g) and 4.31 μM (3.8 μg/g). The applicability of this analytical method was successfully tested in faecal samples from rats and humans.

(S)-(-)-N-(pentafluorobenzylcarbamoyl)prolyl chloride: a chiral derivatisation reagent designed for gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry of amino compounds

RATIONALE

The synthesis of a novel chiral derivatisation reagent, (S)-(-)-N-(pentafluorobenzylcarbamoyl)prolyl chloride is described which is preferably useful for negative-ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry.

METHODS

Preparation of the reagent followed a general strategy used to prepare enantioselective reagents based on the N-substitution of L-proline. Pentafluorobenzyl chloroformate smoothly reacted with L-proline to give the desired derivatisation reagent after conversion into the acyl chloride. The product was sufficiently pure to be used in the following steps without any additional purification.

RESULTS

The reagent was tested against selected chiral and non-chiral analytical targets. Chromatographic enantioseparation was at least equal to the commonly used (S)-(-)-N-(heptafluorobutyryl)prolyl derivatives. The derivatives exhibit excellent mass spectral properties under negative ion chemical ionisation, i.e. reduced fragmentation and thus high ion current for the targeted m/z during analysis. With electron ionisation, the fragmentation that occurs is mainly directed by the introduced group. Enantioseparation with gas chromatography/negative-ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry of the derivatives was demonstrated for the enantiomers of amphetamine, α-aminocaprylic acid methyl ester and threo-methylphenidate.

CONCLUSIONS

The new derivatisation reagent shows highly improved mass spectral properties for negative-ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry and is thus suitable for sensitive chiral detection of amino compounds. The reagent extends the applicability of dissociative resonance electron capture using pentafluorobenzyl derivatives to chiral analysis.