Enantiomeric purity determination of acetyl-L-carnitine by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using chiral derivatization

Separation of carnitine and acylcarnitines in biological samples: a review

Carnitine and its acylesters are a family of compounds that can be used in the early diagnosis of many diseases. Carnitine and acylcarnitines have a crucial role in fatty acid transportation. The increased level of free carnitine, total carnitine, or the acylesters can act as biomarkers for many metabolic disorders, including diabetes, encephalopathy and cardiomyopathy. The determination of these compounds is difficult owing to the simple aliphatic structure, the chiral center and the permanent positive charge. Although MS detection can be enough to differentiate between some carnitine derivatives, closely related structural isomers of the acylcarnitines must be separated before detection because they form the same base peak and second most abundant ion peak. Different separation methods are discussed in this review, including reversed-phase, hydrophilic interaction, ion exchange, ion pairing, mixed mode liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and electrophoresis. Representative example chromatograms are shown. The sample preparation and the different derivatization reactions are also covered. A table that summarizes the most important analytical methods by detailing the analyte mixture, the sample matrix, the separation mode and the detection method is provided.

Enantiomeric purity determination of acetyl-L-carnitine by NMR with chiral lanthanide shift reagents

Enantiomer signal separation of acetyl-carnitine chloride was obtained on a 500 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) analysis by fast diastereomeric interaction with chiral shift reagents such as chiral lanthanide-camphorato or chiral samarium-pdta shift reagents. Effects of the kinds of chiral shift reagents and the molar ratio of chiral shift reagent to acetyl-carnitine chloride on enantiomer signal separation were investigated and evaluated. Optimization of the experimental conditions provided two significant split signals for the enantiomers, leading to the successful quantitative analysis. Distinguishment of 0.5% of the minor enantiomer (D-form) in acetyl-L-carnitine chloride was found to be possible by 1H NMR with tris[3-(heptafluoropropylhydroxymethylene)-D-camphorato] and praseodymium derivative, (Pr[hfc]3), as chiral shift reagents.

Hplc determination and pharmacokinetics of endogenous acetyl-l-carnitine (alc) in human volunteers orally administered a single dose of alc

Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), a naturally occurring endogenous compound, has been shown to improve the cognitive performance of patients with senile dementia Alzheimer's type, and to be involved in cholinergic neurotransmission. Because ALC is an endogenous compound, validation of the analytical methods of ALC in the biological fluids is very important and difficult. This study was presented validation and correction for plasma ALC concentrations and pharmacokinetics after oral administration of ALC to human volunteers. ALC concentrations in human plasma were corrected by subtracting the concentration of blank plasma from each sample. Precision and accuracy (bias %) for uncorrected ALC concentrations were below 2.6 and 6.5% for intra-days, and 4.0 and 9.4% for inter-days, respectively. Precision and accuracy (bias %) for corrected ALC concentrations were below 10.9 and 6.0% for intra-days, and 10.5 and 16.9% for inter-days, respectively. Quantitation limit was 0.1 microg/mL. After oral administration of a 500 mg ALC tablet to 8 healthy volunteers, the principle pharmacokinetic parameters were 4.2 h of the half-life (t(1/2,beta)), the area under the curve (AUC(0-8)) of 9.88 microg.h/mL, and 3.1 h of the time (Tmax) to reach Cmax. This study first describes the pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of a single dose of ALC in human volunteers.

Biosensors for the determination of ortho-acetyl-L-carnitine. Their utilization as detectors in a sequential injection analysis system

In order to determine ortho-acetyl-L-carnitine, two biosensors were proposed. The biosensors were designed using physical immobilization of L-amino acid oxidase (L-AAOD) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Electrode characteristics were obtained and compared for the two carbon paste (graphite powder and paraffin oil) biosensors. The linear concentration ranges for the proposed biosensors were in the ranges of fmol/L to nmol/L, magnitude order with low limits of detection. Due to their reliability, the biosensors were used as detectors in a sequential injection analysis system, and gave reliable results for on-line assay of ortho-acetyl-L-carnitine in synthesis process control with a frequency of 75 samples per hour.

Ester synthesis from trimethylammonium alcohols in dry organic media catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B

Twenty-one different organic solvents were assayed as possible reaction media for the synthesis of butyryl esters from trimethylammonium alcohols in dry conditions catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B. The reactions were carried out following a transesterification kinetic approach, using choline and L-carnitine as primary and secondary trimethylammonium alcohols, respectively, and vinyl butyrate as acyl donor. The synthetic activity of the enzyme was strictly dependent on the water content, the position of the hydroxyl group in the trimethylammonium molecule, and the Log P parameter of the assayed solvent. Anhydrous conditions and a high excess of vinyl butyrate over L-carnitine were necessary to synthesize butyryl-L-carnitine. The synthetic reaction rates of butyryl choline were practically 100-fold those of butyryl-L-carnitine with all the assayed solvents. In both cases, the synthetic activity of the enzyme was dependent on the hydrophobicity of the solvent, with the optimal reaction media showing a Log P parameter of between -0.5 and 0.5. In all cases, 2-methyl-2-propanol and 2-methyl-2-butanol were shown to be the best solvents for both their high synthetic activity and negligible loss of enzyme activity after 6 days.

Resolution of chiral drugs by liquid chromatography based upon diastereomer formation with chiral derivatization reagents

Chiral derivatization reagents for resolution of biologically important compounds, such as chiral drugs by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), based upon pre-column derivatization and diastereomer formation, are reviewed. The derivatization reagents for various functional groups, i.e., amine, carboxyl, carbonyl, hydroxyl and thiol, are evaluated in terms of reactivity, stability, wavelength, handling, versatility, sensitivity, and selectivity. The applicability of the reagents to the analyses of drugs and bioactive compounds are included in the text.

A chiral HPLC method for the determination of low amounts of D-carnitine in L-carnitine after derivatization with (+)-FLEC

An indirect enantioseparation method for robust and precise determination of D-Carnitine (D-C) in L-Carnitine (L-C) in the range of 0.1-1.0% is presented. The method is based on derivatization of Carnitine with (+)-[1-(9-fluorenyl)-ethyl]-chloroformate ((+)-FLEC). The two diastereomers are subsequently separated of on an octadecyl column using detection of the eluent by fluorescence (260 excitation, 310 nm emission monitoring). This procedure can be calibrated conveniently by diluting the derivatization solution of the sample. Hence, D-C was determined indirectly through quantification of L-C thereby strongly increasing the robustness and reducing the costs. During the development of the method a study was undertaken to prove that the method is suitable to determine enantiomeric purity of L-C indeed. Moreover, the method was validated according to the ICH guidance, which required the additional performance of a collaborative study. The proposed assay can be carried out using an autoinjector because the derivatives are very stable. Hence, we believe that this method will become popular for reliable determination of enantiomeric purity of L-C.

Separation of enantiomers: needs, challenges, perspectives

Chiral drugs, agrochemicals, food additives and fragrances represent classes of compounds with high economic and scientific potential. First the present implications of their chiral nature and necessity of separating enantiomers are summarised in this article. In the following a brief overview of the actual approaches to perform enantioseparations at analytical and preparative scale is given. Challenging aspects of these strategies, such as problems associated with data management, choice of suitable chiral selectors for given enantioseparations and enhanced understanding of the underlying chiral recognition principles, are discussed. Alternatives capable of meeting the requirements of industrial processes, in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness and environmental issues (e.g., enantioselective membranes) are critically reviewed. The impact of combinatorial methodologies on faster and more effective development and optimisation of novel chiral selectors is outlined. Finally, the merits and limitations of most recent trends in discrimination of enantiomers, including advances in the fields of sensors, microanalysis systems, chiroptical methods and chemical force microscopy are evaluated.