Rapid and specific approach for direct measurement of glimepiride in human plasma by LC-ESI-MS-MS employing automated 96 well format: application to a bioequivalence study

Metabolic study of ginsenoside Rg3 and glimepiride in type 2 diabetic rats by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Ginsenoside Rg3 and glimepiride have been applied to treat type 2 diabetes (T2DM) because of their good hypoglycemic effects. In this study, the effects of ginsenoside Rg3 acting synergistically with glimepiride were investigated in liver microsomes from rats with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

An in vitro incubation system with normal rat liver microsomes (RLM) and type 2 diabetic rat liver microsomes (TRLM) was developed. The system also included two experimental groups consisting of RLM and TRLM pretreated with ginsenoside Rg3 and glimepiride (named the RLMR and TRLMR groups, respectively). The metabolism in the different groups was analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-Orbitrap MS).

RESULTS

The results showed that the concentration of glimepiride increased in RLM and TRLM after treatment with ginsenoside Rg3. Five metabolites (M1-M5) of glimepiride were found, and they were named 3N-hydroxyglimepiride, hydroxyglimepiride, 1,2-epoxy ether-3-hydroxyglimepiride, 1N-hydroxyglimepiride and 1N,2C,S,O,O-epoxy ether-3-hydroxyglimepiride. The metabolite of ginsenoside Rg3 was ginsenoside Rh2.

CONCLUSIONS

An in vitro incubation system with RLM and TRLM was developed. The system revealed pathways that produce glimepiride metabolites. Ginsenoside Rg3 may inhibit the activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes in vitro. The present study showed that ginsenoside Rg3 and glimepiride may be combined for the treatment of T2DM.

Preparation and comparison of Fe3O4@graphene oxide nanoclusters for analysis of glimepiride in urine by surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Graphene oxide (GO) has the ability to absorb certain compounds, and it can be modified with functional groups for different purposes; for instance, iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles can be used to concentrate analyte by a magnet. Recently, many kinds of GO have been developed, such as single-layer GO (SLGO), two-to-four layers of GO (i.e., few-layer GO, FLGO^2-4), and four-to-eight layers of GO (i.e., multi-layer GO, MLGO^4-8). However, the abilities of these layered GO coated with IO nanoparticles have not been investigated. In this study, we conducted a novel analysis of glimepiride by using layered GO-coated magnetic clusters of IO nanoparticles that were synthesized through a simple and facile emulsion-solvent evaporation method. The methodology is based on (i) enrichment of glimepiride using the layered GO-coated magnetic clusters of IO nanoparticles (IO@SLGO, IO@FLGO^2-4, and IO@MLGO^4-8), and (ii) rapid determination using magnetic cluster-based surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SALDI-TOFMS). We found that IO@MLGO^4-8, the magnetic cluster with the greatest number of GO layers, had the best limit of detection (28.6 pmol/μL for glimepiride). The number of GO layers played a significant role in increasing the sensitivity of the SALDI-MS, indicating that the size of GO in the magnetic clusters contributed to the desorption/ionization efficiency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to enrich glimepiride using magnetic clusters of different GO types and to show that the glimepiride in HLB purified urine adsorbed by magnetic clusters can be analyzed by SALDI-TOFMS.

Rapid, Validated UPLC-MS/MS Method for Determination of Glibenclamide in Rat Plasma

Quick and specific bioanalytical methods are required for analyzing drugs in biological samples. A simple, quick, sensitive, and specific UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for glibenclamide determination in plasma samples. The plasma samples were processed by protein precipitation technique. Glimepiride was used as internal standard (IS). Glibenclamide and glimepiride were eluted on C18 column (Acquity UPLC®BEH). Mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile (0.1% formic acid) and water (0.1% formic acid) was pumped in binary gradient mode at flow rate of 150 μL/min. Glibenclamide and IS elution time was about 1.0 min, and total run time was 2.0 min. The mass spectrometer (triple-quadrupole) was operated in positive electrospray ionization mode. Sodium adducts [M + Na]+ of glibenclamide and IS were monitored in MRM mode. A linear calibration curve was obtained in the range of 10-1280 ng/mL, with regression equation Y = 0.0076 X – 0.0165 and linear regression coefficient r2 = 0.999. Lower limit of quantitation was 10 ng/mL. Accuracy of the method at LQC, MQC, and HQC was 109.7% (± 6.7), 93.6% (± 0.4), and 99.3% (± 1.9), respectively. The coefficient of variation for precision at all QC concentrations was less than 6%. Recovery at LLQC, MQC, and HQC was 104.2% (± 4.9), 100.6% (± 0.9), and 102.9% (± 5.8), respectively. The method was successfully implemented for pharmacokinetic investigations (in-house data).

Development and application of an analytical method for curdione quantification in pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats by LC-MS/MS

The vaginal administration route suffers from relatively low absorption efficiency, which may hinder the identification of the toxicokinetics of curdione in pregnant women. A sensitive analytical method for determining the plasma concentration of curdione was developed and applied in the determination of curdione in pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats as a simulated model. Glimepiride was used as an internal standard and chromatographic separation was achieved on a Capcell Pak C18 MGIII column. A gradient elution profile with 0.5% formic acid (A)-0.5% formic acid-acetonitrile (B) was selected as mobile phase. The selected reaction monitoring mode was used for quantification based on the target fragment ions m/z 237.2 to m/z 135.1 for curdione and m/z 491.3 to m/z 352.1 for the glimepiride. The standard curve was linear over the range of 0.5-500 ng/mL for curdione in rat plasma and yielded a consistent peak pattern, even at the lower limit of quantitation of 0.5 ng/mL. The retention times of curdione and IS were 6.55 and 6.59 min, respectively. The mean recovery of curdione in rat plasma was 95.5-101.1%. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were between 2.35 and 9.08%. This LC-MS/MS method provides a simple and sensitive means for determining the plasma concentration.