Assay for methotrexate in nanomolar concentrations with simultaneous detection of citrovorum factor and vincristine

Highly sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for methotrexate in the presence and absence of anti-methotrexate antibody fragments in rat and mouse plasma

Recently, Balthasar and Fung have proposed that anti-methotrexate antibody fragments may be employed to enhance the selectivity of intraperitoneal methotrexate (MTX) therapy. This current work presents a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for measuring plasma concentrations of total (i.e., bound and unbound) MTX and free (unbound) MTX in rat and mouse plasma, in the presence or absence of therapeutic anti-MTX antibody fragments. The assay involves pre-column derivatization of MTX by sodium hydrosulfite to 2,4-diamino-6-methylpteridine. The limit of quantitation for MTX by this assay was 1.25 ng in rat plasma, mouse plasma and mouse plasma ultrafiltrate, which corresponds to a concentration of 25 ng/ml for a 50 microl sample. The limit of quantitation was found to be 2.5 ng in rat plasma ultrafiltrate (i.e., 50 ng/ml in 50 microl rat plasma ultrafiltrate). The method was shown to be quite accurate, as the mean assayed concentration of quality control samples was within 10% of theoretical values. We have applied the method to the investigation of MTX pharmacokinetics in mice and rats, following the administration of MTX alone or following simultaneous administration of MTX and anti-MTX Fab fragments. The method has been shown to be suitable for the assay of total and free methotrexate in the plasma of these species and will enable the testing of pharmacokinetic hypotheses regarding the influence of anti-MTX Fab fragments on the disposition of MTX.

Rapid determination of methotrexate in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line solid-phase extraction and automated precolumn derivatization

A high-performance liquid chromatographic system, combining solid-phase extraction and automated precolumn derivatization is described for the routine determination of methotrexate in human plasma. The sample extraction and elution onto the analytical column were performed automatically and concomitantly using the column-switching technique and a protein-coated precolumn. Cerium (IV) trihydroxyhydroperoxide (CTH) was introduced as a packed oxidant before the analytical column for the conversion of methotrexate into highly fluorescent products. The oxidative-cleavage of methotrexate occurs during the flow of 0.04 M phosphate buffer (pH 3.5) containing plasma sample through CTH column with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min at 40 degrees C. The fluorescent products were transferred to the protein-coated precolumn, which was then flushed with the same buffer for clean-up and enrichment from plasma sample. The trapped substances were desorbed from the precolumn and eluted onto the ODS/TM analytical column by isocratical elution with a mobile phase containing 0.05 M phosphate buffer, pH 6.6 and acetonitrile (90-10, v/v) for subsequent separation. The fluorescent products were detected fluorimetrically at excitation and emission wavelengths of 367 and 463 nm, respectively. The complete analysis was achieved within 15 min per sample. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 50-500 ng/mL of methotrexate and there was no interference from endogenous components.

On-line precolumn derivatization for HPLC determination of methotrexate using a column packed oxidant

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method involving on-line precolumn oxidative cleavage and fluorimetric detection was developed for the determination of methotrexate in plasma. Plasma samples were subjected to protein precipitation followed by solvent purification and then injection into the chromatographic system. Cerium (IV) trihydroxyhydroperoxide (CTH) was introduced as a packed oxidant before analytical column for the conversion of methotrexate into highly fluorescent 2,4-diaminopteridine derivatives. The oxidative cleavage of methotrexate occurs during the flow of 0.04 M phosphate buffer (pH 3.5) containing the drug through CTH column with a flow-rate of 0.2 mL/min at 40 degrees C. The separation was performed on a reversed-phase column (ODS/TM) using a mobile phase consisting of phosphate buffer (0.05 M, pH 6.6) and acetonitrile (90:10 v/v). The fluorescent products were monitored fluorimetrically at emission and excitation wavelengths of 463 and 367 nm, respectively. Validation of accuracy and precision were satisfactory for both within- and between-run assays. All coefficients of variance were less than 4% and mean relative errors were within 1.11% to 7.83%. The average recovery was found to be 93.74% to 98.11%. The proposed method is highly sensitive, specific and applicable to biological fluids.

Effects of combination of vasodilator drugs and hypertonic solutions on methotrexate distribution into the rat brain

The present experiments were designed to find a method to facilitate methotrexate (MTX) transfer into rat brain tissue. Adult male Wistar-Kyoto strain rats, anesthetized with pentobarbital-Na, received an infusion of the drug solution to be tested into the right internal carotid artery (5 ml/min, 30 sec) 5 min before injection of MTX (7 mg/kg). After 10 min, the MTX levels in the cerebral hemispheres were estimated as a peak height ratio unit of MTX vs. the internal standard by high performance liquid chromatography. MTX was undetectable in either hemisphere after the pretreatment with saline alone or 15% mannitol-saline. The MTX levels in the right hemisphere were about 10 after the pretreatment with 20% mannitol-saline, while MTX was undetectable in the left hemisphere. In contrast, the MTX levels in the right hemisphere were dose-dependently increased to about 25, 130 and 60, 100, respectively, when nitroglycerin (NTG, 2.5 or 7.5 micrograms/rat) or nicardipine-HCl (NIC, 1.25 or 2.5 micrograms/rat) was administered together with 20% mannitol-saline. These vasodilator drugs, however, had no effect when tested in combination with saline or 15% mannitol-saline. It is assumed that an increase in cerebrovascular blood flow induced by NTG or NIC enhances the MTX transfer into the brain once the blood brain barrier is opened by hypertonic solutions.

Determination of methotrexate and its major metabolite, 7-hydroxymethotrexate, using capillary zone electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence detection

High-dosage methotrexate therapy requires careful monitoring of the drug in serum to ensure minimal toxic effects. A simple, rapid and sensitive method for the separation and quantitation of methotrexate and its major metabolite, 7-hydroxymethotrexate, using high-voltage capillary zone electrophoresis combined with laser-induced fluorescence detection is described. The detection limit for methotrexate is as low as 5.10(-10) M (signal-to-noise ratio = 3), while that for 7-hydroxymethotrexate is 2.10(-9) M. The linearity of the system extends over nearly four orders of magnitude for both methotrexate and 7-hydroxymethotrexate. The extraction efficiency for the drug and its metabolite from serum is 80-85% using a Sep-Pak C18 cartridge. Quantitation of methotrexate in serum was possible in the 10(-10) M range, nearly two orders of magnitude lower than that currently obtainable by existing methods. Good correlation (r = 0.99) for serum methotrexate concentrations was obtained with an enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique. Comparison with an enzyme inhibition assay also provided similar results.

High-performance liquid chromatography of methotrexate analogs containing terminal lysine or ornithine and their dansyl derivatives

A procedure utilizing a reverse-phase semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography column and a binary solvent system consisting of trifluoroacetic acid and 1-propanol has been developed for the semipreparative scale purification and analytical identification of four newly synthesized analogs of methotrexate. The methotrexate analogs containing a lysine or an ornithine residue in place of a terminal glutamate residue together with their respective dansyl derivatives were purified in milligram quantities by the procedures described.