Measurement of urinary catecholamines and their catechol metabolites and precursor by liquid chromatography with column-switching and on-line fluorimetric and electrochemical detection

Column-switching techniques for high-performance liquid chromatography of drugs in biological samples

In recent years, an increasing number of publications have demonstrated the potential of column-switching techniques for the chromatographic separation, determination and preparative isolation of analytes from biological matrices. Column-switching systems greatly facilitate drug analysis, by on-line sample clean-up and trace enrichment, or by improving the analytical separative process. In this paper, the main applications of column-switching techniques to drug analysis in biological samples, are reviewed.

Plasma and 24 h-urinary catecholamine concentrations in normal and patient populations

Using a single HPLC-ECD methodology, plasma catecholamine data were compiled from 545 patients and 144 healthy subjects, and 24 h urinary free catecholamine data from 106 patients. From these data, normal reference ranges were derived for the clinical investigation of suspected phaeochromocytomas, specifically to address the question as to when a result is normal and when further investigation may be required. We have shown that noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations in plasma and urine are not normally distributed, and basal plasma noradrenaline is significantly lower in normal volunteers than in hospital patients. We have also demonstrated that a reference range which does not take account of these factors will give a significant number of false-positive results. Age and sex did not appear to be significant variables for either plasma or urinary catecholamines. In the investigation of phaeochromocytoma, 95% confidence limits may be used as a warning to repeat sampling and 99% confidence limits as rendering the diagnosis extremely probable. In patients with phaeochromocytomas, urinary catecholamines had a 99.5% specificity and 100% sensitivity in the diagnosis, and thus provide for a rapid and efficient diagnostic screen.

Direct analysis of the dopamine agonist (-)-2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin hydrochloride in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography using two-dimensional column switching

A reversed-phase, two-dimensional, liquid chromatographic method incorporating column switching and electrochemical detection was used for the direct analysis of the dopamine (D2) agonist (-)-2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin hydrochloride in plasma. Sample work-up consisted of addition of internal standard, filtration, then direct injection of the plasma sample onto an internal surface reversed-phase (ISRP) guard column where the dopamine agonist and internal standard were separated from plasma proteins. An automated pneumatic valve was then used to switch to a stronger eluent which stripped the retained substances from the ISRP support onto a C18 analytical column where the analytes were separated from endogenous biological interferences. A dual-electrode electrochemical detector was used to minimize interferences and provide the desired sensitivity. The method has a detection limit of 1.5 ng/ml and requires a total assay time of 20 min per plasma sample. The method is linear from 1.5 to 1000 ng/ml and yielded greater than 80% drug recovery for plasma concentrations greater than 10 ng/ml. Precision for the method at 100 ng/ml yielded a relative standard deviation of 4.4%. Reproducibility was within 6.5% on a 20 ng/ml spiked plasma sample assayed on different days by different people. The method has successfully been applied to human plasma samples and for pharmacokinetic studies in rats and monkeys.

Cardiovascular effects of rilmenidine, a new alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist, and clonidine in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats

1. The acute and chronic effects of rilmenidine, a partial agonist of alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptors with antihypertensive properties, were compared to those of clonidine on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and the urinary excretion of catecholamines, which was used as an index of sympathetic activity. 2. As these drugs are known to interfere centrally and peripherally with the sympathetic nervous system, long-term arterial blood pressure recordings in freely moving unstressed adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were used. 3. Acute i.v. administrations of rilmenidine (0.3 mg/kg at 1200 h, 1.2 mg/kg at 1700 and 2200 h) and clonidine (12 micrograms/kg at 1200 h, 50 micrograms/kg at 1700 and 2200 h) induced short-lasting increases in BP associated with a decrease in HR, which were followed by prolonged, dose-dependent decreases in BP without bradycardia. The pressor effect was less marked and the associated bradycardia was more marked in active SHR with physiologically high sympathetic activity than in resting SHR. 4. A 12-day oral treatment with rilmenidine (6.0 mg/kg daily) or clonidine (150 micrograms/kg daily) induced moderate decreases in BP without change in HR. Rilmenidine but not clonidine decreased normetanephrine (NMN) excretion in active but not in resting SHR. 5. Finally, during the 24 h following the cessation of the treatments, BP returned to normal, without significantly exceeding that of untreated controls. However, upswings in BP or HR were observed, more markedly and frequently after clonidine than after rilmenidine. 6. In conclusion the effects of alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists appear to be influenced by the pre-existing sympathetic tone. The general agreement between these data and those observed in patients demonstrates that the use of conscious unstressed animals is of value to determine the cardiovascular effects of drugs which act on the sympathetic nervous system.

Catecholamine measurements in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection--comparison with an autoanalyser fluorescence method

In order to validate different methods of measuring urinary catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine) in humans, methods based on separation of catecholamines using reversed-phase or cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection were compared with an autoanalyser-based fluorescence method. Different methods for pre-chromatography sample purification were also studied. For measurements of urinary catecholamines, the reversed-phase-based chromatographic techniques studied were found to give less reliable results than cation-exchange chromatography, even if one of them (Clin Rep Urine Catecholamine Kit) gave almost as precise estimates. The autoanalyser technique yielded good results. It is concluded that cation-exchange chromatography with an appropriate sample work-up procedure (a combination of organic solvent extraction and alumina adsorption) is a reliable and accurate method for analyses of urinary catecholamines.

Catecholamines and their metabolites

The research on biosynthesis, physiology, pharmacology, regulation and degradation of catecholamines has continuously increased for more than 50 years. This is not unexpected because of the fact that catecholamines are involved in so many life processes such as nerve conduction, blood circulation and hormone regulations in health and disease. This demands that methods for their determination should be improved, and in fact during the years a number of analytical methods have been published. About 20 years ago radioenzyme techniques with thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) separation of radiolabelled catecholamine derivatives were developed which greatly contributed to our knowledge of physiological concentrations of catecholamines in biological media, particularly in plasma and brain. Radioimmune methods were successful for analysis of a number of analytes, but for catecholamines radioimmunoassays developed slowly. We believe that the greatest potential for radioimmunochemical methods lies in their ability to localize catecholamines and metabolites at the cellular and subcellular levels. With the advent of gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedures analysis of catecholamines improved greatly., The equipment for GC-MS is expensive and requires technical skillfulness, but in experienced hands a lot of new biological data have emerged. An outstanding quality with GC-MS is that the method offers the ability to identify unknown compounds and is relatively free from interferences from extraneous compounds. In comparison with GC-MS, HPLC is versatile and has gained a widespread use. Applications for research in the catecholamine field are numerous. In general, the sensitivity and specificity are satisfactory with HPLC, but it should be borne in mind that a number of pitfalls can obscure the results. This involves both sample handling, clean-up and chromatographic procedures. At present, HPLC is the most expanding field in chromatographic determination of catecholamines and their metabolites. This is particularly the case for HPLC with electrochemical detection which has revolutionized our analytical potential in this field. These chromatographic procedures continue to develop. The prerequisites for further improved methods such as capillary zone electrophoresis and combined HPLC-MS are at hand and hopefully will soon come into more general use for analysis of catecholamines in biological samples.

Automated high-performance liquid chromatographic method with column switching for the determination of neurotransmitters and related compounds, ascorbic acid and uric acid in tissue extracts

An automated high-performance liquid chromatographic method with electrochemical and fluorimetric detection and on-line data evaluation is described for the simultaneous measurement of indoleaminergic and catecholaminergic neurotransmitters, some of their metabolites and precursors and ascorbic and uric acids. Deproteinized tissue extracts from the central nervous system or peripheral organs are injected without prior purification (recovery greater than 90%). A switching system enables the compounds to be passed as necessary through one, two or three reversed-phase columns, which are then eluted simultaneously (analysis time 25 min). Fifty samples per day can be analysed with a precision of 95% for neurotransmitters and about 90% for ascorbic and uric acids.