A new HILIC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous analysis of carbidopa, levodopa, and its metabolites in human plasma

Phthalylglycyl Chloride as a Derivatization Agent for UHPLC-MS/MS Determination of Adrenaline, Dopamine and Octopamine in Urine

Dopamine, adrenaline and octopamine are small polar molecules that play a vital role in regulatory systems. In this paper, phthalylglycyl chloride was proposed as a derivatization agent for octopamine, adrenaline and dopamine determination in urine for the first time. The derivatization procedure facilitated the use of reversed-phase liquid chromatography with positive electrospray ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometry. An LC-HRMS method was developed that provided quantification limits of 5 ng/mL and detection limits of 1.5 ng/mL for all analytes. The 95-97% yield of derivates was observed after a 10 min derivatization with phthalylglycyl chloride at pH 6.5 and 30 °C. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of human urine samples. The obtained results were compared with those of conventional derivatization procedures with 9-fluorenyl-methoxycarbonyl chloride and dansyl chloride.

Determination of levodopa by chromatography-based methods in biological samples: a review

Levodopa (L-DOPA) is the most effective drug for Parkinson's disease; however, various side effects occur during therapy. L-DOPA metabolites and the high cumulative dose of L-DOPA were responsible for its side effects. It is necessary to monitor the concentration of L-DOPA and its metabolites for individualized therapy. This review focuses on L-DOPA analysis by chromatography-based methods in biological matrices. Literature published up to September 2021 was collected in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase by using search strategy ("levodopa" OR "L-DOPA") AND ("chromatography"). A total of 1249 articles were identified and 32 articles were included. The contents for method development and validation were summarized and analyzed. Due to the instability of catecholamines (L-DOPA, dopamine, and 3-O-methyldopa) and carbidopa, antioxidation (0.5 mg sodium metabisulfite for 100 μL sample) and environment temperature control were used alone or in combination to enhance stability. Sample was mainly pretreated by protein precipitation (0.4-0.7 M perchloric acid). Separation was usually achieved using methanol or acetonitrile:water (with formic acid) on C18 columns. Mass spectrometry, electrochemical detector, ultraviolet-visible detector and fluorescence detector were used for detection. For L-DOPA, the calibration range was 2.5-10,000 ng/mL, the matrix effect and its coefficient of variation was 85-115 and -9.0-8.5%, and the recovery was 66.8-127.0%. Without stabilization strategy, L-DOPA was stable in plasma at room temperature for 1-7 h (4-6 h for most studies), at - 70 °C to - 80 °C for 10-20 days and after 3-5 freeze-thaw cycles. With stabilization strategies, the stability of L-DOPA in plasma was significantly improved. Metabolites of L-DOPA and enzyme inhibitors (carbidopa, entacapone, tolcapone and benserazide) were all stable in biological matrix. This study might be useful for researchers to develop their methods for individualized therapy of patients with Parkinson.

Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography (HILIC): Latest Applications in the Pharmaceutical Researches

Background:

Significant advances have been occurred in analytical research since the 1970s by Liquid Chromatography (LC) as the separation method. Reverse Phase Liquid Chromatography (RPLC) method, using hydrophobic stationary phases and polar mobile phases, is the most commonly used chromatographic method. However, it is difficult to analyze some polar compounds with this method. Another separation method is the Normal Phase Liquid Chromatography (NPLC), which involves polar stationary phases with organic eluents. NPLC presents low-efficiency separations and asymmetric chromatographic peak shapes when analyzing polar compounds. Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography (HILIC) is an interesting and promising alternative method for the analysis of polar compounds. HILIC is defined as a separation method that combines stationary phases used in the NPLC method and mobile phases used in the RPLC method. HILIC can be successfully applied to all types of liquid chromatographic separations such as pharmaceutical compounds, small molecules, metabolites, drugs of abuse, carbohydrates, toxins, oligosaccharides, peptides, amino acids and proteins.

Objective:

This paper provides a general overview of the recent application of HILIC in the pharmaceutical research in the different sample matrices such as pharmaceutical dosage form, plasma, serum, environmental samples, animal origin samples, plant origin samples, etc. Also, this review focuses on the most recent and selected papers in the drug research from 2009 to the submission date in 2020, dealing with the analysis of different components using HILIC.

Results and Conclusion:

The literature survey showed that HILIC applications are increasing every year in pharmaceutical research. It was found that HILIC allows simultaneous analysis of many compounds using different detectors.

Compensate for or Minimize Matrix Effects? Strategies for Overcoming Matrix Effects in Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Technique: A Tutorial Review

In recent decades, mass spectrometry techniques, particularly when combined with separation methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography, have become increasingly important in pharmaceutical, bio-analytical, environmental, and food science applications because they afford high selectivity and sensitivity. However, mass spectrometry has limitations due to the matrix effects (ME), which can be particularly marked in complex mixes, when the analyte co-elutes together with other molecules, altering analysis results quantitatively. This may be detrimental during method validation, negatively affecting reproducibility, linearity, selectivity, accuracy, and sensitivity. Starting from literature and own experience, this review intends to provide a simple guideline for selecting the best operative conditions to overcome matrix effects in LC-MS techniques, to obtain the best result in the shortest time. The proposed methodology can be of benefit in different sectors, such as pharmaceutical, bio-analytical, environmental, and food sciences. Depending on the required sensitivity, analysts may minimize or compensate for ME. When sensitivity is crucial, analysis must try to minimize ME by adjusting MS parameters, chromatographic conditions, or optimizing clean-up. On the contrary, to compensate for ME analysts should have recourse to calibration approaches depending on the availability of blank matrix. When blank matrices are available, calibration can occur through isotope labeled internal standards and matrix matched calibration standards; conversely, when blank matrices are not available, calibration can be performed through isotope labeled internal standards, background subtraction, or surrogate matrices. In any case, an adjusting of MS parameters, chromatographic conditions, or a clean-up are necessary.

A rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone and their six related compounds in film-coated tablets

RATIONALE

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated to determine levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone, and corresponding six related substances - levodopa impurity B, levodopa impurity C, methyldopa, methylcarbidopa, entacapone impurity C, and entacapone impurity A - in film-coated tablets for the first time.

METHODS

Chromatographic separation was achieved with a gradient elution by using a C18 column, a mobile phase containing 0.5% formic acid in water and 0.5% formic acid in methanol. The mobile phase flow rate was 0.5 mL min^-1 . The UV detector was set at 280 nm and the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was used in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode.

RESULTS

The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) results were 1.3 and 3.94 ng mL^-1 for levodopa impurity B; 5.26 and 15.9 ng mL^-1 for levodopa impurity C; 0.833 and 2.53 ng mL^-1 for methyldopa; 3.31 and 10.0 ng mL^-1 for methylcarbidopa; 1.67 and 5.06 ng mL^-1 for entacapone impurity C; and 0.61 and 1.86 ng mL^-1 for entacapone impurity A.

CONCLUSIONS

The method was rapid, linear, accurate, and reproducible. The LC/MS/MS method that was developed to determine the related substances and assay of levodopa, carbidopa, and entacapone can be used to evaluate the quality of regular samples in the pharmaceutical industry. It can be also used to test the stability of samples.

Dual-retention mechanism of dopamine-related compounds on monolithic stationary phase with zwitterion functionality

Seven retention models have been selected to describe a dual-retention behavior of ten dopamine-related compounds on polymer-based monolithic stationary phase with zwitterion sulfobetaine functionality. Regression quality, as well as a statistical significance of individual regression parameters, have been evaluated. Better regression performance showed two four-parameter models when compared to three-parameter models. On the other hand, limited number of experimental points disqualified statistical robustness of four-parameter models. Among three-parameter models, retention description introduced by Horváth and Liang provided comparable quality of regression at significantly improved robustness. Multivariate analysis of the best three-parameter models provided the description of physicochemical properties of dopamine precursors and metabolites. Principal component analysis and logistic regression allowed structural characterization of dopamine-related compounds based solely on regression parameters extracted from an isocratic elution data. Both polarity and type of functional groups has been correctly assigned for 3-methoxytyramine that has not been part of an evaluation study. Among applied dual-retention models, Horváth´s model, initially developed to describe a retention of ionic compounds on nonpolar stationary phases, provided robust regression of experimental data and allowed an extraction of structural characteristics of dopamine-related compounds.

The Determination of Parkinson's Drugs in Human Urine by Applying Chemometric Methods

The spectrophotometric-chemometric analysis of levodopa and carbidopa that are used for Parkinson's disease was analyzed without any prior reservation. Parkinson's drugs in the urine sample of a healthy person (never used drugs in his life) were analyzed at the same time spectrophotometrically. The chemometric methods used were partial least squares regression (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR). PLS and PCR were successfully applied as chemometric determination of levodopa and carbidopa in human urine samples. A concentration set including binary mixtures of levodopa and carbidopa in 15 different combinations was randomly prepared in acetate buffer (pH 3.5).). UV spectrophotometry is a relatively inexpensive, reliable, and less time-consuming method. Minitab program was used for absorbance and concentration values. The normalization values for each active substance were good (r2>0.9997). Additionally, experimental data were validated statistically. The results of the analyses of the results revealed high recoveries and low standard deviations. Hence, the results encouraged us to apply the method to drug analysis. The proposed methods are highly sensitive and precise, and therefore they were implemented for the determination of the active substances in the urine sample of a healthy person in triumph.

Sensitive LC–MS/MS method for quantitation of levodopa and carbidopa in plasma: application to a pharmacokinetic study

Aim: The combination of levodopa with carbidopa has been used for treatment of Parkinson's disease being an important therapy in dopamine level control in the brain. Both are very polar compounds becoming a challenge for analysis by LC–MS/MS.Materials & methods: In this work, it was developed and validated a sensitive bioanalytical method by UHPLC–MS/MS for simultaneous levodopa and carbidopa quantification in human plasma using a fast protein precipitation method. Moreover, the bioanalytical method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in healthy volunteers. Results/Conclusion: The results demonstrated a sensitive and adequate method for application to pharmacokinetic/bioequivalence studies.

Levodopa-Reduced Mucuna pruriens Seed Extract Shows Neuroprotective Effects against Parkinson's Disease in Murine Microglia and Human Neuroblastoma Cells, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster

Mucuna pruriens (Mucuna) has been prescribed in Ayurveda for various brain ailments including 'kampavata' (tremors) or Parkinson's disease (PD). While Mucuna is a well-known natural source of levodopa (L-dopa), published studies suggest that other bioactive compounds may also be responsible for its anti-PD effects. To investigate this hypothesis, an L-dopa reduced (<0.1%) M. pruriens seeds extract (MPE) was prepared and evaluated for its anti-PD effects in cellular (murine BV-2 microglia and human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells), Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster models. In BV-2 cells, MPE (12.5⁻50 μg/mL) reduced hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity (15.7-18.6%), decreased reactive oxygen species production (29.1-61.6%), and lowered lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide species release by 8.9⁻60%. MPE (12.5-50 μg/mL) mitigated SH-SY5Y cell apoptosis by 6.9-40.0% in a non-contact co-culture assay with cell-free supernatants from LPS-treated BV-2 cells. MPE (12.5-50 μg/mL) reduced 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced cell death of SH-SY5Y cells by 11.85⁻38.5%. Furthermore, MPE (12.5-50 μg/mL) increased median (25%) and maximum survival (47.8%) of C. elegans exposed to the dopaminergic neurotoxin, methyl-4-phenylpyridinium. MPE (40 μg/mL) ameliorated dopaminergic neurotoxin (6-OHDA and rotenone) induced precipitation of innate negative geotaxis behavior of D. melanogaster by 35.3 and 32.8%, respectively. Therefore, MPE contains bioactive compounds, beyond L-dopa, which may impart neuroprotective effects against PD.

Development and validation of a UPLC-MS/MS method for quantitation of droxidopa in human plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

In this study, a simple and sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantitation of droxidopa in human plasma for the first time. A simple plasma protein precipitation method using methanol containing 3% formic acid was selected, and the separation was achieved by an Acquity UPLC™ BEH Amide column (2.1mm×50mm, 1.7μm) with a gradient elution using acetonitrile, ammonium formate buffer and formic acid as mobile phase. The detection of droxidopa and benserazide (internal standard, IS) was performed using positive-ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry via multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The precursor-to-product ion transitions m/z 214.2→m/z 152.0 for droxidopa, and m/z 258.1→m/z 139.1 for IS were used for quantification. A lower limit of quantification of 5.00ng/mL was achieved and the linear curve range was 5.00-4000ng/mL using a weighted (1/x(2)) linear regression model. Intra-assay and inter-assay precision was less than 10.2%, and the accuracy ranged from 0.1% to 2.1%. Stability, recovery and matrix effects were within the acceptance criteria recommended by the regulatory bioanalytical guidelines. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of droxidopa in healthy Chinese volunteers.

Simultaneous estimation of levodopa, carbidopa and 3-oxymethyldopa in rat plasma using HPLC-ECD

The aim of study was to develop a suitable analytical method for simultaneous estimation of levodopa, carbidopa and 3-O-methyl dopa in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation of plasma samples was achieved using a reverse-phase C18 column. The mobile phase used consisted of a mixture of methanol and phosphate buffer (10 mM, pH 3.50) in the ratio of 90:10 v/v. All analytes were estimated by electrochemical detection at +800 mV. The developed method has been validated as per the standard guidelines. Precision study results were found to be satisfactory, with percentage relative standard deviation for repeatability and intermediate precision <3.96 and 6.56%, respectively, for all analytes detected in rat plasma. The developed method in rat plasma was found to be simple, rapid, accurate, precise and specific. The proposed method has been successfully applied for analysis of rat plasma samples obtained during an oral pharmacokinetic study of sustained release pellets of levodopa and carbidopa in rats. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recent advances in the application of hydrophilic interaction chromatography for the analysis of biological matrices

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is being increasingly used for the analysis of hydrophilic compounds in biological matrices. The complexity of biological samples demands adequate sample preparation procedures, specifically adjusted for HILIC analyses. Currently, most bioanalytical assays are performed on bare silica and ZIC-HILIC columns. Trends in HILIC for bioanalysis include smaller particle sizes and miniaturization of the analytical column. For complex biological samples, multidimensional techniques can separate and identify more compounds than 1D separations. The high volatility of the mobile phase, the added separation power and high sensitivity make MS the detection method of choice for bioanalysis using HILIC, although other detectors such as evaporative light scattering detection, charged aerosol detection and nuclear magnetic resonance have been reported.

Studying the effect of storage conditions on the metabolite content of red wine using HILIC LC-MS based metabolomics

The main aim of this work was to develop an untargeted normal phase LC-MS method, starting from a targeted method already validated for the analysis of 135 polar metabolites. Since the LC instrument and column were the same, most of the chromatographic conditions remained identical, while the adaptations focused on maintaining the ionic strength of the eluents constant. The sample preparation was simplified and the effectiveness of LC-MS for long batches was evaluated, in order to record the maximum number of metabolites with good chromatographic resolution and the best MS stability and accuracy. The method was applied to study the influence of storage conditions on wine composition. Slightly sub-optimum storage conditions had a major impact on the polar metabolite fingerprint of the red wines analysed and the markers revealed included phenolics, vitamins and metabolites indentified in wine for the first time (4-amino-heptanedioic acid and its ethyl ester).

Eryptosis as a marker of Parkinson's disease

A major trend in recent Parkinson's disease (PD) research is the investigation of biological markers that could help in identifying at-risk individuals or to track disease progression and response to therapies. Central to this is the knowledge that inflammation is a known hallmark of PD and of many other degenerative diseases. In the current work, we focus on inflammatory signalling in PD, using a systems approach that allows us to look at the disease in a more holistic way. We discuss cyclooxygenases, prostaglandins, thromboxanes and also iron in PD. These particular signalling molecules are involved in PD pathophysiology, but are also very important in an aberrant coagulation/hematology system. We present and discuss a hypothesis regarding the possible interaction of these aberrant signalling molecules implicated in PD, and suggest that these molecules may affect the erythrocytes of PD patients. This would be observable as changes in the morphology of the RBCs and of PD patients relative to healthy controls. We then show that the RBCs of PD patients are indeed rather dramatically deranged in their morphology, exhibiting eryptosis (a kind of programmed cell death). This morphological indicator may have useful diagnostic and prognostic significance.