Analysis Of Therapeutic Drugs Research Articles

Sub-ppt Mass Spectrometric Detection of Therapeutic Drugs in Complex Biological Matrixes Using Polystyrene-Microsphere-Coated Paper Spray.

Polystyrene (PS) is a class of polymer materials that offers great potential for various applications. However, the applications of PS microspheres in paper spray mass spectrometry are largely underexplored. Herein we prepared a series of PS microspheres via a simple dispersion polymerization and then used them as coating materials for paper spray mass spectrometry (MS) in high-sensitivity analysis of various therapeutic drugs in complex biological matrixes. In the preparation of PS-coated papers, the coating method was found playing a key role in determining the performance of the resulting paper substrate in addition to other parameters (e.g., starch type and amount, PS coating amount, and spray solvent). We also found that as a solvent was applied on PS-coated paper for paper spray, the analytes of interest would be first extracted out and then moved to the tip of paper triangle for spray along with the applied solvent. In the process, the surface energy of PS particles had a strong impact on the desorption performance of analytes from PS-coated paper substrate, and the PS with a high surface energy favored the elution of analytes to allow a high MS sensitivity. When the prepared PS coated paper was used as a substrate for paper spray, it gave high sensitivity in analysis of therapeutic drugs in various biological matrixes such as whole blood, serum, and urine with excellent repeatability and reproducibility. In contrast to uncoated filter paper, an improvement of 10-546-fold in sensitivity was achieved using PS-coated paper for paper spray, and an estimated lower limit of quantitation (LLOQs) in the range of 0.004-0.084 ng mL-1 was obtained. The present study is significant in exploring the potential of PS for high-sensitivity MS analysis, and it provides a promising platform in the translation of the MS technique to clinical applications.

Metal–organic framework coated paper substrates for paper spray mass spectrometry

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as novel materials owing to their inherent structural characteristics, i.e., a large surface area and a well-ordered porous structure, but there are no reports on their application to paper spray mass spectrometry. Herein we explore the capability of paper substrates coated with three types of MOFs [e.g., MIL-53(Al), ZIF-8 and UiO-66(Zr)] for paper spray, in which the as-prepared UiO-66(Zr) coated paper demonstrated the highest sensitivity in the analysis of therapeutic drugs in dried blood spots relative to MIL-53(Al) and ZIF-8 coated paper substrates. To get a better understanding on the interactions between drugs and MOF coated papers, much effort has been focused on the elution behaviors of target drug verapamil from the MOF coated papers and the adsorption ability of the studied analyte to MOF particles in solution systems. Due to the more favorable elution behaviors and weaker adsorption ability of the tested drugs at the surface of UiO-66(Zr) coated paper relative to the other two papers, the estimated lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) values of the examined drugs with UiO-66(Zr) coated paper have improvements of 8.5–46.6-fold relative to those from uncoated filter paper, and the values were in the range of 0.04–0.65 ng mL−1. Based on the high sensitivity of UiO-66(Zr) coated paper in drug quantitative analysis, the developed paper has also been successfully applied for the analysis of five anti-psychotic drugs (e.g., clozapine, amisulpride, quetiapine, risperidone and aripiprazole) in 40 human blood samples.