A Simplified Method for Simultaneous Determination of α-Lipoic Acid and Low-Molecular-Mass Thiols in Human Plasma

Simultaneous analysis of reduced and oxidized forms of multiple biological aminothiols in cells and tissues by double derivatization combined with liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry

Biological aminothiols (BATs) typically exist in both reduced and oxidized forms, each exhibiting diverse biological activities. Monitoring the levels and ratios of the two forms is crucial for clinical diagnosis and understanding their roles in biological systems. In this study, we developed a method for simultaneous analysis of both reduced and oxidized BATs using a double derivatization approach combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The method employed a sequential derivatization strategy: initially, 2‑bromo-N,N-dimethylacetamide (Br-DMA) reacted with the thiol groups of reduced BATs, followed by derivatization of both reduced and oxidized BATs with stable isotope labeling reagents, [d0]-/[d3]-6,7-dimethoxy-3-methyl isochromenylium tetrafluoroborate ([d0]-/[d3]-DMMIC). The methodology validation showed excellent linearity (R2 > 0.99), accuracy (85.07-119.94 %), precision (intraday: 5.26-18.78 %; interday: 6.52-19.01 %), recovery (70.09-119.27 %), and matrix effect (92.69-126.79 %). Finally, the method was successfully applied to nontargeted BAT screening in lung A549 cells, assessing changes in BAT levels in A549 cells upon treatment with the anticancer compounds triptolide and bufalin, and comparing differences in BAT levels between lung adenocarcinoma and paracarcinoma tissues. The results indicated that the developed method could be a comprehensive practical protocol and serve as a platform for profiling reduced and oxidized BATs in biological samples while meeting various analysis demands.

Novel Approach for Biosensor-Based Imaging of Cysteine Levels in Ischemeic Heart Disease: Insights from Preclinical Models and Human Samples

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) pose a serious threat to human health, with atherosclerosis being a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Elevated cysteine (Cys) levels have been closely linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, underscoring its significance in cardiovascular health. However, current detection methods for cysteine in serum and atherosclerotic plaques present challenges in sensitivity, specificity, dynamic monitoring, and invasiveness. The development of more sensitive, specific, and noninvasive assays is needed to enable accurate monitoring of cysteine levels. This study introduces the development and characterization of Cys-NPs, a sensitive and selective tool for imaging cysteine in foam cells and atherosclerotic mice. Encapsulation of the HD-probe using DSPE-PEG to obtain Cys-NPs effectively reduced interference from glutathione (GSH), leading to successful preparation and validation of Cys-NPs's nanoscale structure. At the same time, Cys-NPs was able to use the differences in Hcy and Cys concentrations in vivo to better assess Cys levels in vivo. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated Cys-NPs's effective imaging of cysteine in foam cells and atherosclerotic mice, highlighting its potential for noninvasive assessment of cysteine levels in ischemic heart disease research and clinical practice.

A new chromatographic method for the determination of cysteine, glutathione, homocysteine and Nɛ-homocysteinyllysine isopeptide in human plasma

Cysteine and glutathione can be applied as therapeutic targets in civilization diseases such as diabetes mellitus and cancers. On the other hand, an elevated concentration of homocysteine, and its metabolites such as homocysteine thiolactone and Nɛ-homocysteinyllysine result in health problems and has been indicated as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and accelerated atherosclerosis. This work describes the first simplified HPLC-UV method that allows simultaneous determination of Nɛ-homocysteinyllysine isopeptide, cysteine, glutathione and homocysteine in human plasma. The assay is based on reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection and simultaneous reduction of disulfide bound with tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine and the selective pre-column derivatization of the thiol group with 1-benzyl-2-chloropyridinium bromide. Linearities of the detector responses for plasma samples were observed in ranges: 0.1-10.0 nmol/mL for Nɛ-homocysteinyllysine, 2.0-60.0 nmol/mL for glutathione and homocysteine, 20.0-600.0 nmol/mL for cysteine. The proposed method reduces the number of steps, shortens the total time of sample preparation, and limits the amount of single-use polypropylene laboratory materials.

α‑lipoic acid inhibits cerulein/resistin‑induced expression of interleukin‑6 by activating peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor‑γ in pancreatic acinar cells

Cerulein‑induced pancreatitis resembles human acute pancreatitis in terms of pathological events, such as enzymatic activation and inflammatory cell infiltration in the pancreas. Cerulein is a cholecystokinin analog that increases levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) expression level in pancreatic acinar cells. Serum levels of resistin, which is secreted from adipocytes, are reportedly higher in patients with acute pancreatitis than in healthy individuals. Previously, it was shown that the adipokine resistin can aggravate the cerulein‑induced increase in ROS levels and IL‑6 expression level in pancreatic acinar cells. Peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor‑gamma (PPAR‑γ) is a key regulator of the transcription and expression of antioxidant enzymes, including heme oxygenase 1 (HO‑1) and catalase. α‑lipoic acid, a naturally occurring dithiol antioxidant, can prevent cerulein‑induced pancreatic damage in rats. In the present study, it was aimed to investigate whether α‑lipoic acid can attenuate the cerulein/resistin‑induced increase in IL‑6 expression and ROS levels via PPAR‑γ activation in pancreatic acinar AR42J cells. The anti‑inflammatory mechanism of α‑lipoic acid was determined using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, western blot analysis, enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay, immunofluorescence staining and fluorometry. Treatment with cerulein and resistin increased ROS levels and IL‑6 expression level, which were inhibited by α‑lipoic acid in pancreatic acinar cells. α‑lipoic acid increased the nuclear translocation and expression level of PPAR‑γ and the expression levels of its target genes: HO‑1 and catalase. The PPAR‑γ antagonist GW9662 and HO‑1 inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin reversed the inhibitory effect of α‑lipoic acid on cerulein/resistin‑induced increase in ROS and IL‑6 levels. In conclusion, α‑lipoic acid inhibits the cerulein/resistin‑induced increase in ROS production and IL‑6 expression levels by activating PPAR‑γ and inducing the expression of HO‑1 and catalase in pancreatic acinar cells.

Stress degradation studies and development of validated stability indicating densitometric method for estimation of alpha lipoic acid in bulk and capsule dosage form

A precise, sensitive, specific and accurate stability indicating densitometric method was developed and validated for alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in bulk and capsule dosage form. The study employed pre-coated silica gel 60F254 TLC plates as stationary phase and toluene: chloroform: methanol: formic acid (5:3:1:0.05; v/v/v/v) as mobile phase. The developed method furnished compact spots of alpha-lipoic acid (Rf 0.28 ± 0.05) after derivatization, offered good linearity in range 80–400 ng/spot with correlation coefficient of 0.998. The values for detection and quantitation were found 18.022 and 54.612 ng/spot respectively. ALA was subjected to stress degradation studies and total 13 degradation products were resolved. Thus, the proposed method offered good results according to ICH guidelines, and can be used for identification, routine quantitative determination as well as for monitoring the stability of ALA in bulk and in capsules.

Bioanalytical methods for the detection of duloxetine and thioctic acid in plasma using ultra performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS)

Duloxetine and thioctic acid (TA) are standard drugs for treating diabetic neuropathy, a primary complication associated with diabetes. In this study, ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry methods was successfully developed and validated for quantifying duloxetine and TA in biological samples. The protein precipitation method was used to extract duloxetine, TA and their internal standards from beagle dog plasma. A Hypersil Gold C18 column (150 × 2.1 mm, 1.9 μm) was used for the experiment. Isocratic elution with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (A) and 0.1% formic acid (B) was used for duloxetine, whereas a gradient elution with 0.03% acetic acid (A) and acetonitrile (B) was used for TA. The validated parameters included linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision, selectivity, matrix effect, stability, and recovery under different conditions. The linear ranges of the calibration curves for duloxetine and TA were 5–800 ng/mL and 5–1,000 ng/mL, respectively. An intra- and inter-run precision of ± 15% can be observed in all quality control samples. These methods were successfully used for pharmacokinetics (PKs) studies in beagle dogs to compare PK differences in a fixed-dose combination including duloxetine and TA and co-administration of the 2 drugs.

The Influence of UV Varnishes on the Content of Cysteine and Methionine in Women Nail Plates-Chromatographic Studies

The main purpose of this work was to determine if the use of hybrid nail polishes causes changes in concentration of the most important sulfur amino acids that build nail plate structures, cysteine and methionine. We found that the average contents of cysteine and methionine in studied samples before the use of hybrid manicure were 1275.3 ± 145.9 nmol mg⁻¹ and 111.7 ± 23.8 nmol mg⁻¹, respectively. After six months of hybrid manicure use, the average amount of these sulfur amino acids in studied samples were 22.1% and 36.5% lower in the case of cysteine and methionine, respectively. The average amounts of cysteine and methionine in nail plate samples after the use of hybrid manicures were 992.4 ± 96.2 nmol mg⁻¹ and 70.9 ± 14.8 nmol mg⁻¹, respectively. We also confirmed that in studied women the application of UV light varnishes reduced the thickness of the nail plate, from 0.50 ± 0.12 mm before to 0.46 ± 0.12 mm after the use of the hybrid manicure.

A simultaneous identification and quantification strategy for determination of sulfhydryl-containing metabolites in normal- and high-fat diet hamsters using stable isotope labeling combined with LC-MS

Sulfur-containing metabolites are related to several physiologic disorders and metabolic diseases. In this study, a simultaneous identification and quantification strategy in one batch for determination of sulfhydryl-containing metabolites was developed using stable isotope labeling combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (SIL-LC-MS). In the proposed method, a pair of isotope labeling reagents, D₀/D₅-N-ethylmaleimide (D₀/D₅-NEM), was used to derivatize sulfhydryl-containing metabolites in blood and plasma of normal- and high-fat-diet (NFD and HFD) hamsters for reduced (-SH) and total (-SH, -S-S-, S-glutathionylated proteins) analysis. Quality control (QC) samples and test samples were prepared for LC-MS analysis. First, both QC samples and stable isotope labeled internal standards were used to monitor the status of the instrument and ensure the reliability of the analysis. Subsequently, an inhouse database containing 45 sulfhydryl-containing metabolites was established by MS¹ based on QC samples. Then, qualitatively differential sulfhydryl-containing metabolites were found by MS² between the NFD and HFD hamsters of the test samples, including 3 in reduced and 8 in total analysis of blood samples, and 2 in reduced and 2 in total analysis of plasma samples. Next, in quantitative analysis, satisfied linearities for 6 sulfhydryl-containing metabolites were obtained with the correlation coefficient (R²) > 0.99 and absolute quantification was carried out. The results showed that glutathione and cysteine have different concentrations in blood and plasma of hamsters. Finally, the correlation of sulfhydryl-containing metabolites with blood lipid and oxidative stress levels was determined, which provided insight into the hyperlipidemia-related oxidative stress. Taken together, the developed method of simultaneous identification with the inhouse database and MS² and quantification with standards in one batch provides a promising strategy for the analysis of sulfhydryl-containing metabolites in biological samples, which may promote the in-depth investigation on sulfhydryl-containing metabolites and related diseases.

Simultaneous Determination of Human Serum Albumin and Low-Molecular-Weight Thiols after Derivatization with Monobromobimane

Biothiols are extremely powerful antioxidants that protect cells against the effects of oxidative stress. They are also considered relevant disease biomarkers, specifically risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In this paper, a new procedure for the simultaneous determination of human serum albumin and low-molecular-weight thiols in plasma is described. The method is based on the pre-column derivatization of analytes with a thiol-specific fluorescence labeling reagent, monobromobimane, followed by separation and quantification through reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (excitation, 378 nm; emission, 492 nm). Prior to the derivatization step, the oxidized thiols are converted to their reduced forms by reductive cleavage with sodium borohydride. Linearity in the detector response for total thiols was observed in the following ranges: 1.76–30.0 mg mL⁻¹ for human serum albumin, 0.29–5.0 nmol mL⁻¹ for α-lipoic acid, 1.16–35 nmol mL⁻¹ for glutathione, 9.83–450.0 nmol mL⁻¹ for cysteine, 0.55–40.0 nmol mL⁻¹ for homocysteine, 0.34–50.0 nmol mL⁻¹ for N-acetyl-L-cysteine, and 1.45–45.0 nmol mL⁻¹ for cysteinylglycine. Recovery values of 85.16–119.48% were recorded for all the analytes. The developed method is sensitive, repeatable, and linear within the expected ranges of total thiols. The devised procedure can be applied to plasma samples to monitor biochemical processes in various pathophysiological states.

Quantification of Intracellular Thiols by HPLC-Fluorescence Detection

Biothiols, such as cysteine and glutathione, play important roles in various intracellular reactions represented by the redox equilibrium against oxidative stress. In this study, a method for intracellular thiol quantification using HPLC-fluorescence detection was developed. Thiols were derivatized with a thiol-specific fluorescence derivatization reagent, viz. ammonium 7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulfonate (SBD-F), followed by reversed-phase separation on an InertSustain AQ-C18 column. Six different SBD-thiols (homocysteine, cysteine, cysteinylglycine, γ-glutamylcysteine, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine as an internal standard) were separated within 30 min using a citric buffer (pH 3.0)/MeOH mobile phase. The calibration curves of all the SBD-thiols had strong linearity (R² > 0.999). Using this developed method, the thiol concentrations of human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cell samples were found to be 5.5–153 pmol/1 × 10⁶ cells. The time-dependent effect of a thiol scavenger, viz. N-ethyl maleimide, on intracellular thiol concentrations was also quantified. This method is useful for elucidating the role of intracellular sulfur metabolism.