Improvement and validation the method using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with in situ derivatization followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for determination of tricyclic antidepressants in human urine samples

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) for determination of tricyclic antidepressants in whole blood and plasma samples and analysis by liquid chromatography with diode array detector (LC-DAD)

Microextractions have been developed for the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) analysis in biological matrices, including dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The proposed DLLME employed 490 µL of biological sample (whole blood or plasma), which were added 15 mg of NaCl, 10 µL of medazepam as internal standard (10 µg/mL) and 100 µL of 2 M NaOH. This mixture was homogenized by vortex (2800 rpm/10 s) and 400 µL of hexane (extractor solvent) with 600 µL of methanol (dispersing solvent) were added to the sample. After the vortex step (2800 rpm/5 s), an ultrasonic bath for 300 s was employed. Then, this content was centrifuged (10 min/10000 rpm), organic phase was collected and dried under air flow. After, 30 µL of the mobile phase was used for resuspension and 20 µL is injected into LC-DAD. This method was optimized and fully validated according to UNODC and SWGTOX guidelines, reaching limits of detection equivalent to analytical methodologies that employ mass spectrometry (MS). Also, it was applied in real cases involving suspected exposure to TCAs. So, the developed DLLME for the determination of TCAs in whole blood and plasma samples proved to be a simple, reliable, robust and reproducible method that can be used in toxicology and clinical laboratories.

Standardization of the analytical procedure based on deep eutectic solvent for the extraction and measurement of tricyclic antidepressants drugs in post-mortem blood samples

Measuring drugs in post-mortem blood samples is one of the most important challenges in forensic medicine. The development of sensitive analytical techniques for the measurement of drugs in biological samples is of great use in forensic medicine. In this research an easy, safe and environmental friendly vortex-assisted liquid phase microextraction (VA-LPME) based on deep eutectic solvent (DES) followed by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) was developed for the extraction, preconcentration and analysis of tricyclic antidepressants drugs (TCAs) in post-mortem blood samples. DES synthesized from thymol as hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and ethylene glycol (EG) as hydrogen bond donor (HBD) with a molar ratio of 2:1 was used as an extractant. After adding DES to the sample solution, the resulting mixture was vortexed in order to increase the contact surface and increase the extraction efficiency. Next, phase separation was done using centrifugation. Some effective parameters on the extraction were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, intra- and inter-day %RSDs of the method based on 7 replicate measurements of 100 μg L-1 of TCAs in blood samples were in the range of 2.4-5.1 and 3.7-6.8 %, respectively. The analytical performance of the method showed linearity over the concentration of 3-500 μg L-1 with the detection limits ranging from 1.0-2.0 μg L-1. The trueness of the method was confirmed by spiking different concentrations of TCAs in real blood samples and obtaining relative recoveries in the range of 91.2-108 %.

On-Chip Electromembrane Surrounded Solid Phase Microextraction for Determination of Tricyclic Antidepressants from Biological Fluids Using Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as a Fiber Coating

In the present study, on-chip electromembrane surrounded solid phase microextraction (EM-SPME) was employed in the determination of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), including amitriptyline, nortriptyline, imipramine, desipramine, maprotiline, and sertraline, from various biological fluids. In this regard, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-graphene oxide (PEDOT-GO) was electrodeposited on an SPME fiber as a conductive coating, then the fiber played the acceptor-electrode role during the extraction. Thus, the immigration of the analytes under the influence of an electric field and their absorption onto the fiber coating were accomplished simultaneously. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection for the target analytes were acquired in the range of 0.005-0.025 µg L^-1 using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The linearity of the method was 0.010-500 µg L^-1 for the imipramine and sertraline, 0.025-500 µg L^-1 for the amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and desipramine, and 1.000-250 µg L^-1 for the maprotiline (R² ≥ 0.9984). Moreover, this method provided suitable precision and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility, with RSDs ≤ 8.4%. The applicability of the proposed setup was eventually investigated for extraction of the drugs from human bone marrow aspirate, urine, plasma, and well water samples, in which satisfactory relative recoveries, from 93-105%, were obtained.

Developments of Microextraction (Extraction) Procedures for Sample Preparation of Antidepressants in Biological and Water Samples, a Review

Antidepressants are an important class of drugs to treat various types of depression. The determination of antidepressants is crucial in biological samples to control adverse effects in humans and study pharmacokinetics and bioavailability. Direct measurement of antidepressants in biological and water samples is a considerable challenge for analysts due to their low concentration, the high matrix effects of real samples, and the presence of metabolites of these drugs in biological samples. The challenge leads to using sample preparation processes as a critical step in determining antidepressants. Extraction and microextraction procedures have been widely utilized as sample preparation procedures for these drugs. The purposes of extraction or microextraction methods for antidepressant medications are to preconcentrate the analyte, reduce the matrix effects, increase the selectivity of the procedures, and convert the sample to a suitable format for introducing it into detection systems. In the review, the various extraction and microextraction methods of these drugs in biological, real water, and wastewater samples were investigated. The theory of each technique was briefly addressed to understand the features and factors affecting each method. The extraction and microextraction methods were classified based on their application for antidepressants, and the advantages and disadvantages of each technique were reviewed. The new developments to overcome the limitations of each procedure were discussed. The investigation indicated the number of applications of liquid-phase microextraction for extracting antidepressants has been almost equal to that of solid-phase microextraction.

A novel nanocomposite based on covalent organic polymer and nanocellulose for thin-film microextraction of imipramine from biological samples

A novel covalent organic polymer was prepared using 1,5-diaminonaphthalene as a linker and cyanuric chloride as a node. A thin-film nanocomposite of 1,5-diaminonaphthalene covalent organic polymer and cellulose nanocrystalline was then fabricated via filtering and casting method. The effect of incorporation of various amounts of 1,5-diaminonaphthalene covalent organic polymer and cellulose nanocrystalline was studied to obtain an efficient nanocomposite thin-film with a large number of polar functional groups and high mechanical stability. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and thermogravimetric analysis techniques were applied for the characterization of physicochemical properties of the prepared materials. Imipramine was determined in the biological samples using thin-film microextraction followed by gas chromatography flame ionization detection. Parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of imipramine were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection was 0.5 ng/mL. Film-to-film reproducibility for three different films fabricated under the same conditions (at three concentration levels) varied between 8.9 and 9.7%. The linear dynamic range covered more than three orders of magnitude (2-5000 ng/mL) with a determination coefficient of 0.9985. The method was successfully applied for preconcentration and determination of imipramine in biological samples with spiking recoveries between 78 and 93%.

Application of Bar Adsorptive Microextraction for the Determination of Levels of Tricyclic Antidepressants in Urine Samples

This work entailed the development, optimization, validation, and application of a novel analytical approach, using the bar adsorptive microextraction technique (BAμE), for the determination of the six most common tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs; amitriptyline, mianserin, trimipramine, imipramine, mirtazapine and dosulepin) in urine matrices. To achieve this goal, we employed, for the first time, new generation microextraction devices coated with convenient sorbent phases, polymers and novel activated carbons prepared from biomaterial waste, in combination with large-volume-injection gas chromatography-mass spectrometry operating in selected-ion monitoring mode (LVI-GC-MS(SIM)). Preliminary assays on sorbent coatings, showed that the polymeric phases present a much more effective performance, as the tested biosorbents exhibited low efficiency for application in microextraction techniques. By using BAμE coated with C18 polymer, under optimized experimental conditions, the detection limits achieved for the six TCAs ranged from 0.2 to 1.6 μg L-1 and, weighted linear regressions resulted in remarkable linearity (r2 > 0.9960) between 10.0 and 1000.0 μg L-1. The developed analytical methodology (BAμE(C18)/LVI-GC-MS(SIM)) provided suitable matrix effects (90.2-112.9%, RSD ≤ 13.9%), high recovery yields (92.3-111.5%, RSD ≤ 12.3%) and a remarkable overall process efficiency (ranging from 84.9% to 124.3%, RSD ≤ 13.9%). The developed and validated methodology was successfully applied for screening the six TCAs in real urine matrices. The proposed analytical methodology proved to be an eco-user-friendly approach to monitor trace levels of TCAs in complex urine matrices and an outstanding analytical alternative in comparison with other microextraction-based techniques.

Efficient dispersive micro solid-phase extraction of antidepressant drugs by a robust molybdenum-based coordination polymer

A molybdenum-based coordination polymer {[Mo(PDA)(NO)(μ-O)MoO₃]·1.42H₂O·0.58C₂H₅OH}_n (1) (PDA is 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylate) was synthesized using solvothermal reaction conditions and characterized using a suite of analytical techniques. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies reveal a 1D chain structure, with close contacts expanding the structure into 3D including π-interactions and hydrogen bonding. The utility of 1 as a sorbent for dispersive micro solid-phase extraction (D-μSPE) of basic organic compounds such as antidepressants is supported by the presence of many functional groups on the surface of 1 (such as pendant carboxylates, Mo=O, Mo-NO, and CH groups) as well as extensive electrostatic interactions. Therefore, 1 can be a suitable choice as sorbent in the D-μSPE of antidepressant drugs from human plasma samples via appreciable adsorbate-adsorbent interactions. Determination of the extracted antidepressant drugs was conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV), with calibration plots being linear in the concentration range 0.1-500 ng mL^-1 for amitriptyline and nortriptyline, 0.2-500 ng mL^-1 for imipramine, and 0.5-300 ng mL^-1 for sertraline. The relative standard deviation (RSD) values were calculated for both intra-day and inter-day precision, and the RSD% values were in the range 3.9 to 5.2% and 4.6-5.4%, respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) was determined as 0.03-0.2 ng mL^-1. Due to the good stability and reusability of the sorbent, the adsorption capacity had no obvious decrease after being used 20 times. Finally, the D-μSPE-HPLC-UV method was applied for the determination of antidepressant drugs in human plasma samples with recoveries of the analytes in the range 94.9 to 102%. The article describes the synthesis of a robust molybdenum-based coordination polymer, and its application as sorbent for dispersive micro solid-phase extraction of antidepressant drugs from human plasma samples.

Determination of Seven Antidepressants in Pericardial Fluid by Means of Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction (DLLME) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)

Although blood is often used to detect and quantify the presence of drugs, there are some instances where samples obtained from other biological matrices, like pericardial fluid (PF), are necessary since adequate blood samples may not be available. PF is an epicardial transudate, which contains plasma components that include toxicological substances making this sample useful when blood samples are not available. This fluid is a well preserved postmortem sample and can easily be collected in larger amounts without significant contamination, compared with other body fluids. Although studies involving PF began around the 1980's, the adequacy of such fluid as a biological matrix has been poorly investigated. Antidepressants are frequently detected in postmortem samples from forensic cases. Nowadays, they constitute some of the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide. A total of seven antidepressants (venlafaxine, mirtazapine, olanzapine, paroxetine, sertraline, fluoxetine and citalopram) were evaluated in this study. A new extraction method involving dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) is presented in which chloroform and acetonitrile are determined to be the best extraction and dispersing solvents. The experimental design was achieved using StatGraphics 18. The Response Surface Methodology enabled us to know the optimal volume for the two solvents used in the DLLME. The detection technique used was gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with electron impact ionization as ionization source. A temperature gradient has been used and the total chromatographic separation time was 19.43 min. Validation results met the international validation guidances (FDA). Under the optimal condition, the method offered good validation parameters showing a new efficient, simple, rapid, and sensitive method. The analytical method was applied to thirty-one pericardial fluid samples. Twenty-one samples were positive with concentrations between 0.19 and 8.48 µg/mL. Venlafaxine and olanzapine were the antidepressants most frequently found.

Sonochemical preparation of bismuth oxide nanotiles decorated exfoliated graphite for the electrochemical detection of imipramine

This work described the sonohydrolysis of Bi(NO₃)₃ into Bi₂O₃ and simultaneous sonochemical exfoliation of graphite into graphene sheets in the alkaline environment and its electocatalytic performance towards the detection of anti-depression drug imipramine (IMPR). The ultrasound (37/80 kHz; 60 W) effectively hydrolyzed the Bi(NO₃)₃ into a single crystalline monoclinic phase of Bi₂O₃ nanotiles in the alkaline condition. And also, the sonochemical reaction condition can trigger the lamellar particles on the graphite bulk surface and allowed to exfoliated the graphite (EG) into graphene nanosheets as well. The material characterizations are done by XRD, Raman, FESEM, and HRTEM. It shows the α-Bi₂O₃ nanotiles along with EG nanosheets with high crystallinity and low defects. The (0 0 2) plane in XRD confirms the high crystalline nature of EG. The monoclinic stretching vibrations (90-600 cm^-1) confirms the Raman modes of Bi₂O₃. The prepared Bi₂O₃-EG composites are subjected to the electrochemical determination of IMPR which revealed appreciable analytical performances. The results showed that the Bi₂O₃-EG exhibits better results in the 3 h sonication process. Bi₂O₃-EG-3 exhibited a good linear range (0.02-82.3 µM) and an acceptable limit of detection (6 nM). And also Bi₂O₃-EG-3 exhibits the significant tolerance limit when compared to other potential interfering compounds.

Studies on the sonochemical polymorphism of Sb2O3 on activated graphite for the electrochemical determination of imipramine

This work reports the simultaneous sonochemical activation of graphite and sonohydrolysis of antimony chloride (SbCl₃) in the alkaline medium. The experiments conducted by bath sonicator operated at 37 kHz of frequency and a maximum power of 150 W. The simple sonohydrolysis of SbCl₃ alone produced an orthorhombic phase of Sb₂O₃, whereas, it produced mixed phases of cubic and orthorhombic Sb₂O₃ when introduced with graphite. Herein, the activated graphite (aGR) provides the best support to the growth of cubic phase. This cubic Sb₂O₃ is grown only on the graphite basal planes, which confirmed by scanning electron microscope. Moreover, the phase changes have identified by the X-ray diffraction, Raman and X-ray photoelectron analysis. The prepared aGR-Sb₂O₃ composite has applied to the electroanalytical studies of anti-depressant drug imipramine (IMP). The results showed that aGR-Sb₂O₃ revealed better activity than Sb₂O₃; the reasons are discussed comprehensively. Furthermore, aGR-Sb₂O₃ exhibited comparable analytical results for the determination of IMP.

A green and low-cost method employing switchable hydrophilicity solvent for the simultaneous determination of antidepressants in human urine by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry detection

In this study, the use of switchable hydrophilicity solvent with a simple and low-cost lab-made device for the extraction procedure in homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction is proposed for the first time in the determination of antidepressants in human urine. The antidepressants studied consisted of fluoxetine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline, imipramine, desipramine and sertraline. The optimization of the main parameters that can influence on the extraction efficiency was performed through multivariate approaches. The analytes were separated and identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The optimal extraction conditions consisted of using N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine (DMCHA) as the switchable hydrophilicity solvent (SHS), 500 µL of urine sample previously diluted with ultrapure water at 1:1 ratio (v/v), 200 μL of a mixture of SHS:HCl 6 mol L^-1 (1:1 v/v), 600 μL of NaOH 10 mol L^-1 and 3 min of extraction time. A volume of 40 µL of diphenylamine at concentration of 500 µg L^-1 (20 ng) was used as internal standard. The method developed was in-house validated, providing coefficients of determination higher than 0.995 for all analytes, limits of detection (LOD) from 0.02 to 0.88 µg L^-1, limits of quantification (LOQ) from 0.05 to 2.92 µg L^-1, relative recoveries of 68 to 102%, intra-day precision from 0.5 to 15.9%, inter-day precision from 4.2 to 19.3%, selectivity and robustness. The method proposed was successfully applied in five human urine samples from a Toxicological Information Center located in Porto Alegre (Brazil). The results demonstrated that the µP-SHS-HLLME approach is highly cost-effective, rapid, simple and environmentally-friendly with satisfactory analytical performance.

Recent Advances in the HPLC Analysis of Tricyclic Antidepressants in Bio-Samples

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Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) are a group of the main category of antidepressant drugs, which are commonly prescribed to treat major depressive disorder. Determination of TCA drugs is very important for clinical and forensic toxicology, especially for therapeutic drug monitoring in various biofluids. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is a well-established technique for this purpose. A lot of progress has been made in this field since the past 10 years. Novel extraction techniques, and novel materials for sample preparation, novel columns and novel applications of analysis of various biofluids for the determination of TCAs in combination with other drugs are some typical examples. Moreover, advances have been performed in terms of Green Analytical Chemistry principles. Herein, we aim to discuss the developed HPLC methods that were reported in the literature for the time span of 2008-2018.

Applications of Gas Chromatography for the Analysis of Tricyclic Antidepressants in Biological Matrices

Tricyclic antidepressant drugs (TCAs) are a main category of antidepressants, which are until today widely used for the treatment of psychological disorders due to their low cost and their high efficiency. Therefore, there is a great demand for method development for the determination of TCAs in biofluids, especially for therapeutic drug monitoring. Gas chromatography (GC) was the first chromatographic technique implemented for this purpose. With the recent development in the field of sample preparation, many novel GC applications have been developed. Herein, we aim to report the recent application of GC for the determination of tricyclic antidepressants in biofluids. Emphasis is given to novel extraction techniques and novel materials used for sample preparation.

Combination of dispersive solid phase extraction and deep eutectic solvent-based air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as an efficient analytical method for the quantification of some tricyclic antidepressant drugs in biological fluids

A dispersive solid phase extraction coupled with deep eutectic solvent-based air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction has been developed and applied to the extraction and preconcentration of some tricyclic antidepressant drugs in the human urine and plasma samples prior to their determination by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In this method, a sorbent (C₁₈) is first added into an alkaline aqueous sample and dispersed by vortexing. By this action, the analytes are adsorbed onto the sorbent. Then, the sorbent particles are isolated from the aqueous solution by centrifugation. Afterward, a deep eutectic solvent, prepared from choline chloride and 4-chlorophenol is used to desorb the analytes from the sorbent. Subsequently, the supernatant solution is removed and added into an alkaline deionized water placed into a test tube with a conical bottom. The resulting mixture is rapidly sucked into a glass syringe and then injected into the tube. This procedure is repeated for several times and a cloudy solution consisting of fine droplets of deep eutectic solvent dispersed into the aqueous phase is formed. After centrifuging the obtained cloudy solution, the tiny droplets of the extractant, containing the extracted analytes, settle at the bottom of the tube. Finally, an aliquot of the extractant is taken and injected into the separation system for quantitative analysis. Several significant factors affecting the performance of the proposed method are evaluated and optimized. Under optimum extraction conditions, the method shows low limits of detection in the ranges of 5-10, 8-15 and 32-60 ng L^-1 in deionized water, urine, and plasma, respectively. Enrichment factors are observed to be between 325 to 385 in deionized water, 155 to 185 in urine, and 64 to 72 in plasma. Extraction recoveries are in the range of 65-77 (in deionized water), 62-74 (in urine), and 64-72% (in plasma). The relative standard deviations of the proposed method are ≤ 6% for intra- (n = 6) and inter-day (n = 4) precisions at a concentration of 200 ng L^-1 of each analyte. Finally, the applicability of the introduced method is investigated by analyzing the selected drugs in different biological fluids. In the proposed method, for the first time, a deep eutectic solvent composed of safe, cheap, and biodegradable compounds was synthesized and used (at μL-level) as an elution and extraction solvent, simultaneously which led to omit the consumption of toxic organic solvents. This represents a significant advantage in the era of green chemistry. In addition, the introduced method is sensitive, simple in operation, rapid, and efficient.

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with in situ derivatization coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the determination of 4-methylimidazole in red ginseng products containing caramel colors

A rapid analytical method was developed for the determination of 4-methylimidazole from red ginseng products containing caramel colors by using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with in situ derivatization followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Chloroform and acetonitrile were selected as the extraction and dispersive solvents, and based on the extraction efficiency, their optimum volumes were 200 and 100 μL, respectively. The optimum volumes of the derivatizing agent (isobutyl chloroformate) and catalyst (pyridine), pH, and concentration of NaCl in the sample solution were determined to be 25 and 100 μL, pH 7.6, and 0% w/v, respectively. Validation of the optimized method showed good linearity (R²  > 0.999), accuracy (≥89.86%), intra- (≤6.70%) and interday (≤4.17%) repeatability, limit of detection (0.96 μg/L), and limit of quantification (5.79 μg/L). The validated method was applied to quantify 4-methylimidazole in red ginseng juices and concentrates, 4-methylimidazole was only found in red ginseng juices containing caramel colorant (42.91-2863.4 μg/L) and detected in red ginseng concentrates containing >1% caramel colorant.

Determination of antidepressants in human urine extracted by magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) composites and separation by capillary electrophoresis

Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene)-coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube composite synthesized by in-situ high temperature combination and precipitation polymerization of styrene-co-divinylbenzene has been employed as a magnetic sorbent for the solid phase extraction of antidepressants in human urine samples. Fluoxetine, venlafaxine, citalopram and sertraline were, afterwards, separated and determined by capillary electrophoresis with diode array detection. The presence of magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes in native poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) not only simplified sample treatment but also enhanced the adsorption efficiencies, obtaining extraction recoveries higher than 89.5% for all analytes. Moreover, this composite can be re-used at least ten times without loss of efficiency and limits of detection ranging from 0.014 to 0.041 μg/mL were calculated. Additionally, precision values ranging from 0.08 to 7.50% and from 0.21 to 3.05% were obtained for the responses and for the migration times of the analytes, respectively.

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction: trends in the analysis of biological samples

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) is a recent microextraction technique that was first developed by Rezaee and co-workers in 2006. It allows the simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of analytes into a micro-volume of extracting solvent based on a ternary solvent system involving an aqueous phase, a nonpolar water immiscible high-density solvent that acts as extraction phase, and a disperser solvent, which is often polar and water miscible. This article presents an overview of DLLME applications in the analysis of biological samples (e.g., plasma and urine). Aside from the classical DLLME applications using high density extraction solvents, recent advances in the use of low density solvents and ionic liquids are also discussed. Although most of the applications deal with the analysis of organic target compounds, a few applications on the bioanalysis of inorganic substances are also included.

Microextraction in urine samples for gas chromatography: a review

Since the complexity origin of biological samples, the research trends have been directed to the development of new miniaturized sample preparation techniques. This review provides a comprehensive survey of past and present microextraction methods followed by GC analysis for preconcentration and determination of various analytes in urine samples. These techniques have been classified in three general groups, including liquid-, solid- and membrane-based techniques. The principal of different microextraction methods that are located in each general group as well as their various extraction modes and the recent developments introduced for them has been presented. Subsequently, a comparison survey has been carried out among different microextraction techniques and finally a future perspective has been predicted based on the existing literature.