Development and validation of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of nine corticosteroid residues in bovine liver samples

Three-dimensional hydroxylated covalent organic frameworks for solid phase extraction of glucocorticoids in environmental water samples

It is challenging to achieve the highly sensitive detection of glucocorticoids at ultratrace levels because of the abundant hydrophilic groups in their molecules and the complexity of environmental water sample matrices. Here, a highly crystalline three-dimensional hydroxylated covalent organic frameworks (denoted by COF-301) with tetra(4-anilyl)methane (TAM) and 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalaldehyde (DHTA) as building units was constructed and proposed as adsorbent for solid phase extraction (SPE) of glucocorticoids. Theoretical studies were conducted to elucidate the potential adsorption mechanism of glucocorticoids on the COF-301. The COF-301 based SPE combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry provides a promising approach for the preconcentration and determination of glucocorticoids residue in water samples. Good linearity with a correlation coefficient exceeding 0.9988, low limits of detection ranging from 0.024 to 0.075 ng L^-1 and relative standard deviations below 6.68% were achieved. The proposed method was successfully applied to analyze glucocorticoids residue in actual water samples, demonstrating the prospects of this method for the determination of trace glucocorticoids.

A Critical Review of Analytical Methods in Pharmaceutical Matrices for Determination of Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are a class of hormones released by the adrenal cortex, which includes glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. Glucocorticoids have an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and calcium and effective anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activity. Due to their intense immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activity, glucocorticoids are used in the treatment of various inflammatory, malignant, allergic conditions such as rhinitis, asthma, dermatological, rheumatic, ophthalmic and neurological diseases, as well as after organ transplants. They are the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the analytical methods in pharmaceutical matrices for determination of corticosteroids. In this study, the predominance of liquid chromatography methods for the analysis of corticosteroids from pharmaceutical products is evident for both liquid and semisolid dosage forms as well as for solids. The same can be said for topical, oral and parenteral formulations. Methods such as spectrophotometry are also used, but given the advantages of chromatographic methods such as better selectivity and sensitivity, they have become the choice for analysis of these drugs, however, most methods still do not meet the credentials of "green chemistry."

Analysis of corticosteroids in samples of animal origin using QuEChERS and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method for the confirmatory analysis of eight synthetic corticosteroids (betamethasone, dexamethasone, prednisolone, 6-methylprednisolone, triamcinolone, flumethasone, beclomethasone, fluocinolone acetonide) is proposed. The method is useful for detecting illegal treatments in different animal species. It consists of an extraction and cleanup using the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) strategy. Quantitative determination is achieved by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry with heated electrospray ionization in negative mode. Quantification is performed using surrogate matrix-matched standard calibration curve with dexamethasone-D₄ as the internal standard. The method was validated for analyzing liver samples according to the criteria established by Decision 2002/657/EC. Linearity was assessed in the 1-10 μg kg^-1 range and linear correlation coefficients were over 0.99 for all the analytes. CCα ranged from 0.04 to 0.16 μg kg^-1 for substances without maximum residue limit. The method allows confident quantification and confirmation of corticosteroids in liver samples, and its simplicity makes it suitable for analyzing large numbers of samples.

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous determination of undeclared corticosteroids in cosmetic creams

RATIONALE

Undeclared corticosteroids in creams intended for frequent use might cause serious side-effects, especially in children. In order to prevent this or find the cause, it was essential to develop a method for quick detection and quantification of low levels of corticosteroids.

METHODS

Eleven corticosteroids were used in this study: prednisolone, methylprednisolone, prednisolone-21-acetate, fluocinolone acetonide, fluocinolone acetonide-21-acetate, hydrocortisone-21-acetate, dexamethasone, betamethasone, betamethasone dipropionate, clobetasol propionate and triamcinolone. Separation was achieved via liquid chromatography (LC), and mass spectrometric analysis was conducted by electrospray ionization triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using corticosterone as internal standard.

RESULTS

Good separation by using a gradient-elution LC/MS/MS method with run time of 25 min enabled the use of a segmented detection method and consecutive decrease in detection limits. The proposed method has been validated in the linearity range of 10-1000 ng/mL with coefficients of determination higher than 0.990. The method has shown to have very low limits of quantification (0.75-3 ng/mL) with satisfactory precision and accuracy for each of the corticosteroids.

CONCLUSIONS

An LC/MS/MS method for the rapid and simultaneous determination of low levels of eleven topical corticosteroids in creams was developed, optimized and validated. The proposed method can be used for testing of different products indicated for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, including "natural products", and "herbal creams" with "miraculous effects".

A simple TLC and HPTLC method for separation of selected steroid drugs

Chromatographic properties of five steroid drugs: cortisone, hydrocortisone, methylprednisolone, prednisolone and norgestrel have been studied by normal-, reversed-phase and hydrophilic neutral cyano-bonded silica stationary phase with five binary mobile phases (acetonitrile-water, acetonitrile-DMSO, acetonitrile-methanol, acetone-petroleum ether, acetone-water) in which the concentration of organic modifier was varied from 0 to 100% (v/v). This study reports the optimization of steroid hormones separation. Chromatographic retention data and possible retention mechanisms are discussed. Separation abilities of mobile and stationary phases were studied using the principal component analysis method. The best separation of methylprednisolone and prednisolone is with a chromatographic system included silica gel as stationary phase and mixture of acetonitrile and DMSO (10:90 v/v). These two anti-inflammatory drugs can be fast separated from norgestrel when CN is used as stationary phase and acetone and water (40:60 v/v) as mobile phase. The highest values of the parameter Δ(ΔG°) and alfa for cortisone and hydrocortisone was observed in case of using CN as stationary phase and water-acetonitryle (40:60 v/v) as mobile phase.

Simultaneous determination of multiveterinary drug residues in pork meat by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combined with solid phase extraction

An LC-MS/MS method developed for simultaneous analysis of 54 veterinary drug residues of six families in pork meat samples, including sulfanilamide, nitroimidazoles, quinolones, macrolide antibiotics, lincosamides, and praziquantel. The pork meat sample was prepared by extraction with ACN, and clean-up on a C(18) SPE cartridge. The sample was separated on a C(8) column and eluted with ACN, methanol, and formic acid. The MS/MS detector is operated in the multiple reaction monitoring mode, acquiring two specific precursor-product ion transitions per target compound. The method showed excellent linearity (R(2) ≥ 0.99) and high precision (relative SD, RSD ≤ 19.8%) for all compounds. The method quantification limits of 54 veterinary drug residues were in the range of 0.3-3.0 μg/kg. Recoveries for most analytes based on matrix-matched calibration in matrices were 20.9-121.0%. This method has been successfully applied for analysis of more than 100 pork meat samples from the local market; five of the 54 drugs were detected.

Fragmentation of toxicologically relevant drugs in negative-ion liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Negative-ion LC-MS analysis of drugs is applied far less frequently than positive-ion LC-MS. Data on the interpretation of negative-ion MS-MS spectra are even more scarce. Therefore, following the recent review on the class-specific fragmentation of toxicologically relevant compounds in positive-ion MS-MS, it was decided to perform a similar study in negative-ion MS-MS. To this end, a set of over 500 negative-ion MS-MS spectra was collected from three libraries applied in toxicological general unknown screening and systematic toxicological analysis. The compounds involved were classified by chemical and therapeutic class. The MS-MS spectra were manually interpreted and relevant interpretation data were searched for in the scientific literature. The emphasis in the discussion is on class-specific fragmentation, because discussing fragmentation of all individual compounds would take far too much space. Negative-ion MS-MS fragmentation is discussed for a wide variety of toxicologically relevant compounds, including dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, diuretics, barbiturates, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-diabetics, sulfonamide and betalactam antibiotics, and a number of classes of pesticides.

Analytical investigations about the presence of prednisolone in cow urine

Since 2008, the analyses carried out in the Lombardia region as part of National Residue Control Plans have evidenced unexpected frequent detection of the corticosteroid prednisolone (PRED) in cow urine samples taken to the slaughterhouse. Considering the scarce plausibility of these high frequent findings, analytical investigations were started to ascertain the real presence of this corticosteroid. The applied confirmatory method involved liquid-chromatography low-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (triple quadrupole) as instrumental technique, and it was validated in compliance with the requirements of the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. However, recently some criticism regarding Commission Decision 2002/657/EC identification criteria has been pointed out, experimentally demonstrating false positive results (wrong identification) although these criteria have been strictly observed. Therefore, considering the serious implications (i.e. the possibility that PRED could be considered endogenous in particular animal conditions), studies were carried out to investigate the reliability of PRED identification through the change of the chromatographic conditions (mobile phases, gradient and analytical column) of the confirmatory procedure routinely applied. Further confirmation came from the application of high-resolution mass spectrometry technique (MS(2) and MS(3) experiments) to analyze incurred cow urines samples. All the obtained results confirmed definitively the real presence of this corticosteroid excluding false-positive findings in routine analysis. In addition, other experiments demonstrated that high-resolution mass spectrometers (Time of Flight and Orbitrap technologies) could be successfully applied to routine determination of steroid residues in biological fluids at very low concentrations (< 1 µg L(-1)).