Simultaneous determination of metoprolol succinate and amlodipine besylate in human plasma by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method and its application in bioequivalence study

Mapping Advantages and Challenges in Analytical Development for Fixed Dose Combination Products, a Review

Formulations containing more than one active ingredient are increasingly gaining popularity due to advantages with regard to patient convenience as well as reduced cost of production, packaging, and transportation. Such fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) demand for enhanced analytical methodologies and tools to efficiently achieve quality control of these complex products as compared to the conventional products containing only one active constituent. Highly efficient analytical methods can measure multiple constituents at once, improving their quality control. This review article discusses the challenges in the development of such methods due to the similarities or differences in the chemical identity of the participating drug molecules in an FDC. The latest developments in multiple analyte determination using various analytical techniques (HPLC, LC-MS, NMR, IR, powder XRD and DSC) are discussed, with a focus on special considerations in each case. The article discusses challenges with sample preparation of complex FDC products, and the use of Chemometrics and Quality by Design to develop efficient analytical methods. Lastly, an equation-based approach is proposed and demonstrated to arrive at a parameter referred to as "percentage efficiency gain" that would be useful in directly accessing the relevance and commercial benefits of a simultaneous method vis-a-vis separate methods for individual components.

Volatile free liquid membranes for electromembrane extraction

Volatile solvents are excellent extraction media for liquid-liquid extractions. However, their use in supported liquid membranes (SLMs) is limited by their evaporation from SLM and thus poor SLM stability and they have never been considered truly useful for electromembrane extraction (EME). In this contribution, volatile solvents were systematically investigated as liquid membranes for EME and their extraction characteristics were comprehensively examined for the first time. A short plug of a water immiscible volatile solvent (a free liquid membrane (FLM)) was sandwiched between two aqueous plugs (donor and acceptor solutions) in a narrow-bore polymeric tubing. Evaporation of the volatile FLM was thus completely avoided and excellent stability of the phase interface was ensured. Suitability of volatile FLMs for EMEs was justified by μ-EMEs of nortriptyline, haloperidol, loperamide and papaverine as model non-polar basic drugs. Extraction performance of μ-EME through ethyl acetate was comparable or better to that through standard non-volatile EME solvents and a high extraction selectivity was achieved for nortriptyline and haloperidol extracted through chloroform. μ-EMEs through the volatile FLMs were characterized by high extraction recoveries (62%-99% for standards and 40-89% for body fluids), low electric currents (10-1380 nA), no susceptibility to matrix ions and suitability for pretreatment of raw body fluids (human urine and serum). Resulting extracts were analysed by capillary electrophoresis with ultraviolet detection (CE/UV). Repeatability of the μ-EME-CE/UV method was excellent with intra-day and inter-day RSD values 0.8-3.2% and 1.8-4.6%, respectively. Further experiments demonstrated additional advantages of volatile FLMs by nearly exhaustive μ-EMEs of atenolol as the polar basic drug with no need for FLM modification by ionic carriers. The presented comprehensive examination of volatile solvents has broadened the range of liquid membranes suitable for EME and it is believed that this proof-of-concept study will stimulate further interest in a deeper investigation of volatile phase interfaces in EME.

Chemometric spectrophotometric methods for simultaneous estimation of metoprolol succinate and amlodipine besylate in their tablet formulation

Two simple chemometric spectrophotometric methods; isosbestic point and dual wavelength methods were developed, validated and applied to the determination of metoprolol succinate in presence of amlodipine besylate in their binary mixtures and in combined tablet formulation while amlodipine besylate was determined by direct spectrophotometry at λ = 365 nm within linearity range of 2-25 μg/mL. The mean percentage recovery ± SD was 99.921 ± 0.089 for amlodipine besylate. Two proposed chemometric spectrophotometric methods were developed for the spectral resolution of metoprolol succinate in presence of amlodipine besylate without preliminary separation with a linearity range of 2-30 μg/mL metoprolol succinate. The first method depended on measuring the absorbance at the isosbestic point at λ = 226 nm. The mean percentage recovery ± SD was 100.110 ± 0.249 for metoprolol succinate. The second method was dual wavelength method, metoprolol could be determined alone using the absorbance difference between 226 nm and 248.7 nm where the absorbance difference was zero for amlodipine at these two wavelengths. The mean percentage recovery ± SD was 99.734 ± 0.438 for metoprolol succinate using dual wavelength method. The developed methods were validated as per ICH guidelines and were successfully applied to analysis of cited drugs in their synthetic tablet formulation. The results obtained by the developed methods were statistically compared to those obtained by a reported one using t-test and F- test. Good agreement was observed.

Analytical and Bioanalytical Techniques for the Quantification of the Calcium Channel Blocker - Amlodipine: A Critical Review

Hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure is elevated to an extent where benefit is obtained from blood pressure lowering. The risk of complications is proportional to the level that blood pressure raises. Calcium channel blockers are a class of compounds used in the treatment of hypertension. The dihydropyridine (DHP) group, a subclass of the calcium channel blocker works almost exclusively on L-type calcium channels in the peripheral arterioles and reduce blood pressure by reducing total peripheral resistant. Long acting DHP is preferred because they are more convenient for patients and avoid the large fluctuations in plasma drug concentration which are associated with side effects. Amlodipine is the most distinct DHP and the most popular. The drug was patented in the year 1986 and its commercial sale began by 1990. The current article provides a state of art about the analytical and bioanalytical techniques available for the quantification of drug as a single entity and in combined pharmaceutical formulations between 1989 and 2019.

Evaluation of the dose-related concentration approach in therapeutic drug monitoring of diuretics and β-blockers - drug classes with low adherence in antihypertensive therapy

Detection of antihypertensive drugs in biological samples is an important tool to assess the adherence of hypertensive patients. Urine and serum/plasma screenings based on qualitative results may lead to misinterpretations regarding drugs with a prolonged detectability. The aim of the present study was to develop a method that can be used for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antihypertensive drugs with focus on adherence assessment. Therefore, a method for quantification of four diuretics and four β-blockers using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis (LC-MS/MS) of combined acidic and basic serum extracts was developed and validated. The method was applied to 40 serum samples from 20 patients in a supervised medication setting (trough and peak serum samples). Literature data on therapeutic concentration ranges, as well as dose-related drug concentrations (calculated from data of pharmacokinetic studies) were used to evaluate adherence assessment criteria. Concentrations were measured for bisoprolol (n = 9 patients), metoprolol (n = 7), nebivolol (n = 1), canrenone (n = 2, metabolite of spironolactone), hydrochlorothiazide (n = 10) and torasemide (n = 8). The measured concentrations were within the therapeutic reference ranges, except for 24% of the samples (mainly β-blockers). In contrast, all measured concentrations were above the lower dose-related concentration (DRC), which appears superior in evaluating adherence. In conclusion, the quantitative analysis of antihypertensive drugs in serum samples and its evaluation on the basis of the individually calculated lower DRC is a promising tool to differentially assess adherence. This method could possibly detect a lack of adherence or other causes of insufficient therapy more reliably than qualitative methods.

Selective determination of some beta-blockers in urine and plasma samples using continuous flow membrane microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography

In this work, an efficient method termed as continuous flow membrane microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography is introduced for a highly selective determination of metoprolol and propranolol in the biological samples. According to this method, an aqueous source phase of the analytes (donor phase, 10 mL) is circulated into an extraction cell, which is separated from an aqueous acceptor phase (100 μL) by a small piece of polypropylene membrane sheet whose pores are impregnated by an organic solvent (1-octanol, 15 μL). The analytes are extracted from the donor phase into the organic solvent. They are subsequently selectively back-extracted into the acceptor solution due to the pH gradient. The proposed method is very convenient and has the capability of being fully automated. It provides a good preconcentration and an excellent repeatability. The extractant is an aqueous phase, and by prevention of the extraction of macromolecules through the membrane, the developed method provides a high sample clean-up. In order to maximize the extraction efficiency, the influential parameters including the type of mediator solvent, pH values for the donor and acceptor solutions, extraction time, ionic strength, stirring rate, and volume of the acceptor solution are optimized. The calibration curves were obtained with a reasonable linearity (r² = 0.999) in the range of 3-1000 ng mL^-1. The limits of detection were 0.5 and 1.0 ng mL^-1, and excellent relative standard deviations were obtained (between 3.2% and 4.0%). Finally, the reliability of the procedure is evaluated by determination of metoprolol and propranolol in the human urine and plasma samples, which indicates the suitability, sensitivity, and high sample clean-up of the proposed method.

UHPLC-MS/MS assay for simultaneous determination of amlodipine, metoprolol, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin with its active metabolites in human plasma, for population-scale drug-drug interactions studies in people living with HIV

Thanks to highly active antiretroviral treatments, HIV infection is now considered as a chronic condition. Consequently, people living with HIV (PLWH) live longer and encounter more age-related chronic co-morbidities, notably cardiovascular diseases, leading to polypharmacy. As the management of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) constitutes a key aspect of the care of PLWH, the magnitude of pharmacokinetic DDIs between cardiovascular and anti-HIV drugs needs to be more thoroughly characterized. To that endeavour, an UHPLC-MS/MS bioanalytical method has been developed for the simultaneous determination in human plasma of amlodipine, metoprolol, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin and its active metabolites. Plasma samples were subjected to protein precipitation with methanol, followed by evaporation at room temperature under nitrogen of the supernatant, allowing to attain measurable plasma concentrations down to sub-nanogram per milliliter levels. Stable isotope-labelled analytes were used as internal standards. The five drugs and two metabolites were analyzed using a 6-min liquid chromatographic run coupled to electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometry detection. The method was validated over the clinically relevant concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 480 ng/mL for amlodipine, atorvastatin and p-OH-atorvastatin, and 0.4 to 480 ng/mL for pravastatin, 0.5 to 480 ng/mL for rosuvastatin and o-OH-atorvastatin, and 3 to 4800 ng/mL for metoprolol. Validation performances such as trueness (95.4-110.8%), repeatability (1.5-13.4%) and intermediate precision (3.6-14.5%) were in agreement with current international recommendations. Accuracy profiles (total error approach) were lying within the limits of ±30% accepted in bioanalysis. This rapid and robust UHPLC-MS/MS assay allows the simultaneous quantification in plasma of the major currently used cardiovascular drugs and offers an efficient analytical tool for clinical pharmacokinetics as well as DDIs studies.

Application of an LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of amlodipine, valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide in polypill for a bioequivalence study

A sensitive and selective method has been proposed for the simultaneous determination of amlodipine (AML), valsartan (VAL) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) in human plasma by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The analytes and their deuterated analogs were quantitatively extracted from 100 µL human plasma by solid phase extraction on Oasis HLB cartridges. The chromatographic separation of the analytes was achieved on a Chromolith RP_18e (100 mm × 4.6 mm) analytical column within 2.5 min. The resolution factor between AML and VAL, AML and HCTZ, and VAL and HCTZ was 2.9, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively, under isocratic conditions. The method was validated over a dynamic concentration range of 0.02–20.0 ng/mL for AML, 5.00–10,000 ng/mL for VAL and 0.20–200 ng/mL for HCTZ. Ion-suppression/enhancement effects were investigated by post-column infusion technique. The mean IS-normalized matrix factors for AML, VAL and HCTZ were 0.992, 0.994 and 0.998, respectively. The intra-batch and inter-batch precision (% CV) across quality control levels was ≤ 5.56% and the recovery was in the range of 93.4%–99.6% for all the analytes. The method was successfully applied to a bioequivalence study of 5 mg AML + 160 mg VAL + 12.5 mg HCTZ tablet formulation (test and reference) in 18 healthy Indian males under fasting. The mean log-transformed ratios of C_max, AUC_0–120h and AUC_0-inf and their 90% CIs were within 90.2%–102.1%. The assay reproducibility was demonstrated by reanalysis of 90 incurred samples.

High-throughput LC-MS/MS method with 96-well plate precipitation for the determination of arotinolol and amlodipine in a small volume of rat plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic interaction study

A rapid, sensitive, and selective liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and fully validated for the simultaneous quantification of arotinolol and amlodipine in rat plasma. Two internal standards were introduced with metoprolol as the internal standard of arotinolol and (S)-amlodipine-d4 as the internal standard of amlodipine. The analytes were isolated from 50.0 μL plasma samples by a simple protein precipitation using acetonitrile. The chromatographic separation was achieved in 5 min on a C18 column. The mobile phase consisted of phase A 5% methanol and phase B 95% methanol (both containing 0.5% formic acid and 5 mM ammonium acetate) and was delivered in gradient elution at 0.300 mL/min. Quantification was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode with the transition m/z 372.1 → 316.1 for arotinolol, m/z 268.2 → 116.2 for metoprolol, m/z 409.1 → 238.1 for amlodipine and m/z 413.1 → 238.1 for (S)-amlodipine-d4. Linearity was obtained over the range of 0.200-40.0 ng/mL for arotinolol (r²  = 0.9988) and 0.500-100 ng/mL for amlodipine (r²  = 0.9985) in rat plasma. The validated data have met the acceptance criteria in FDA guideline. This method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic interaction study in rats, and the results indicated that there was no significant drug-drug interaction between arotinolol and amlodipine.

Development and validation of a highly sensitive LC-ESI-MS/MS method for estimation of IIIM-MCD-211, a novel nitrofuranyl methyl piperazine derivative with potential activity against tuberculosis: Application to drug development

In the present study, a simple, sensitive, specific and rapid liquid chromatography (LC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed and validated according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for estimation of IIIM-MCD-211 (a potent oral candidate with promising action against tuberculosis) in mice plasma using carbamazepine as internal standard (IS). Bioanalytical method consisted of one step protein precipitation for sample preparation followed by quantitation in LC-MS/MS using positive electrospray ionization technique (ESI) operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Elution was achieved in gradient mode on High Resolution Chromolith RP-18e column with mobile phase comprised of acetonitrile and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water at the flow rate of 0.4mL/min. Precursor to product ion transitions (m/z 344.5/218.4 and m/z 237.3/194.2) were used to measure analyte and IS, respectively. All validation parameters were well within the limit of acceptance criteria. The method was successfully applied to assess the pharmacokinetics of the candidate in mice following oral (10mg/kg) and intravenous (IV; 2.5mg/kg) administration. It was also effectively used to quantitate metabolic stability of the compound in mouse liver microsomes (MLM) and human liver microsomes (HLM) followed by its in-vitro-in-vivo extrapolation.

Detection of Metoprolol in Human Biofluids and Pharmaceuticals via Ion-Transfer Voltammetry at the Nanoscopic Liquid/Liquid Interface Array

Metoprolol (MTP) is one of the most widely used antihypertensive drugs yet banned to use in sport competition. Therefore, there has been an increasing demand for developing simple, rapid, and sensitive methods suited to the identification and quantification of MTP in human biofluids. In this work, ultrathin silica nanochannel membrane (SNM) with perforated channels was employed to support nanoscale liquid/liquid interface (nano-ITIES) array for investigation of the ion-transfer voltammetric behavior of MTP and for its detection in multiple human biofluids and pharmaceutical formulation. Several potential interfering substances, including small molecules, d-glucose, urea, ascorbic acid, glycine, magnesium chloride, sodium sulfate and large molecules, bovine serum albumin (BSA), were chosen as models of biological interferences to examine their influence on the ion-transfer current signal of MTP. The results confirmed that the steady-state current wave barely changed in the presence of small molecules. Although BSA displayed an apparent blockade on the transfer of MTP, the accurate determination of MTP in multiple human biofluids (i.e., urine, serum and whole blood) and pharmaceutical formulation were still feasible, thanks to the molecular sieving and antifouling abilities of SNM. A limit of detection (LOD) within the physiological level of MTP during therapy could be achieved for all cases, i.e., 0.5 and 1.1 μM for 100 times diluted urine and serum, respectively, and 2.2 μM for 1000 times diluted blood samples. These results demonstrated that the nano-ITIES array behaved as a simplified and integrated detection platform for ionizable drug analysis in complex media.

Development and Validation of Stability-Indicating RP-UPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of Related Substances of S(−)Amlodipine and S(−)Metoprolol Succinate in Fixed Dose Combination Tablet Dosage Form

A novel, rapid, accurate, sensitive, precise, and stability-indicating reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-UPLC) method was developed and validated for determination of related substances of S(−)Amlodipine and S(−)Metoprolol Succinate in fixed dose combination tablet dosage form. The chromatographic separation was achieved with the use of Acquity UPLC HSS T3, 1.8 μm, 2.1 × 100 mm analytical column at 45°C employing a gradient elution. Mobile phase consisting of mobile phase-A (solution containing 5.0 gm of sodium dihydrogen phosphate monohydrate per liter of water and Acetonitrile in the ratio of 95 : 5) and mobile phase-B (Acetonitrile) was used at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min−1 with injection volume of 10 μL and the detection was done at 232 nm using UV detector. The retention times of S(−)Metoprolol Succinate and S(−)Amlodipine were found to be 2.8 minutes and 8.1 minutes, respectively. During method validation all the parameters were evaluated as per ICH guidelines, which remained well within acceptable limits. This method can be used for the estimation of related substances of S(−)Amlodipine and S(−)Metoprolol Succinate in fixed dose combination tablet dosage form.

Simultaneous determination of rosuvastatin and amlodipine in human plasma using tandem mass spectrometry: Application to disposition kinetics

The liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric assay method for the simultaneous determination of rosuvastatin and amlodipine in human plasma using deuterated analogs as internal standards has been developed and validated. The analytes were extracted from 100 μL aliquots of human plasma via liquid–liquid extraction using a mixture of ethyl acetate and n-hexane (80:20, v/v) as an extraction solvent. The optimized mobile phase was composed of 0.1% formic acid in 5 mM ammonium acetate, methanol, and acetonitrile (20:20:60, v/v/v) and delivered at a flow rate of 0.75 mL/min. The calibration curve obtained was linear (R² ⩾ 0.999) over the concentration range of 0.52–51.77 ng/mL for rosuvastatin and 0.10–10.07 ng/mL for amlodipine. A sample turnover rate of less than 2.5 min makes it an attractive procedure in high-throughput bioanalysis of rosuvastatin and amlodipine. The present method was found to be applicable to clinical studies and the results were authenticated by incurred sample reanalysis.

Simultaneous determination of losartan, losartan acid and amlodipine in human plasma by LC-MS/MS and its application to a human pharmacokinetic study

INTRODUCTION

A simple, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric assay method has been developed and fully validated for simultaneous quantification of losartan and its active metabolite, losartan carboxylic acid, and amlodipine in human plasma. Irbesartan was used as an internal standard.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The analytes were extracted from human plasma samples by solid-phase extraction technique using Oasis HLB cartridges, (Waters Corporation, Mumbai, India). The reconstituted samples were chromatographed on a C18 column by using an 85:15, v/v mixture of methanol and 0.1% v/v formic acid as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. A detailed validation of the method was performed as per the FDA guidelines.

RESULTS

The calibration curves obtained were linear (r ≥ 0.99) over the concentration range of 0.5-1000 ng/mL for losartan and for its active metabolite losartan acid and 0.05-10.1 ng/mL for amlodipine. The results of the intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy studies were well within the acceptable limits.

CONCLUSIONS

A run time of 2.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 300 plasma samples per day. The proposed method was found to be applicable to clinical studies.

A critical review of microextraction by packed sorbent as a sample preparation approach in drug bioanalysis

Sample preparation is widely accepted as the most labor-intensive and error-prone part of the bioanalytical process. The recent advances in this field have been focused on the miniaturization and integration of sample preparation online with analytical instrumentation, in order to reduce laboratory workload and increase analytical performance. From this perspective, microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) has emerged in the last few years as a powerful sample preparation approach suitable to be easily automated with liquid and gas chromatographic systems applied in a variety of bioanalytical areas (pharmaceutical, clinical, toxicological, environmental and food research). This paper aims to provide an overview and a critical discussion of recent bioanalytical methods reported in literature based on MEPS, with special emphasis on those developed for the quantification of therapeutic drugs and/or metabolites in biological samples. The advantages and some limitations of MEPS, as well as its comparison with other extraction techniques, are also addressed herein.

Glucose-β-CD interaction assisted ACN field-amplified sample stacking in CZE for determination of trace amlodipine in beagle dog plasma

A simple, sensitive and low-cost method using CE coupled with glucose-β-CD interaction assisted ACN stacking technique has been developed for quantification of trace amlodipine in dog plasma. The plasma samples were extracted with methyl tert-butyl ether. The separation was performed at 25°C in a 31.2 cm × 75 μm fused-silica capillary with an applied voltage of 15 kV. The BGE was composed of 6.25 mM borate/25 mM phosphate (pH 2.5) and 5 mg/mL glucose-β-CD. The detection wavelength was 200 nm. Because CD could diminish the interaction between drugs and matrix, and derivation groups of CD play an important role in separation performance, the effects of β-CD, and its derivatives on the separation were studied at several concentrations (0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 mg/mL). In this study, organic solvent field-amplified sample stacking technique in combination with glucose-β-CD enhanced the sensitivity about 60-70 folds and glucose-β-CD could effectively improve the peak shape. All the validation data, such as accuracy, precision extraction recovery, and stability, were within the required limits. The calibration curve was linear for amlodipine from 1 to 200 ng/mL. The method developed was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies of amlodipine besylate in beagle dogs.

Simultaneous estimation of amlodipine and atenolol in human plasma: a sensitive LC–MS/MS method validation and its application to a clinical PK study

Background: A highly sensitive, specific and rapid LC–ESI-MS/MS method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of amlodipine (AMD) and atenolol (ATL) in human plasma (200 µl) using AMD-d4 and ATL-d7, respectively, as an internal standard (IS) as per the regulatory guidelines. Results: The SPE method was used to extract the analytes and IS from human plasma. The chromatographic resolution of AMD, ATL and corresponding IS was achieved using an isocratic flow on a C18 column. The total chromatographic run time was 3 min. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 50–8000 pg/ml and 10–800 ng/ml for AMD and ATL, respectively, in human plasma. Conclusion: The intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision values for AMD and ATL met the acceptance as per regulatory guidelines. The validated assay was applied to a fixed-dose combination of AMD and ATL (Adopin-AT®) PK study in humans.

Simultaneous determination of metoprolol and α-hydroxymetoprolol in human plasma using excitation–emission matrix fluorescence coupled with second-order calibration methods

Background: Metoprolol (MET) is a β1-adrenoceptor antagonist, which is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and α-hydroxymetoprolol (α-OHM) is its hydroxylated metabolite. Owing to their similar structures, optimization of the condition for the chromatography approach, which is in common use for determination, is both time consuming and laborious. Results: A new and effective strategy that combines the excitation–emission matrix fluorescence with second-order calibration methods was developed for simultaneous determination of MET and α-OHM in human plasma. Conclusion: Although the fluorescence spectra of MET and α-OHM overlapped and a large number of unknown and uncalibrated fluorescent components coexisted, the developed method enables accurate concentrations together with reasonable resolution of excitation and emission profiles for the analytes of interest. An additional advantage of the proposed method is that there is no need for separation and sample pretreatment, in addition to lower cost than traditional methods.

A rapid LC-ESI-MS/MS method for the quantitation of choline, an active metabolite of citicoline: Application to in vivo pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence study in Indian healthy male volunteers

A rapid, simple, and sensitive high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-ESI-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination and pharmacokinetic investigation of choline (CL), active metabolite of citicoline in human plasma using metformin (MF) as IS. The chromatographic separation was performed on a reversed-phase Phenomenx Gemini C18 column with a mobile phase of methanol:water (containing 10mM ammonium formate) (9:1, v/v). The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.05-5μg/ml. The validated LC-ESI-MS/MS method was successfully applied for the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters and bioequivalence study of test and reference control release (CR) tablet preparation of citicoline 1000mg after a single oral administration to all 12 healthy male volunteers.

Simultaneous determination of telmisartan and amlodipine in human plasma by LC-MS/MS and its application in a human pharmacokinetic study

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (LC–MS/MS) assay method has been developed and fully validated for the simultaneous quantification of telmisartan and amlodipine in human plasma. Carbamazepine was used as an internal standard. Analytes and the internal standard were extracted from human plasma by solid-phase extraction technique using Waters Oasis^® HLB 1 cm³ (30 mg) extraction cartridge. The reconstituted samples were chromatographed on a Hypurity advance C₁₈ column (50 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) using a mixture of acetonitrile–5 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH-4.0) (50:50, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The calibration curve obtained was linear (r≥0.99) over the concentration range of 2.01–400.06 ng/mL for telmisartan and 0.05–10.01 ng/mL for amlodipine. Method validation was performed as per FDA guidelines and the results met the acceptance criteria. A run time of 2.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 400 human plasma samples per day. The proposed method was found to be applicable to clinical studies.

Rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the determination of metoprolol in Beagle dog plasma with a simple protein precipitation treatment and its pharmacokinetic applications

A rapid LC-MS/MS method with good accuracy and sensitivity was developed and validated for the pharmacokinetics study of metoprolol (MP) in beagle dogs. The plasma samples were simply precipitated by methanol and then analyzed by LC-MS/MS. An Ultimate XB-C₁₈ column (150 × 2.1 mm ID, 5 μm) was used for separation, with methanol-water containing 0.2% formic acid (65:35, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Monitoring ions of MP and internal standard (hydroxypioglitazone) were m/z 268.1/115.6 and m/z 373.1/150.2, respectively. The linear range was 3.03-416.35 ng/mL with an average correlation coefficient of 0.9996, and the limit of quantification was 3.03 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision was less than 15%. At low, middle and high concentrations, the recovery, the matrix effect and the accuracy was in the range of 76.06%-95.25%, 93.67%-104.19% and 95.20%-99.96% respectively. The method was applied for the pharmacokinetics study of MP tartrate tablets (50 mg). The AUC(0-t), T(max) and C(max) were respectively 919.88 ± 195.67 μg/L·h, 0.96 ± 0.33 h, 349.12 ± 78.04 ng/mL.

Investigation of the behavior of HSA upon binding to amlodipine and propranolol: Spectroscopic and molecular modeling approaches

The interaction between human serum albumin (HSA) and two drugs - amlodipine and propranolol - was investigated using fluorescence, UV absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. In addition, the binding site was established by applying molecular modeling technique. Fluorescence data suggest that amlodipine will quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA; whereas propranolol enhances the fluorescence of HSA. The binding constants for the interaction of amlodipine and propranolol with HSA were found to be 3.63×10(5)M(-1) and 2.29×10(4)M(-1), respectively. The percentage of secondary structure feature of each one of the HSA-bound drugs, i.e. the α-helix content, was estimated empirically by circular dichroism. The results indicated that amlodipine causes an increase, and that propranolol leads to a decrease in α-helix content of HSA. The spectroscopic analysis indicates that the binding mechanisms of the two drugs are different from each other. The data obtained by the molecular modeling study indicated that these drugs bind, with different affinity, to different sites located in subdomain IIA and IIIA.

Simultaneous determination of amlodipine and valsartan

A spectrophotometric method was developed for simultaneous determination of amlodipine (Aml) and valsartan (Val) without previous separation. In this method amlodipine in methanolic solution was determined using zero order UV spectrophotometry by measuring its absorbency at 360.5 nm without any interference from valsartan.

Valsartan spectrum in zero order is totally overlapped with that of amlodipine. First, second and third derivative could not resolve the overlapped peaks.

The first derivative of the ratio spectra technique was applied for the measurement of valsartan. The ratio spectrum was obtained by dividing the absorption spectrum of the mixture by that of amlodipine, so that the concentration of valsartan could be determined from the first derivative of the ratio spectrum at 290 nm. Quantification limits of amlodipine and valsartan were 10–80 μg/ml and 20–180 μg/ml respectively. The method was successfully applied for the quantitative determination of both drugs in bulk powder and pharmaceutical formulation.

Electro membrane extraction combined with capillary electrophoresis for the determination of amlodipine enantiomers in biological samples

Electro membrane extraction as a new microextraction method was applied for the extraction of amlodipine (AM) enantiomers from biological samples. During the extraction time of 15  min, AM enantiomers migrated from a 3  mL sample solution, through a supported liquid membrane into a 20  μL acceptor solution presented inside the lumen of the hollow fiber. The driving force of the extraction was 200  V potential, with the negative electrode in the acceptor solution and the positive electrode in the sample solution. 2-Nitro phenyl octylether was used as the supported liquid membrane. Using 10  mM HCl as background electrolyte in the sample and acceptor solution, enrichment up to 124 times was achieved. Then, the extract was analyzed using CD modified CE method for separation of AM enantiomers. Best results were achieved using a phosphate running buffer (100  mM, pH 2.0) containing 5  mM hydroxypropyl-α-CD. The range of quantitation for both enantiomers was 10-500  ng/mL. Intra- and interday RSD (n=6) were less than 14%. The limits of quantitation and detection for both enantiomers were 10 and 3  ng/mL respectively. Finally, this procedure was applied to determine the concentration of AM enantiomers in plasma and urine samples.

Detection and quantitation of β-blockers in plasma and urine

β-blockers are a class of antihypertensive drugs that are used for the management of cardiac arrhythmias, cardioprotection after myocardial infarction (heart attack) and hypertension. They have revolutionized the medical management of angina pectoris and are recommended as first-line agents by national and international guidelines. Although β-blockers are still the cornerstone for the treatment of heart failure, some of the drugs in this category are prohibited in several sports requiring vehicle control and bodily movements as they reduce heart rate and tremors, and improve performance. As a result, urine analysis of β-blockers is mandatory in doping control and toxicological screening. The determination of plasma levels of β-blockers helps to ensure noncompliance in patients with persistent hypertonia to confirm the diagnosis of β-blocker poisoning and for therapeutic drug monitoring. This review provides a comprehensive account of various analytical methods developed for detection and quantitation of β-blockers in plasma and urine.