Evaluation of a four-channel multiplexed electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for the simultaneous validation of LC/MS/MS methods in four different preclinical matrixes

Realizing the simultaneous liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry based quantification of >1200 biotoxins, pesticides and veterinary drugs in complex feed

The first quantitative multiclass approach enabling the accurate quantification of >1200 biotoxins, pesticides and veterinary drugs in complex feed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed. Optimization of HPLC/UHPLC (chromatographic column, flow rate and injection volume) and MS/MS conditions (dwell time and cycle time) were carried out in order to allow the combination of five major substance classes and the high number of target analytes with different physico-chemical properties. Cycle times and retention windows were carefully optimized and ensured appropriate dwell times reducing the overall measurement error. Validation was carried out in two compound feed matrices according to the EU SANTE validation guideline. Apparent recoveries matching the acceptable range of 60-140% accounted 60% and 79% for all analytes in cattle and chicken feed, respectively. High extraction efficiencies were obtained for all analyte/matrix combinations and revealed matrix effects as the main source for deviation of the targeted performance criteria. Concerning the methods repeatability 99% of all analytes in chicken and 96% in cattle feed complied with the acceptable RSD ≤ 20% criterion. Limits of quantification were between 1-10 µg/kg for the vast majority of compounds. Finally, the methods applicability was tested in >130 real compound feed samples and provides first insights into co-exposure of agro-contaminants in animal feed.

Developing a High-performance Liquid Chromatography Method for Simultaneous Determination of Loratadine and its Metabolite Desloratadine in Human Plasma

BACKGROUND

Allergic diseases are considered as the major burden on public health with increased prevalence globally. Histamine H1-receptor antagonists are the foremost commonly used drugs in the treatment of allergic disorders. The target drug in this study, loratadine, belongs to this class of drugs and its biometabolite desloratadine which is also a non-sedating H1 receptor antagonist with anti-histaminic activity being 2.5 to 4 times greater than loratadine. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel isocratic Reversed-phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for rapid and simultaneous separation and determination of loratadine and its metabolite, desloratadine in human plasma.

METHODS

The drug extraction method from plasma was based on protein precipitation technique. The separation was carried out on a Thermo Scientific BDS Hypersil C18 column (5μm, 250 x 4.60 mm) in a mobile phase of MeOH: 0.025M KH2PO4 adjusted to pH 3.50 using orthophosphoric acid (85: 15, v/v) at an ambient temperature. The flow rate was maintained at 1 mL/min and maximum absorption was measured using the PDA detector at 248 nm.

RESULTS

The retention times of loratadine and desloratadine in plasma samples were recorded to be 4.10 and 5.08 minutes, respectively, indicating a short analysis time. Limits of detection were found to be 1.80 and 1.97 ng/mL for loratadine and desloratadine, respectively, showing a high degree of sensitivity of the method. The method was then validated according to FDA guidelines for the determination of the two analytes in human plasma.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained indicate that the proposed method is rapid, sensitive in the nanogram range, accurate, selective, robust and reproducible compared to other reported methods.

Frequency division multiplex HPLC-MS for simultaneous analyses

Multiplex high-performance liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), in which multiple HPLCs and one MS are hyphenated, is an approach for high throughput analysis in HPLC-MS. A general multiplex HPLC-MS method employs a column-switching technology, and only one HPLC is connected to one MS at a time. In the present study, we propose a novel multiplex HPLC-MS system for simultaneous HPLC-MS analyses. In this study, multiple HPLCs are hyphenated with one MS without a column-switching mechanism, and a mixed-chromatogram is observed by the MS. Here, we employ a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique used in communication engineering to extract any chromatogram from the mixed-chromatogram. When a modulator (chopper or ion-gate type) is set between each ion source and the MS, each modulator blocks each sample stream with an individual frequency. In theory, each chromatogram can be extracted from the mixed-chromatogram via a signal processing based on a Fourier transform (FT), frequency-based signal extraction, and reversed FT. In the actual experiment, two HPLCs are hyphenated with one MS (2HPLC-1MS). The use of chopper type modulators leads to the extraction and restoration of each chromatogram from the mixed-chromatogram. However, each restored-chromatogram involves signal interference. On the other hand, the ion-gate modulation system successfully resulted in restored-chromatograms without interference. The potential of the novel multiplex HPLC-MS system based on FDM is confirmed with respect to the simultaneous and continuous analyses of plural samples.

Rapid micellar HPLC analysis of loratadine and its major metabolite desloratadine in nano-concentration range using monolithic column and fluorometric detection: application to pharmaceuticals and biological fluids

Background

Loratadine is a commonly used selective non-sedating antihistaminic drug. Desloratadine is the active metabolite of loratadine and, in addition, a potential impurity in loratadine bulk powder stated by the United States Pharmacopeia as a related substance of loratadine. Published methods for the determination of both analytes suffer from limited throughput due to the time-consuming steps and tedious extraction procedures needed for the analysis of biological samples. Therefore, there is a strong demand to develop a simple rapid and sensitive analytical method that can detect and quantitate both analytes in pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids without prior sample extraction steps.

Results

A highly-sensitive and time-saving micellar liquid chromatographic method is developed for the simultaneous determination of loratadine and desloratadine. The proposed method is the first analytical method for the determination of this mixture using a monolithic column with a mobile phase composed of 0.15 M sodium dodecyl sulfate, 10% n-Butanol and 0.3% triethylamine in 0.02 M phosphoric acid, adjusted to pH 3.5 and pumped at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. The eluted analytes are monitored with fluorescence detection at 440 nm after excitation at 280 nm. The developed method is linear over the concentration range of 20.0–200.0 ng/mL for both analytes. The method detection limits are 15.0 and 13.0 ng/mL and the limits of quantification are 20.0 and 18.0 ng/mL for loratadine and desloratadine, respectively. Validation of the developed method reveals an accuracy of higher than 97% and intra- and inter-day precisions with relative standard deviations not exceeding 2%.

Conclusions

The method can be successfully applied to the determination of both analytes in various matrices including pharmaceutical preparations, human urine, plasma and breast milk samples with a run-time of less than 5 min and without prior extraction procedures. The method is ideally suited for use in quality control laboratories. Moreover, it could be a simple time-saving alternative to the official pharmacopeial method for testing desloratadine as a potential impurity in loratadine bulk powder.Graphical abstract

Using Mass Spectrometry to Quantify Rituximab and Perform Individualized Immunoglobulin Phenotyping in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

Therapeutic monoclonal immunoglobulins (mAbs) are used to treat patients with a wide range of disorders including autoimmune diseases. As pharmaceutical companies bring more fully humanized therapeutic mAb drugs to the healthcare market analytical platforms that perform therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) without relying on mAb specific reagents will be needed. In this study we demonstrate that liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can be used to perform TDM of mAbs in the same manner as smaller nonbiologic drugs. The assay uses commercially available reagents combined with heavy and light chain disulfide bond reduction followed by light chain analysis by microflow-LC-electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF MS). Quantification is performed using the peak areas from multiply charged mAb light chain ions using an in-house developed software package developed for TDM of mAbs. The data presented here demonstrate the ability of an LC-MS assay to quantify a therapeutic mAb in a large cohort of patients in a clinical trial. The ability to quantify any mAb in serum via the reduced light chain without the need for reagents specific for each mAb demonstrates the unique capabilities of LC-MS. This fact, coupled with the ability to phenotype a patient's polyclonal repertoire in the same analysis further shows the potential of this approach to mAb analysis.

A multichannel rotating electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (MRESI): instrumentation and plume interactions

A multichannel rotating electrospray ionization (MRESI) mass spectrometry method is described. Plume interactions are also systematically studied.

Universal LC-MS method for minimized carryover in a discovery bioanalytical setting

BACKGROUND

A frequent impediment to accurate quantitation in bioanalytical LC-MS arises from carryover. For many new chemical entities in drug discovery carryover is not limited to the autosampler, but instead arises from several different sources.

METHOD

We tested several different columns, injector wash sequences and gradient compositions to understand and eliminate these sources. In many instances carryover was dictated by the elution gradient and column as much as the autosampler hardware and wash protocol.

CONCLUSION

Several trends were observed. First, different columns resulted in significantly different amounts of carryover (even for nominally the same column chemistry). Second, a continuous high organic wash of the column was not as effective at removing carryover as cycling between high and low organic mobile phases during the column wash. Combining our observations (column, gradient and autosampler configuration) we devised a short 3-min method that is appropriate for a diverse set of new chemical entities and minimizes carryover while still being sufficiently robust to use in a drug-discovery setting.

Full utilization of a mass spectrometer using on-demand sharing with multiple LC units

The applicability of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) is often limited by throughput. The sharing of a mass spectrometer with multiple LCs significantly improves throughput; however, the reported systems have not been designed to fully utilize the MS duty cycle, and as a result to achieve maximum throughput. To fully utilize the mass spectrometer, the number of LC units that a MS will need to recruit is application dependent and could be significantly larger than the current commercial or published implementations. For the example of a single analyte, the number may approach the peak capacity to a first degree approximation. Here, the construction of a MS system that flexibly recruits any number of LC units demanded by the application is discussed, followed by the method to port a previously developed LC/MS method to the system to fully utilize a mass spectrometer. To demonstrate the performance and operation, a prototypical MS system of eight LC units was constructed. When 1-min chromatographic separations were performed in parallel on the eight LCs of the system, the average LC/MS analysis time per sample was 10.5 s when applied to the analysis of samples in 384-well plate format. This system has been successfully used to conduct large-volume biochemical assays with the analysis of a variety of molecular entities in support of drug discovery efforts. Allowing the recruitment of the number of LC units appropriate for a given application, this system has the potential to be a plug-and-play system to fully utilize a mass spectrometer.

Multidimensional approaches in LC and MS for phospholipid bioanalysis

The advancement of both LC and MS has contributed significantly to phospholipid analysis. Two major trends of developments have emerged in the past decade: application of dedicated online (or offline) LC–MS techniques including 2D and sophisticated chromatographic separations, and the development of so-called shotgun lipidomics represented by multidimensional MS-based techniques. However, neither of these techniques have been shown to be a universal solution for the increasing demand on the comprehensive information of lipid metabolomics in lipidomics studies. This is partially due to the intrinsic complexity of naturally occurring phospholipids in practice. It is evident that either chromatography or MS has to go multidimensional in order to fulfil this goal. This review focuses on recent developments of multidimensional MS, LC–MS and chromatographic approaches for lipidomics analysis. The perspectives and retrospectives of chromatography and MS in these aspects will be reviewed and discussed.

Current applications of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry in pharmaceutical discovery after a decade of innovation

Current drug discovery involves a highly iterative process pertaining to three core disciplines: biology, chemistry, and drug disposition. For most pharmaceutical companies the path to a drug candidate comprises similar stages: target identification, biological screening, lead generation, lead optimization, and candidate selection. Over the past decade, the overall efficiency of drug discovery has been greatly improved by a single instrumental technique, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Transformed by the commercial introduction of the atmospheric pressure ionization interface in the mid-1990s, LC/MS has expanded into almost every area of drug discovery. In many cases, drug discovery workflow has been changed owing to vastly improved efficiency. This review examines recent trends for these three core disciplines and presents seminal examples where LC/MS has altered the current approach to drug discovery.

Fully automated four-column capillary LC-MS system for maximizing throughput in proteomic analyses

We describe a four-column, high-pressure capillary liquid chromatography (LC) system for robust, high-throughput liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS(/MS)) analyses. This system performs multiple LC separations in parallel, but staggers each of them such that the data-rich region of each separation is sampled sequentially. By allowing nearly continuous data acquisition, this design maximizes the use of the mass spectrometer. Each analytical column is connected to a corresponding ESI emitter in order to avoid the use of postcolumn switching and associated dead volume issues. Encoding translation stages are employed to sequentially position the emitters at the MS inlet. The high reproducibility of this system is demonstrated using consecutive analyses of global tryptic digest of the microbe Shewanella oneidensis.

Determination of carryover and contamination for mass spectrometry-based chromatographic assays

The Third American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists/Food and Drug Administration Bioanalytical Workshop, held in 2006, reviewed and evaluated current practices and proposed that carryover and contamination be assessed not only during the validation of an assay but also during the application of the method in a study. In this article, the potential risks of carryover and contamination in each stage of a bioanalytical method are discussed, to explain to the industry why this recommendation is being made.

Parallel supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry system for high-throughput enantioselective optimization and separation

An automated parallel four-column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)/MS system to perform high-throughput enantioselective chromatographic method development and optimization is described in this paper. The initial screening was performed in parallel on four chiral SFC columns over several buffer conditions. Optimization of the separation of enantiomers was achieved on a single chiral column. The screening and optimization were accomplished in a fully automated, user-independent manner. Incorporation of column control valves in front of each chiral column allowed the system to switch from parallel four-column screening mode to single-column optimization mode. To facilitate the process, a custom software program, we termed, intelligent parallel optimization for chiral SFC separation (IPOCSS), was developed in-house. The custom software monitored each of the runs in real-time, processed each data set, and by incorporating user-defined criteria (e.g., resolution of the two enantiomer chromatographic peaks), selected the next set of experiments and automatically optimized the enantioseparation. This new approach, combining parallel SFC/MS screening and intelligent software-controlled method optimization, has resulted in a streamlined, high-throughput tool for enantioselective method development, which has been applied successfully to enantioseparations in support of drug discovery.

Determination of loratadine and its active metabolite in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection

A new sensitive and selective liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for quantification of loratadine (LOR) and its active metabolite descarboethoxyloratadine (DSL) in human plasma was validated. After addition of the internal standard, metoclopramide, the human plasma samples (0.3 ml) were precipitated using acetonitrile (0.75 ml) and the centrifuged supernatants were partially evaporated under nitrogen at 37 degrees C at approximately 0.3 ml volume. The LOR, DSL and internal standard were separated on a reversed phase column (Zorbax SB-C18, 100 mmx3.0 mm i.d., 3.5 microm) under isocratic conditions using a mobile phase of an 8:92(v/v) mixture of acetonitrile and 0.4% (v/v) formic acid in water. The flow rate was 1 ml/min and the column temperature 45 degrees C. The detection of LOR, DSL and internal standard was in MRM mode using an ion trap mass spectrometer with electrospray positive ionisation. The ion transitions were monitored as follows: 383-->337 for LOR, 311-->(259+294+282) for DSL and 300-->226.8 for internal standard. Calibration curves were generated over the range of 0.52-52.3 ng/ml for both LOR and DSL with values for coefficient of determination greater than 0.994 by using a weighted (1/y) quadratic regression. The lower limits of quantification were established at 0.52 ng/ml LOR and DSL, respectively, with an accuracy and precision less than 20%. Both analytes demonstrated good short-term, long-term, post-preparative and freeze-thaw stability. Besides its simplicity, the sample treatment allows obtaining a very good recovery of both analytes, around 100%. The validated LC/MS/MS method has been applied to a pharmacokinetic study of loratadine tablets on healthy volunteers.

Multiplex multidimensional nanoLC-MS system for targeted proteomic analyses

The present work describes a dual-column and dual-sprayer LC-MS system for high-throughput proteomic analyses. This system consists of two precolumns for sample desalting and two analytical columns. Each column is terminated by a nanoelectrospray emitter mounted on a robotic arm enabling their sequential positioning in front of the sampling cone of the mass spectrometer. The effluent from each emitter is recorded in separate acquisition channels without detectable crosstalk. Gradient elution to both nanoLC columns is delivered by a single HPLC system via a flow splitter. The reproducibility of retention time and peak intensity of the present multiplex system were comparable to those obtainable using a single emitter configuration. Replicate injections of complex tryptic digests (n = 10) indicated that this system provided good reproducibility of retention time and peak intensity on both columns with RSD values of less than 0.9 and 18.6%, respectively. The application of this system is demonstrated for the monitoring of protein expression changes in U937 human monocyte cells with and without phorbol ester administration. Furthermore, we also demonstrated the use of this multiplex system in a 2-D LC configuration to increase sample loading and throughput for the analysis of biomarker samples of higher complexity. Variations in peptide abundance down to two-fold change were identified across salt fractions for spiked tryptic digests present at a level of 50 fmol in 1.5 microg of plasma samples.

Moving from fast to ballistic gradient in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry pharmaceutical bioanalysis: Matrix effect and chromatographic evaluations

The paper describes the steps taken by the authors to move from a fast to a ballistic gradient in routine liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis of plasma samples from pharmacokinetic (PK) profiling of new chemical entities. The reduction of column dimensions from 50 x 4.6 mm to 30 x 2.1 mm followed by optimization of chromatographic separation led to a decrease in the typical runtime from 5 (fast) to 2 min (ballistic) using an API4000 tandem mass spectrometer in Turbo Ionspray mode for detection. Three analytical standards representing typical molecular structures from our sample repository were used to spike plasma from four different species (rat, dog, human and mouse). Two different approaches were used to evaluate matrix effect: post-column infusion and comparison of the peak areas of neat standards and standards spiked after extraction into different pools of plasma; the influence of PEG400 as a typical dosing vehicle was also considered. Two different protein precipitation procedures were taken into account for sample extraction prior to injection. Peak shape, width and height, selectivity and sensitivity of the method were taken into account for chromatographic evaluation. The ballistic method was successfully cross-validated with the conventional fast gradient chromatographic assay.

Pulsed dual electrospray ionization for ion/ion reactions

A pulsed dual electrospray ionization source has been developed to generate positive and negative ions for subsequent ion/ion reaction experiments. The two sprayers, typically a nano-electrospray emitter for analytes and an electrospray emitter for reagents, are positioned in a parallel fashion close to the sampling orifice of a triple quadrupole/linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometer (Sciex Q TRAP). The potentials applied to each sprayer are alternately pulsed so that ions of opposite polarity are generated separately in time. Ion/ion reactions take place after ions of each polarity are sequentially injected into a high-pressure linear ion trap, where axial trapping is effected by applying an auxiliary radio frequency voltage to the end lenses. The pulsed dual electrospray source allows optimization of each sprayer and can be readily coupled to any spray interface with no need for instrument modifications, provided the potentials required to transmit the ion polarity of interest can be alternated in synchrony with the emitter potentials. Ion/ion reaction examples such as charge reduction of multiply charged protein ions, charge inversion of peptides ions, and protein-protein complex formation are given to illustrate capabilities of the pulsed dual electrospray source in the study of gas-phase ion/ion chemistry.

Determination of SCH 211803 by nanoelectrospray infusion mass spectrometry: evaluation of matrix effect and comparison with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A high throughput assay for SCH 211803, an M2 muscarinic receptor antagonist in human plasma using nanoelectrospray infusion tandem mass spectrometry is described. Sample processing consisted of protein precipitation followed by solid phase extraction using octadecasilyl resin-filled pipette tips on a liquid handling robotic system. The sample extracts were infused directly to the mass spectrometer using a nanoelectrospray interface in a silicon chip format. SCH 211803 was quantified in plasma over the concentration range of 1-1000 ng/mL. In comparison with a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay, the nanoelectrospray method has comparable accuracy, precision and limit of quantitation, with a nine-fold improvement in sample throughput. Using the nanoelectrospray assay, ion suppression was evaluated and found to be 15%. This represented a four-fold reduction in matrix suppression when compared to a conventional electrospray source operating in the flow injection analysis mode at a flow rate common for LC-MS/MS analysis.

Use of a five-channel multiplexed electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight hybrid mass spectrometer for metabolite identification

Metabolism data provided with reduced cycle time has become of increasing importance for the early evaluation of DMPK properties of drugs in discovery. In this regard, quadrupole time-of-flight hybrid mass spectrometers (Q-TOF) can provide very reliable metabolite identification via accurate mass measurement of ions and the consequent access to the elemental composition of the metabolite. However, due to their cost, they are often used for drug metabolism studies on later stage drug candidates or to address challenging metabolism questions. A new prototype, consisting of a five-channel multiplexed electrospray ionization (ESI) source on a Q-TOF with one channel used for lock-mass compound infusion, was evaluated for metabolite identification. The goal was to increase the sample throughput of a single ESI-MS system by a factor of 4, while maintaining efficient metabolite separation in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as well as adequate sensitivity and mass accuracy, and ultimately improve the speed and quality of metabolism studies supporting drug discovery. The analytical performance of the system was assessed by evaluating the sensitivity and mass accuracy (using real in vitro and in vivo samples), inter-channel differences in retention times, MS/UV response, and cross-talk among channels. The sensitivity using the multiplexed ESI source was on average 2-fold lower than with single ESI, correlating well with previous literature data. The mass accuracy was comparable to that obtained using single ESI in both MS and MS/MS modes, making the metabolite identification process using the multiplexed ESI source as reliable as with single ESI. Compound-dependent differences in ionization efficiencies were observed among channels, and were minimized by analyzing related samples on the same channel. Finally, the level of cross-talk among channels was acceptable (around 0.3%) and comparable to levels previously published for quantitative applications using multiplexed ESI. The paper also focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of this new approach compared to other approaches in the literature in the field of metabolite identification.

UV-Triggered Main-Component Fraction Collection Method and Its Application for High-Throughput Chromatographic Purification of Combinatorial Libraries

A maximum-seeking, algorithm-driven fraction collection method was developed to support high-throughput chromatographic purification, which provides new possibilities for off-line high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (HPLC/MS) quality control experiments. The method is based on manipulation of a six-port valve that is installed downstream from the UV detector and equipped with a fraction collector loop. The detector signal is monitored by a programmable microcontroller that controls the state of the fraction collector valve. After detecting a chromatographic peak, the appropriate fraction is stored in the collector loop. The height of the next peak is compared to the previous one (using a maximum-seeking algorithm) and, depending on the result, the collected fraction is or is not exchanged with the new one. At the end of the run, the stored UV main component is pumped into the external fraction vial. This configuration was used for chromatographic purification of large compound libraries (the results of the purification of 5324 compounds are reported here), as well as for high-throughput off-line HPLC quality control experiments, where the collected main component fractions of an analytical-scale separation were subjected to further mass spectrometric molecular weight verification.

Applications of high-throughput ADME in drug discovery

Assessment of physicochemical and pharmacological properties is now conducted at very early stages of drug discovery for the purpose of accelerating the conversion of hits and leads into qualified development candidates. In particular, in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) assays and in vivo drug metabolism pharmacokinetic (DMPK) studies are being conducted throughout the discovery process, from hit generation through to lead optimization, with the goal of reducing the attrition rate of these potential drug candidates as they progress through development. Because the continuing trend in drug discovery has been to access ADME information earlier and earlier in the discovery process, the need has arisen within the analytical community to introduce faster and better analytical methods to enhance the 'developability' of drug leads. Strategies for streamlined ADME assessment of drug candidates in discovery and pre-clinical development are presented within.

Determination of loratadine in human plasma by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-IT-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the identification and quantitation of loratadine in human plasma. After the addition of the internal standard (IS), plasma samples were extracted using isooctane:isoamyl alcohol mixture. The compounds were separated on a prepacked Zorbax phenyl column using a mixture of acetonitrile, 0.20% formic acid as mobile phase. A Finnigan LCQ(DUO) ion-trap mass spectrometer connected to a Waters Alliance high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to develop and validate the method. The results were within the accepted criteria as stated in the FDA bioanalytical method validation guidance. The method was proved to be sensitive and specific by testing six different plasma batches. Linearity was established for the range of concentrations 0.10-10.0 ng/ml with a coefficient of determination (r(2)) of 0.9998. Accuracy for loratadine ranged from 105.00 to 109.50% at low, mid and high levels. The intra-day precision was better than 10.86%. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was identifiable and reproducible at 0.10 ng/ml with a precision of 9.84%. The proposed method enables the unambiguous identification and quantitation of loratadine for pharmacokinetic, bioavailability or bioequivalence studies.

Automatic mass spectrometry method development for drug discovery: application in metabolic stability assays

High-throughput metabolic screening has been requested routinely to keep pace with high-throughput organic synthesis. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with a fast gradient has become the method of choice for the task due to its sensitivity and selectivity. We have developed an automated system that consists of a robotic system for in vitro incubation and a commercially available software package for automatic MS/MS method development. A short, generic LC gradient and MS conditions that are applicable to most compounds have been developed to minimize the method development time and data analysis. This system has been used to support a number of in vitro screening assays in early drug discovery phase including microsomal stability and protein binding.

Liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure ionization-mass spectrometry in drug metabolism studies

The study of the metabolic fate of drugs is an essential and important part of the drug development process. The analysis of metabolites is a challenging task and several different analytical methods have been used in these studies. However, after the introduction of the atmospheric pressure ionization (API) technique, electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) has become an important and widely used method in the analysis of metabolites owing to its superior specificity, sensitivity and efficiency. In this paper the feasibility of LC/API-MS techniques in the identification, structure characterization and quantitation of drug metabolites is reviewed. Sample preparation, LC techniques, isotope labeling, suitability of different MS techniques, such as tandem mass spectrometry, and high-resolution MS in drug metabolite analysis, are summarized and discussed. Automation of data acquisition and interpretation, special techniques and possible future trends are also the topics of the review.

Higher-throughput screening for Caco-2 permeability utilizing a multiple sprayer liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry system

In the current drug discovery environment, higher-throughput analytical assays have become essential to keep pace with the screening demands for drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) attributes. This has been dictated by advances primarily in chemical procedures, notably combinatorial and parallel syntheses, which has resulted in many-fold increases in the number of compounds requiring DMPK evaluation. Because of its speed and specificity, liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) has become the dominant technology for sample analysis in the DMPK screening assays. For higher-throughput assays, analytical speed as well as other factors such as method development, data processing, quality control, and report generation, must be optimized. The four-way multiplexed electrospray interface (MUX), which allows for the analysis of four LC eluents simultaneously, has been adopted to maximize the rate of sample introduction into the mass spectrometer. Generic fast-gradient HPLC methods that are suitable for approximately 80% of the new chemical entities encountered have been developed. In-house-written software programs have been used to streamline information flow within the system, and for quality control by automatically identifying analytical anomalies. By integrating these components together with automated method development and data processing, a system capable of screening 100 compounds per week for Caco-2 permeability has been established.

Simultaneous development of six LC-MS-MS methods for the determination of multiple analytes in human plasma

Traditional sequential single analyte method development is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this report, a concept of simultaneously developing multiple liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) methods were proposed. Mass spectrometric and chromatographic conditions as well as sample preparation methods for all analytes were optimized concurrently. Mass spectrometric conditions for six analytes, i.e. clonidine (CLO), albuterol (ALB), fentanyl (FEN), ritonavir (RIT), naltrexone (NAL), and loratadine (LOR), were established simultaneously using the Sciex Analyst software. LC-MS-MS sensitivities obtained using gradient elution methods on reversed-phase Inertsil ODS3 and normal phase Betasil silica columns were compared. Sample extraction methods using protein precipitation, liquid/liquid extraction, or solid-phase extraction (SPE) were evaluated. Recovery of analytes was determined. Matrix effects and interference due to endogenous compounds were investigated. Selection of a potential internal standard was discussed.

High-throughput quantification of drugs and their metabolites in biosamples by LC-MS/MS and CE-MS/MS: possibilities and limitations

Off-line solid phase extraction with C18 disk plates and turbulent flow chromatography were evaluated versus on-line solid phase extraction using column-switching HPLC as sample preparation techniques for high-throughput analysis of pharmaceutical compounds and their metabolites by LC-MS/MS. Turbulent flow chromatography was found to be very straightforward in its applicaton, but the LOQs were more than fivefold higher compared with off-line or other on-line solid phase extraction methods. Solid phase extraction (SPE) on disk was found to be fast and sufficient efficient to minimize matrix effects and therefore an apprach to provide sensitive and reliable LC-MS/MS methods. Column-switching HPLC with microbore columns (0.5 mm i.d.) were used for fast analysis of a parent drug and four of its metabolites utilizing steep gradients in 1 minute. The application of CZE-MS/MS for bionalysis of pharamaceutical compounds is also discussed.

Application of parallel liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for high throughput microsomal stability screening of compound libraries

Solution-phase and solid-phase parallel synthesis and high throughput screening have enabled biologically active and selective compounds to be identified at an unprecedented rate. The challenge has been to convert these hits into viable development candidates. To accelerate the conversion of these hits into lead development candidates, early assessment of the physicochemical and pharmacological properties of these compounds is being made. In particular, in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) assays are being conducted at earlier and earlier stages of discovery with the goal of reducing the attrition rate of these potential drug candidates as they progress through development. In this report, we present an eight-channel parallel liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) system in combination with custom Visual Basic and Applescript automated data processing applications for high throughput early ADME. The parallel LC/MS system was configured with one set of gradient LC pumps and an eight-channel multiple probe autosampler. The flow was split equivalently into eight streams before the multiple probe autosampler and recombined after the eight columns and just prior to the mass spectrometer ion source. The system was tested for column-to-column variation and for reproducibility over a 17 h period (approximately 500 injections per column). The variations in retention time and peak area were determined to be less than 2 and 10%, respectively, in both tests. The parallel LC/MS system described permits time-course microsomal incubations (t(o), t5, t15, t30) to be measured in triplicate and enables estimations of t 1/2 microsomal stability. The parallel LC/MS system is capable of analyzing up to 240 samples per hour and permits the complete profiling up to two microtiter plates of compounds per day (i.e., 176 test substrate compounds + sixteen controls).

High-throughput liquid chromatography ultraviolet/mass spectrometric analysis of combinatorial libraries using an eight-channel multiplexed electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometer

We report a high-throughput liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) protocol for analyzing large combinatorial libraries using an eight-channel parallel LC/UV/MS (MUX-LCT) system. System configuration, linear response range in UV absorbance, LC column selection, and flow rate were optimized for 24 h/7 day unattended operations. Combinatorial libraries were analyzed on this system at a rate of 3200 compounds per day for a 3.5 min cycle time per injection. This parallel system is compared with a single-channel system in terms of performance and operation.

Generic serial and parallel on-line direct-injection using turbulent flow liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

The development of turbulent flow chromatography (TFC) has enabled considerable growth in the utility of on-line direct-injection technologies. TFC has now become established in a large number of varied analytical environments, particularly drug discovery/pharmacokinetics, metabolite profiling, combinatorial library purification, pre-clinical and clinical GLP applications. The utility of turbulent flow technology for in-house pre-clinical and clinical quantitative applications has necessitated extensive valve-cleaning procedures, and consequently lengthy cycle-times, to effectively remove the system carry-over. In-house requirements for assay validation require carry-over less than 20% of the lowest level of quantification (LLOQ), corresponding to 0.02% carry-over for a linear calibration range incorporating 3 orders. A generic turbulent flow chromatography protocol has been developed for drug discovery that incorporates polymeric turbulent flow extraction (cyclone) with C18-based reverse-phase chromatography. Further, multiple wash steps are incorporated within the methodology to meet in-house requirements for carry-over. Selection of novel switching-valve materials based on polyarylethyl ketone (PAEK) and Hastelloy/Valcon E autosampler injection hardware has enabled us to significantly impact the cycle-time required to reduce carry-over. Consequently, optimal usage of switching valves has enabled parallel operation for a generic on-line direct-injection methodology to successfully reduce the total cycle-time. Overall reductions from 4 min per sample to 90 s per sample are shown with comparable data quality using a proprietary target molecule from 0.1-100 ng/mL. This paper describes the hardware configuration and methodologies utilized to perform generic serial and parallel on-line direct-injection using a Turboflow HTLC 2300 system.

Investigation of an enhanced resolution triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for high-throughput liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assays

Triple quadrupole mass spectrometers, when operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, offer a unique combination of sensitivity, specificity, and dynamic range. Consequently, the triple quadrupole is the workhorse for high-throughput quantitation within the pharmaceutical industry. However, in the past, the unit mass resolution of quadrupole instruments has been a limitation when interference from matrix or metabolites cannot be eliminated. With recent advances in instrument design, triple quadrupole instruments now afford mass resolution of less than 0.1 Dalton (Da) full width at half maximum (FWHM). This paper describes the evaluation of an enhanced resolution triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for high-throughput bioanalysis with emphasis on comparison of selectivity, sensitivity, dynamic range, precision, accuracy, and stability under both unit mass (1 Da FWHM) and enhanced (<or=0.1 Da FWHM) resolution. The advantage of enhanced resolution was demonstrated in the case of mometasone with polypropylene glycol (PPG) interference. At unit mass resolution, the transmitted precursor ion from the first quadrupole contained not only protonated molecules from mometasone, but also PPG interference. At enhanced resolution only selected mometasone peaks were transmitted, and no interference from PPG was detected. Sensitivity of the instrument was demonstrated with 10 femtograms of descarboethoxyloratadine injected on-column, for which a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of 24 was obtained for MRM chromatograms at both unit and enhanced resolution. Absolute signals obtained at enhanced resolution were about one-third those obtained at unit mass resolution. However, S/N was maintained at enhanced resolution due to the proportional decrease in noise level. Finally, the stability of the instrument operating at enhanced resolution was demonstrated during an overnight 17 h period that was used to validate a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay for the quantitation of loratadine and descarboethoxyloratadine in human plasma. Assay performances (dynamic range, correlation coefficients for standard curves, precision and accuracy for QC samples) under unit and enhanced resolution were both within current pharmaceutical and regulatory guidelines demonstrating the stability of the mass spectrometer operating at enhanced resolution for typical bioanalytical high-throughput applications.

High-speed gradient parallel liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry with fully automated sample preparation for bioanalysis: 30 seconds per sample from plasma

In this work, a high-throughput and high-performance bioanalytical system is described that is capable of extracting and analyzing 1152 plasma samples within 10 hours. A Zymark track robot system interfaced with a Tecan Genesis liquid handler was used for simultaneous solid-phase extraction of four 96-well plates in a fully automated fashion. The extracted plasma samples were injected onto four parallel monolithic columns for separation via a four-injector autosampler. The use of monolithic columns allowed for fast and well-resolved separations at a considerably higher flow rate without generating significant column backpressure. This resulted in a total chromatographic run cycle time of 2 min on each 4.6 x 100 mm column using gradient elution. The effluent from the four columns was directed to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an indexed four-probe electrospray ionization source (Micromass MUX interface). Hence, sample extraction, separation, and detection were all performed in a four-channel parallel format that resulted in an overall throughput of about 30 s per sample from plasma. The performance of this system was evaluated by extracting and by analyzing twelve 96-well plates (1152) of human plasma samples spiked with oxazepam at different concentrations. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of analyte sensitivity (slope of calibration curve) across the four channels and across the 12 plates was 5.2 and 6.8%, respectively. An average extraction recovery of 77.6% with a RSD of 7.7% and an average matrix effect of 0.95 with a RSD of 5.2% were achieved using these generic extraction and separation conditions. The good separation efficiency provided by this system allowed for rapid method development of an assay quantifying the drug candidate and its close structural analog metabolite. The method was cross-validated with a conventional liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay.

Multiple sprayer system for high-throughput electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A multiple sprayer electrospray ion source for high-throughput analysis is described. The ion source is comprised of multiple electrospray capillaries, each with an ion lens located near the tip. The electric potentials applied to the ion lenses are used to control the sprayers. The use of ion lenses eliminates the need for mechanical blocking devices to selectively enable or disable the sprayers, and results in a less expensive and more reliable set-up. Sprayers can be enabled or disabled within approximately 50-250 ms when the lens potentials are controlled manually. For simultaneous operation of multiple electrospray capillaries, it is advantageous to orient the capillaries so that the spray from each passes directly in front of the entrance aperture of the mass spectrometer.