Quantitative Analysis of HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors in Cell Lysates Using MALDI-FTICR Mass Spectrometry

Cell and Tissue Imaging by TOF-SIMS and MALDI-TOF: An Overview for Biological and Pharmaceutical Analysis

The potential of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has been demonstrated in cell and tissue research since 1970. MSI can reveal the spatial distribution of a wide range of atomic and molecular ions detected from biological sample surfaces, it is a powerful and valuable technique used to monitor and detect diverse chemical and biological compounds, such as drugs, lipids, proteins, and DNA. MSI techniques, notably matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), witnessed a dramatic upsurge in studying and investigating biological samples especially, cells and tissue sections. This advancement is attributed to the submicron lateral resolution, the high sensitivity, the good precision, and the accurate chemical specificity, which make these techniques suitable for decoding and understanding complex mechanisms of certain diseases, as well as monitoring the spatial distribution of specific elements, and compounds. While the application of both techniques for the analysis of cells and tissues is thoroughly discussed, a briefing of MALDI-TOF and TOF-SIMS basis and the adequate sampling before analysis are briefly covered. The importance of MALDI-TOF and TOF-SIMS as diagnostic tools and robust analytical techniques in the medicinal, pharmaceutical, and toxicology fields is highlighted through representative published studies.

Enhancement of saquinavir absorption and accumulation through the formation of solid drug nanoparticles

Background

Nanotechnology is now considered a promising drug delivery method for orally administered hydrophobic drugs to their sites of action. The effect of nanodispersion on cellular transport and accumulation of saquinavir (SQV) was investigated.

Methods

The transport of five solid drug nanoparticle (SDN) SQV formulations along Caco-2 cell monolayers (CCM) was compared to that of standard SQV. The SDNs were prepared using SQV mesylate (20%), Pluronic F127 (10%) plus five other excipients (HPMC, PVP, PVA, Lecithin S75 and Span 80) in different proportions. Cellular accumulation in CEM parental and CEMVBL (P-gp overexpressing) cells was conducted to ascertain the effect of nanodispersion on P-gp mediated efflux of SQV. All SDN formulations were dissolved in water, whereas SQV in DMSO to improve solubility. Quantification was via HPLC.

Results

From transport results, an SDN sample composed of SQV mesylate/Pluronic F127 plus HPMC (70%) and had a 24% increase in apparent absorption compared to standard SQV, largely driven by a 38% reduction in basolateral to apical permeation. Additionally, the formulation and two others (SQV mesylate/Pluronic F127 alone; and + HPMC (65%)/Lecithin [5%]) accumulated more significantly in CEM cells, suggesting enhanced delivery to these cells. Moreover, accumulation and transport of the three SDNs compared well to that of SQV despite being dissolved in water, suggestive of improved dissolution. The inclusion of PVA resulted in increased efflux.

Conclusion

The use of HPMC and Pluronic F127 produced SQV SDNs with improved permeation in Caco-2 cells and improved accumulation in CEM cells, but negative effects with PVA.

A binary matrix for the rapid detection and characterization of small-molecule cardiovascular drugs by MALDI-MS and MS/MS

A mixture of α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and 1,5-diaminonaphthalene was discovered as a novel binary matrix for the qualitative analysis of 14 small-molecule (~250-550 Da) cardiovascular drugs by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and MS/MS in either positive or negative ion mode.

MALDI-MS drug analysis in biological samples: opportunities and challenges

Drug analysis represents a large field in different disciplines. Plasma is commonly considered to be the biosample of choice for that purpose. However, concentrations often do not represent the levels present within deeper compartments and therefore cannot sufficiently explain efficacy or toxicology of drugs. MALDI-MS in drug analysis is of great interest for high-throughput quantification and particularly spatially resolved tissue imaging. The current perspective article will deal with challenges and opportunities of MALDI-MS drug analysis in different biological samples. A particular focus will be on hair samples. Recent applications were included, reviewed for their instrumental setup and sample preparation and pros and cons as well as future perspectives are critically discussed.

DMSO-enhanced MALDI MS imaging with normalization against a deuterated standard for relative quantification of dasatinib in serial mouse pharmacology studies

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging is an emerging powerful technique in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics research. Despite recent progress in mass-spectrometry-based localization and relative quantification of small-molecule drugs and their metabolites in tissue, improved methods for drug extraction/ionization are required. Furthermore, relative quantification of drugs by mass spectrometry imaging in larger rodent cohorts is a necessary proof-of-concept study to demonstrate the utility of such a workflow in an industrial setting. Using as an example the tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatinib, a leukemia drug, we demonstrate that inclusion of dimethyl sulfoxide in standard matrix solutions significantly improves ion intensity in mass spectrometry images and reveals enrichment of the drug in mouse kidney medulla. We furthermore show in a time-course study in multiple mice that normalization against a deuterated internal standard, dasatinib-D8, which is applied together with the matrix, makes possible relative quantification of the drug that correlates well with canonical liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry based drug quantification.

Quantification of saquinavir from lysates of peripheral blood mononuclear cells using microarrays and standard MALDI-TOF-MS

Drug monitoring is usually performed by liquid chromatography coupled with optical detection or electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. More recently, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) in combination with triple quadrupole or Fourier-transform (FT) mass analyzers has also been reported to allow accurate quantification. Here, we present a strategy that employs standard MALDI time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) for the sensitive and accurate quantification of saquinavir from an extract of blood peripheral mononuclear cells. Unambiguous identification of saquinavir in the mass spectra was possible because of using internal mass calibration and by an overall low chemical noise in the low mass range. Exact mass determination of the constant background peaks of the cell extract, which were used for recalibration, was performed by an initial MALDI-FT-MS analysis. Fast and multiplexed sample analysis was enabled by microarray technology, which provided 10 replicates in the lower nL range for each sample in parallel lanes on a chip. In order to validate the method, we employed various statistical tests, such as confidence intervals for linear regressions, three quality control samples, and inverse confidence limits of the estimated concentration ratios.

Quantitative proteomics and metabolomics analysis of normal human cerebrospinal fluid samples

The analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is used in biomarker discovery studies for various neurodegenerative central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, little is known about variation of CSF proteins and metabolites between patients without neurological disorders. A baseline for a large number of CSF compounds appears to be lacking. To analyze the variation in CSF protein and metabolite abundances in a number of well-defined individual samples of patients undergoing routine, non-neurological surgical procedures, we determined the variation of various proteins and metabolites by multiple analytical platforms. A total of 126 common proteins were assessed for biological variations between individuals by ESI-Orbitrap. A large spread in inter-individual variation was observed (relative standard deviations [RSDs] ranged from 18 to 148%) for proteins with both high abundance and low abundance. Technical variation was between 15 and 30% for all 126 proteins. Metabolomics analysis was performed by means of GC-MS and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and amino acids were specifically analyzed by LC-MS/MS, resulting in the detection of more than 100 metabolites. The variation in the metabolome appears to be much more limited compared with the proteome: the observed RSDs ranged from 12 to 70%. Technical variation was less than 20% for almost all metabolites. Consequently, an understanding of the biological variation of proteins and metabolites in CSF of neurologically normal individuals appears to be essential for reliable interpretation of biomarker discovery studies for CNS disorders because such results may be influenced by natural inter-individual variations. Therefore, proteins and metabolites with high variation between individuals ought to be assessed with caution as candidate biomarkers because at least part of the difference observed between the diseased individuals and the controls will not be caused by the disease, but rather by the natural biological variation between individuals.

Quantitative proteomics and metabolomics analysis of normal human cerebrospinal fluid samples

The analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is used in biomarker discovery studies for various neurodegenerative central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, little is known about variation of CSF proteins and metabolites between patients without neurological disorders. A baseline for a large number of CSF compounds appears to be lacking. To analyze the variation in CSF protein and metabolite abundances in a number of well-defined individual samples of patients undergoing routine, non-neurological surgical procedures, we determined the variation of various proteins and metabolites by multiple analytical platforms. A total of 126 common proteins were assessed for biological variations between individuals by ESI-Orbitrap. A large spread in inter-individual variation was observed (relative standard deviations [RSDs] ranged from 18 to 148%) for proteins with both high abundance and low abundance. Technical variation was between 15 and 30% for all 126 proteins. Metabolomics analysis was performed by means of GC-MS and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and amino acids were specifically analyzed by LC-MS/MS, resulting in the detection of more than 100 metabolites. The variation in the metabolome appears to be much more limited compared with the proteome: the observed RSDs ranged from 12 to 70%. Technical variation was less than 20% for almost all metabolites. Consequently, an understanding of the biological variation of proteins and metabolites in CSF of neurologically normal individuals appears to be essential for reliable interpretation of biomarker discovery studies for CNS disorders because such results may be influenced by natural inter-individual variations. Therefore, proteins and metabolites with high variation between individuals ought to be assessed with caution as candidate biomarkers because at least part of the difference observed between the diseased individuals and the controls will not be caused by the disease, but rather by the natural biological variation between individuals.

Biomedical application of MALDI mass spectrometry for small-molecule analysis

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) is an emerging analytical tool for the analysis of molecules with molar masses below 1,000 Da; that is, small molecules. This technique offers rapid analysis, high sensitivity, low sample consumption, a relative high tolerance towards salts and buffers, and the possibility to store sample on the target plate. The successful application of the technique is, however, hampered by low molecular weight (LMW) matrix-derived interference signals and by poor reproducibility of signal intensities during quantitative analyses. In this review, we focus on the biomedical application of MALDI-MS for the analysis of small molecules and discuss its favorable properties and its challenges as well as strategies to improve the performance of the technique. Furthermore, practical aspects and applications are presented.

Metal ion attachment to the matrix meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin, related matrices and analytes: an experimental and theoretical study

In a previous study [van Kampen et al. Analytical Chemistry 2006; 78: 5403], we found that meso-tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (F20TPP), in combination with lithium salts, provides an efficient matrix to cationize small molecules by Li+ attachment and that this combination can be successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of drugs, such as antiretroviral compounds using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization in conjunction with a time-of-flight analyzer (MALDI-TOF). In the present study, we further explore the mechanism of metal ion attachment to F20TPP and analytes by MALDI-FTMS(/MS). To this end, we have studied the interaction of F20TPP and analytes with various mono-, di- and trivalent metal ions (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+, Co2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Fe2+, Fe3+ and Ga3+). For the alkali cations, we find that F20TPP forms complexes only with Li+ and Na+; in addition, model analyte molecules such as poly(ethyleneglycol)s, mixed with F20TPP and the alkali cations, also only form Li+ and Na+ adducts. This contrasts sharply with the commonly used matrix 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, where analytes are most efficiently cationized by Na+ or K+. Reasons for this difference are delineated. Ab initio calculations on porphyrin itself reveal that even the smallest alkali cation, Li+, does not fit in the porphyrin cavity, but lies on top of it, pushing the 21H and 23 H hydrogen atoms out of and below the plane with concomitant bending of the porphyrin skeleton in the opposite direction, i.e. toward the cation. Thus, the Li+ ion is not effectively sequestered and is in fact exposed and thus accessible for donation to analyte molecules. Interaction of F20TPP with di- and trivalent metal ions leads to protoporphyrin-metal ions, where the metal ion is captured within the protoporphyrin dianion cavity. The most intense signal is obtained when F20TPP is reacted with CuCl2 and then subjected to laser ablation. This method presents an easy general route to study the metal containing protoporphyrin molecules, which could all act as potential MALDI matrices.

Quantitative matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (MALDI-FT-ICR) peptide profiling and identification of multiple-sclerosis-related proteins

We introduce a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (MALDI-FT-ICR) method for quantitative peptide profiling, using peak height as a measure for abundance. Relative standard deviations in peak height of peptides spiked over 3 orders of magnitude in concentration were below 10% and allowed for accurate comparisons between multiple sclerosis and controls. Application on a set of 163 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples showed significantly differential abundant peptides, which were subsequently identified into proteins (e.g., chromogranin A, clusterin, and complement C3).