HPLC/1H NMR spectroscopic studies of the reactive alpha-1-O-acyl isomer formed during acyl migration of S-naproxen beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide

A widely held view in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies is that the initial 1-isomer to 2-isomer step in the intramolecular acyl migration of drug ester glucuronides is irreversible, and that alpha-1-O-acyl isomers do not occur under physiological conditions. We investigated this hypothesis using high-performance liquid chromatography directly coupled to proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HPLC/1H NMR) and mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to probe the migration reactions of S-naproxen beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide, in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4, 37 degrees C. We report the first direct observation of the alpha-1-O-acyl isomer of a drug ester glucuronide (S-naproxen) formed in a biosystem via the facile acyl migration of the corresponding pure beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide. The unequivocal identification of the reactive product was achieved using stopped-flow one-dimensional HPLC/1H NMR and two-dimensional 1H-1H total correlation spectroscopy (1H-1H TOCSY). Parallel LC/ion-trap mass spectrometry yielded the confirmatory glucuronide masses. Moreover, "dynamic" stopped-flow HPLC/1H NMR experiments revealed transacylation of the isolated alpha-1-O-acyl isomer to a mixture of alpha/beta-2-O-acyl isomers; the reverse reaction from the isolated alpha/beta-2-O-acyl isomers to the alpha-1-O-acyl isomer was also clearly demonstrated. This application of "dynamic" stopped-flow HPLC/1H NMR allows key kinetic data to be obtained on a reactive metabolite that would otherwise be difficult to follow by conventional HPLC and NMR methods where sample preparation and off-line separations are necessary. These data challenge the widely held view that the alpha-1-O-acyl isomers of drug ester glucuronides do not occur under physiological conditions. Furthermore, the similar formation of alpha-1-O-acyl isomers from zomepirac and diflunisal beta-1-O-acyl glucuronides has recently been confirmed (Corcoran et al., unpublished results). Such reactions are also likely to be widespread for other drugs that form ester glucuronides in biological systems. Ultimately, the presence of significant quantities of the kinetically labile alpha-1-O-acyl glucuronide isomer may also have toxicological implications in terms of reactivity toward cellular proteins.

S-naproxen-beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide degradation kinetic studies by stopped-flow high-performance liquid chromatography-1H NMR and high-performance liquid chromatography-UV

Acyl-migrated isomers of drug beta-1-O-acyl glucuronides have been implicated in drug toxicity because they can bind to proteins. The acyl migration and hydrolysis of S-naproxen-beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide (S-nap-g) was followed by dynamic stopped-flow HPLC-1H NMR and HPLC methods. Nine first order rate constants in the chemical equilibrium between six species (S-nap-g, its alpha/beta-2-O-acyl, alpha/beta-3-O-acyl, alpha/beta-4-O-acyl, and alpha-1-O-acyl-migration isomers, and S-naproxen aglycone) were determined by HPLC-UV studies in 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.40, 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer in D2O pD 7.40, and 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer in D2O pD 7.40/MeCN 80:20 v/v (HPLC-1H NMR mobile phase). In the 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.40) the acyl-migration rate constants (h(-1)) were 0.18 (S-nap-g-alpha/beta-2-O-acyl isomer), 0.23 (alpha/beta-2-O-acyl-alpha-1-O-acyl), 2.6 (alpha-1-O-acyl-alpha/beta-2-O-acyl), 0.12 (alpha/beta-2-O-acyl-alpha/beta-3-O-acyl), 0.048 (alpha/beta-3-O-acyl-alpha/beta-2-O-acyl), 0.059 (alpha/beta-3-O-acyl-alpha/beta-4-O-acyl), and 0.085 (alpha/beta-4-O-acyl-alpha/beta-3-O-acyl). The hydrolysis rate constants (h(-1)) were 0.025 (hydrolysis of S-nap-g) and 0.0058 (hydrolysis of all acyl-migrated isomers). D2O and MeCN decreased the magnitude of all nine kinetic rate constants by up to 80%. The kinetic rate constants for the degradation of S-nap-g in the mobile phase used for HPLC-1H NMR determined using HPLC-UV could predict the results obtained by the dynamic stopped-flow HPLC-1H NMR experiments of the individual acyl-migrated isomers. It is therefore recommended that beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide degradation kinetics be investigated by HPLC-UV methods once the identification and elution order of the isomers have been established by HPLC-1H NMR.

LC-1H NMR used for determination of the elution order of S-naproxen glucuronide isomers in two isocratic reversed-phase LC-systems

The reactive metabolite S-naproxen-beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide was purified from human urine using solid phase extraction (SPE) and preparative HPLC. The structure was confirmed by 600 MHz 1H NMR. Directly coupled 600 MHz HPLC-1H NMR was used to assign the peaks in chromatograms obtained when analysing a sample containing S-naproxen aglycone and the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-isomers of S-naproxen-beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide in two simple isocratic reversed phase HPLC-systems. Using mobile phase 1 (50 mM formate buffer pH 5.75/acetonitrile 75:25 v/v) the elution order was: 4-O-acyl isomers, beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide, 3-O-acyl isomers, 2-O-acyl isomers, and S-naproxen aglycone. Using mobile phase II (25 mM potassium phosphate pH 7.40/acetonitrile 80:20 v/v) the elution order was: alpha/beta-4-O-acyl isomers, S-naproxen aglycone, beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide, 3-O-acyl isomers, and alpha/beta-2-O-acyl isomers. In both systems the elution order for the 2-, 3- and 4-O-acyl isomers corresponded with previously published results for 2-, 3-, and 4-fluorobenzoic acid glucuronide isomers determined by reversed phase HPLC-1H NMR (U.G. Sidelmann, S.H. Hansen, C. Gavaghan, A.W. Nicholls, H.A.J. Carless, J.C. Lindon, I.D. Wilson, J.K. Nicholson, J. Chromatogr. B Biomed. Appl. 685 (1996) 113-122]. The alpha-1-O-acyl isomer was found to be present at approximately 3% of the initial S-naproxen-beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide concentration in the glucuronide isomer mixture after 6 h of incubation at pH 7.40 and 37 degrees C. In both HPLC systems it eluted just before the beta-1-O-acyl glucuronide well separated from other isomers. Investigators should consider the possible formation of a alpha-1-O-acyl isomer when studying glucuronide reactivity and degradation.