Development and validation of a LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of six glucocorticoids and its application to a pharmacokinetic study in nude mice

Derivatization-Enhanced Analysis of Glucocorticoids for Structural Characterization by Gas Chromatography-Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Glucocorticoids are classified in section S9 of the Prohibited List of the World Anti-Doping Agency, due to a potential risk to improving physical performance and causing harm to the health of athletes. Based on the similar physiological actions of glucocorticoids, both differentiating known glucocorticoids and identifying unknown glucocorticoids are important for doping control. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry plays an important role in structural characterization because of abundant structural diagnostic ions produced by electron ionization. It also provides a chance to study the fragmentation patterns. Thus, an enhanced derivatization procedure was optimized to produce trimethylsilylated glucocorticoids and structural diagnostic ions of nineteen trimethylsilylated glucocorticoids were obtained by gas chromatography-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. In our study, glucocorticoids were classified as: 3-keto-4-ene, 1,4-diene-3-keto, 3α-hydroxy with saturated A-ring, 21-hydroxy-20-keto and halo substituent glucocorticoids based on their structural difference. Structural diagnostic ions that contributed to structural characterization were specifically presented and the fragment patterns were demonstrated according to the above categories. This study not only gave new insights into the structural characterization of these glucocorticoids but also provided evidence for tracing unknown glucocorticoids or chemically modified molecules.

Enigma of Intramuscular Triamcinolone Acetonide (Kenalog®) Efficacy

Triamcinolone acetonide is a glucocorticosteroid used in standard clinical practice for its anti-inflammatory properties. Although it can be given via different routes of administration, the intramuscular route is unique compared with other corticosteroids-its effects remain potent over a longer period of time. We summarize the existing literature on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms of intramuscular triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog®). The fascinating nature of the purported efficacy of triamcinolone acetonide may be attributed to differing binding mechanisms, low solubility in blood, a low renal clearance rate, and various metabolites and other yet defined effects on skin. The enigma of the purported efficacy of triamcinolone acetonide may lie in the fact that it has a unique nature of having a long-term effect on dermatologic disease using a seemingly low dose compared with other routes of administration and other corticosteroids. Possible reasons for this may be binding differences at the intramuscular site, low solubility due to acetonide esters, a slow rate of absorption from the injected site, and a low renal clearance rate. There is still much to be learned about its mechanism of action, which may be of clinical and therapeutic significance.

Development of a UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the determination of triamcinolone acetonide in human plasma and evaluation of its bioequivalence after a single intramuscular injection in healthy volunteers

Introduction: Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) is commonly used in the treatment of various inflammatory conditions. To ensure its efficacy and safety, it is important to accurately determine its concentration in human plasma and evaluate its bioequivalence. In this study, an efficient ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the quantification of TA in human plasma after a single intramuscular injection. The internal standard used in this method was cortisone acetate (CA). Methods: TA and CA were extracted from plasma using ethyl acetate and N-hexane (4:1, v/v), separated on a C18 reverse-phase column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water containing 1% formic acid (55:45, v/v), and analyzed by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Multiple-reaction monitoring was performed using the transitions m/z 435.4→397.3 for TA and m/z 403.4→163.1 for CA. Results: The developed UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method demonstrated linearity over a concentration range of 0.53-21.20 ng/mL, with a lower limit of quantification of 0.53 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-run precision values ranged from 3.007% to 9.960% and 3.528% to 11.26%, respectively. The intra- and inter-run accuracy ranges were -1.962% to -6.577% and -3.371% to 0.348%, respectively. The matrix effect, extraction recovery, and stability of TA all met the acceptance criteria recommended by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for bioassays. In healthy volunteers who received a single intramuscular injection of 80 mg of either the test or reference formulation of TA, various pharmacokinetic parameters were determined. C _max was found to be 8.616 ± 1.232 and 8.285 ± 1.218 ng/mL for the test and reference formulations, respectively. T _max was approximately 1.833 ± 0.243 and 1.861 ± 0.230 h. The t _1/2 was calculated to be 181.249 ± 78.585 and 201.782 ± 83.551 h. AUC _0-720 was 835.642 ± 297.209 and 830.684 ± 331.168 ng h/mL, AUC _0-∞ was 991.859 ± 355.939 and 1018.665 ± 420.769 ng h/mL for the test and reference formulations, respectively. The average relative bioavailability of TA, determined using AUC _0-720, was 105.4 ± 26.9%. Bioequivalence was evaluated through variance analysis and a double unilateral test, and the 90% confidence intervals of AUC _0-720, C _max, and AUC _0-∞ were 92.8%-113.4%, 99.1%-109.1%, and 89.7%-110.9%, respectively (all p > 0.05). Discussion: These results met the bioequivalence criteria set by the NMPA, indicating that the developed UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method accurately determined TA concentrations in the plasma of healthy Chinese volunteers and that the test and reference formulations exhibited bioequivalence in these individuals.

A new approach of magnetic field application in miniaturized pipette-tip extraction for trace analysis of four synthetic hormones in breast milk samples

Herein, a novel homemade electrical device was designed, including two pieces of external neodymium magnets, providing a reciprocating magnetic field to introduce a magnetic-assisted dispersive pipette-tip micro solid-phase extraction. To evaluate the performance efficiency of the proposed method, a novel magnetic calcined GO/SiO₂@Co-Fe nanocube sorbent was synthesized, filled into the pipette-tip, exposed to the reciprocating magnetic field, and applied for the preconcentration of some hormone therapy drugs in human biological matrices. The effective adsorption and desorption parameters were optimized using a rotatable central composite design and one-variable-at-a-time approaches. Under the optimized conditions, the target analytes' detection limits were found to be below 0.02 ng mL^-1. Moreover, the calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.03-500.00 ng mL^-1 (R² > 0.9966), with RSDs% less than 7.8 %. Eventually, the established method was applied to extract the analytes from breast milk samples, followed by LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis.

Screening Aptamers that Are Specific for Beclomethasone and the Development of Quantum Dot-Based Assay

We developed an aptamer that was specific for beclomethasone (BEC) via systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). Development was monitored by real-time quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) and the enriched library was sequenced by high-throughput sequencing. Forty-seven aptamer candidates were obtained; of these, BEC-6 showed the highest affinity (Kd = 0.15 ± 0.02 μM) and did not cross-react with other BEC analogs. We also developed a quantum dot-based assay (QDA) for the detection of BEC that was based upon a quantum dot (QD) composite probe. Under optimized reaction conditions, the linear range of this method for BEC was 0.1 to 10 μM with a low detection limit (LOD) of 0.1 μM. Subsequently, the method was used to detect BEC in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with a mean recovery of 81.72-91.84%. This is the first report to describe the development of an aptamer against BEC; BEC-6 can also be engineered into QDA for the detection of BEC.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of LNP023 in rats by liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, a simple and sensitive LC-tandem mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the determination of LNP023 in rat plasma. The plasma sample was precipitated with acetonitrile and then separated on an ACQUITY HSS T₃ column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) using 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The MS detection was performed in positive multiple-reaction monitoring mode with precursor-to-product ion transitions of m/z 423.3 → 174.1 and m/z 435.3 → 367.1 for LNP023 and olaparib (internal standard), respectively. The developed assay was validated in the linear range of 0.1-1000 ng/mL with correlation coefficient (r) greater than 0.9992. The validation parameters were all within the acceptable limits. The validated method has been successfully used to investigate the pharmacokinetics of LNP023 in rat plasma, and our results indicated that LNP023 showed low clearance and high bioavailability (62.2%). Furthermore, four minor metabolites from rat plasma were detected and identified by LC combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry. The metabolic pathways were O-deethylation (M1), hydroxylation (M4), oxidation (M3), and acyl-glucuronidation (M2).

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling Involving Nonlinear Plasma and Tissue Binding: Application to Prednisolone and Prednisone in Rats

The pharmacokinetics (PK) of prednisolone (PNL) exhibit nonlinearity related to plasma protein binding, tissue binding, metabolic interconversion with prednisone (PN), and renal elimination. Blood and 11 tissues were collected from male Wistar rats after steady-state (SS) infusion and after subcutaneous boluses of 50 mg/kg of PNL. Concentrations of PNL and PN were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma and tissue profiles were described using a complex physiologically based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) model. Concentrations of PN and PNL were in rapid equilibrium in plasma and tissues. The tissue partition coefficients (K _p ) of PNL calculated from most subcutaneously dosed tissue and plasma areas were similar to SS infusion and in silico values. The blood-to-plasma ratio of PNL was 0.71 with similar red blood cell and unbound-plasma concentrations. Plasma protein binding (60%-90%) was related to corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) saturation. Tissue distribution was nonlinear. The equilibrium dissociation constant (K _d ) of PNL shared by all tissues was 3.01 ng/ml, with the highest binding in muscle, followed by liver, heart, intestine, and bone and the lowest binding in skin, spleen, fat, kidney, lung, and brain. Fat and bone distribution assumed access only to interstitial space. Brain PNL concentrations (K _p = 0.05) were low owing to presumed P-glycoprotein-mediated efflux. Clearances of CBG-free PNL were 1789 from liver and 191.2 ml/h from kidney. The PN/PNL ratio was nonlinear for plasma, spleen, heart, intestine, bone, fat, and linear for the remaining tissues. Our PBPK model with multiple complexities well described the PK profiles of PNL and PN in blood, plasma, and diverse tissues. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Because steroids, such as prednisolone and prednisone, have similar and complex pharmacokinetics properties in various species, receptors in most tissues, and multiple therapeutic and adverse actions, this physiologically based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) model may provide greater insights into the pharmacodynamic complexities of corticosteroids. The complex properties of these compounds require innovative PBPK modeling approaches that may be instructive for other therapeutic agents.