Ion-pair Reversed-phase High-performance Liquid Research Articles

HPLC–UV method for simultaneous determination of adenosine triphosphate and its metabolites in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Method for the analysis of intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in Mycobacterium smegmatis that involves rapid extraction procedure based on sonication of cells in perchloric acid, as well as separation of nucleotides by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet (UV) detection at 254 nm, is developed. The analytes were separated with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 50 mM monobasic potassium phosphate (pH 4.6) with 25 mM tetrabutylammonium hydrogensulfate in a ratio of 0.5:99.5% within 30 min. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 20–1000 pmol of ATP and 10–1000 pmol of ADP and AMP with correlation coefficient (r2) of ≥0.9998. The proposed method is applicable for mycobacterium cultures taken over a wide range of optical density and physiological states. Concentrations of ATP, ADP, and AMP in mycobacterial extracts varied from 2.61 ± 0.27 to 9.60 ± 0.19 nmol/mg dry weight, from 1.75 ± 0.12 to 5.86 ± 0.09 nmol/mg dry weight, and from 0.55 ± 0.08 to 4.40 ± 0.07 nmol/mg dry weight, respectively, depending on the physiological state.

Analysis of long dsRNA produced in vitro and in vivo using atomic force microscopy in conjunction with ion-pair reverse-phase HPLC.

Long double-stranded (ds) RNA is emerging as a novel alternative to chemical and genetically-modified insect and fungal management strategies. The ability to produce large quantities of dsRNA in either bacterial systems, by in vitro transcription, in cell-free systems or in planta for RNA interference applications has generated significant demand for the development and application of analytical tools for analysis of dsRNA. We have utilised atomic force microscopy (AFM) in conjunction with ion-pair reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) to provide novel insight into dsRNA for RNAi applications. The AFM analysis enabled direct structural characterisation of the A-form duplex dsRNA and accurate determination of the dsRNA duplex length. Moreover, further analysis under non-denaturing conditions revealed the presence of heterogeneous dsRNA species. IP-RP-HPLC fractionation and AFM analysis revealed that these alternative RNA species do not arise from different lengths of individual dsRNA molecules in the product, but represent misannealed RNA species that present as larger assemblies or multimeric forms of the RNA. These results for the first time provide direct structural insight into dsRNA produced both in vivo in bacterial systems and in vitro, highlighting the structural heterogeneity of RNA produced. These results are the first example of detailed characterisation of the different forms of dsRNA from two production systems and establish atomic force microscopy as an important tool for the characterisation of long dsRNA.

Simple Method for Monitoring Melamine in Food by Ion Pair Chromatography

Abstract A simple, rapid, precise and accurate, ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method is developed to determine melamine in a wide range of food matrices, including several milk-based products. The sample is prepared by protein precipitation with 6M hydrochloric and methanol (1:9). As melamine is present in supernatant in the cationic form, the chromatographic separation in reversed-phase LC requires the use of anionic ion pair reagent, such as 1-Hexanesulfonic acid sodium. This allows a satisfactory chromatographic retention and peak shape in all type of food samples investigated. The separation is performed on a Vetical VertiSepᵀᴹ pH endure C18 column (4.6 id x 250 mm, 5 µm particle size) at room temperature. The mobile phase (0.01 M 1-Hexanesulfonic acid sodium in 50 mM NaH2PO4) is pump at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min with detection at 215 nm. Melamine elutes at 5.4 min. A linear response (r = 0.999) is observed for sample ranging from 5-20 µg/mL. The method provides recoveries of 97.8-100.7% (mean=99.4) with the RSDs (n=5) of 3.34-3.82% in the concentration 5 - 20 µg/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation values is 0.16 and 0.53 µg/mL(s/n=5) respectively.

Determination of Zoledronic Acid and Its Related Substances by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Evaporative Light Scattering Detection.

A method has been developed and validated for analysis of zoledronic acid (ZOL) and its related substances by ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Chromatographic separation was achieved with gradient elution by using a C18 column, mobile phase containing 12 mM ammonium acetate buffer and 35 mM n-pentylamine, whose pH value is 7.0, and 5% acetonitrile. The mobile-phase flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The calibration plot was linear in the range from 0.4 mg/mL to 6.0 mg/mL for ZOL and from 6.25 μg/mL to 100 μg/mL for its related substances. ZOL and its related substances, namely imidazole-1-yl-acetic acid, phosphate, phosphite and degradation products did not interfere with each other. The method was rapid, linear, accurate and reproducible. The high performance liquid chromatographic method that has been developed to determine the related substances and assay of ZOL can be used simultaneously to evaluate the quality of regular samples. It can be also used to test the stability samples of ZOL.

Simultaneous determination of total homocysteine, cysteine, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine in brain homogenates by HPLC.

We have developed a simple, fast, accurate, and cheap method for the simultaneous determination of total cysteine, homocysteine, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine in brain homogenates based on the reduction of disulfide bonds by tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine, pre-column derivatization of free thiol groups with 2-chloro-1-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate followed by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separation with ultraviolet detection. The separation of thiol derivatives was achieved in 10min. Linearity was observed in the range of 10-300, 0.7-10, 2-30, and 3-20μmol/L homogenate with a limit of detection of 3.7, 0.2, 0.8, and 1.2μmol/L homogenate for cysteine, homocysteine, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine, respectively. The precision, calculated as relative standard deviation, was in the range of 1.21-4.77, 1.53-14.35, 0.47-1.92, and 1.61-8.95% for cysteine, homocysteine, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine, respectively. The presented method was successfully applied to the selective determination of total amino thiols in pig brain tissue samples.

Direct and simultaneous determination of methionine sulfoxide and pyroglutamic acid impurities in Compound Amino Acid Injection-18 AA by ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC

A direct and simultaneous determination of methionine sulfoxide and pyroglutamic acid impurities in Compound Amino Acid Injection-18 AA by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection is described. The separation of both impurities in Compound Amino Acid Injection-18 AA was accomplished with gradient elution consisting of acetonitrile and 10 mM diammonium hydrogen phosphate buffer (containing 15 mM sodium 1-heptanesulfonate and obtaining pH 2.3 by addition of phosphoric acid). The limits of detection (μg/mL, S/N = 3:1) and quantification (μg/mL, S/N = 10:1) of methionine sulfoxide and pyroglutamic acid were 0.02 and 0.08, and 0.06 and 0.19, respectively. The linearity was in the range of 0.08–200.20 μg/mL for methionine sulfoxide and 0.19–201.20 μg/mL for pyroglutamic acid. The relatively simple method proved accurate (recovery 99.68–102.98% for methionine sulfoxide, 98.10–102.00% for pyroglutamic acid, n = 9) and precise (repeatability RSD = 1.06% for methionine sulfoxide, RSD = 0.60% for pyroglutamic acid, n = 6) in its application to commercial Compound Amino Acid Injection-18 AA.

A Generic HPLC Method for Absolute Quantification of Oxidation in Monoclonal Antibodies and Fc-Fusion Proteins Using UV and MS Detection.

Oxidation of biopharmaceuticals may affect their bioactivity, serum half-life, and (bio)chemical stability. The Fc domain of IgG monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) contains two methionine residues which are susceptible to oxidation. Here, we present a middle-down approach employing the cysteine protease IdeS under reducing conditions to obtain three mAb subunits of approximately 25 kDa: Fc/2, Fd', and LC. These subunits were separated by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) and detected by UV spectroscopy as well as Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS), as well as MS upon all-ion fragmentation (AIF-MS). We evaluated the feasibility of three strategies for absolute quantification of oxidation in the Fc region of hydrogen peroxide-stressed Rituximab, using a single, commercially available software platform both for data acquisition and evaluation: UV spectroscopy, full-scan MS, and monitoring of product ions obtained by AIF-MS. UV spectroscopy showed the lowest limits of quantification (LOQ) (0.96 ng μL-1) and featured the lowest relative process standard deviation (Vx0%) of 7.2% compared to MS and AIF-MS with LOQs of 1.24-4.32 ng μL-1 and relative process standard deviations of 9.0-14%, respectively. Our approach is generic in that it allows monitoring and quantification of oxidation in the Fc regions of fully human and humanized IgG1 mAbs as well as of Fc-fusion proteins. This is exemplified by limits of detection of 1.2%, 1.0%, and 1.2% of oxidation in drug products containing the biopharmaceuticals Rituximab, Adalimumab, and Etanercept, respectively. The presented method is an attractive alternative to conventional time-intensive peptide mapping which is prone to artificial oxidation due to extensive sample preparation.

Separation of Glutathionate-Protected Gold Clusters by Reversed-Phase Ion-Pair High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Recent studies have demonstrated that reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is a very effective means of separating thiolate (SR)-protected gold clusters (Aun(SR)m). In the present study, we applied RP-HPLC to the separation of hydrophilic glutathionate (SG)-protected Aun(SG)m clusters. To achieve such separation, an ion pair reagent was dissolved in the solution to form ion pairs with the functional groups on the cluster surfaces, improving the interaction between the cluster surfaces and the hydrophobic stationary phase, representing ion pair chromatography. This technique resulted in the high-resolution separation of Aun(SG)m clusters via RP-HPLC. Experiments at different solution pH values led to slight improvements in the resolution, showing that pH adjustment, which modifies the efficiency of the ion pair formation process, is a useful technique for improving this type of separation.

Retention of nucleic acids in ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography depends not only on base composition but also on base sequence.

The study on nucleic acid retention in ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography mainly focuses on size-dependence, however, other factors influencing retention behaviors have not been comprehensively clarified up to date. In this present work, the retention behaviors of oligonucleotides and double-stranded DNAs were investigated on silica-based C18 stationary phase by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. It is found that the retention of oligonucleotides was influenced by base composition and base sequence as well as size, and oligonucleotides prone to self-dimerization have weaker retention than those not prone to self-dimerization but with the same base composition. However, homo-oligonucleotides are suitable for the size-dependent separation as a special case of oligonucleotides. For double-stranded DNAs, the retention is also influenced by base composition and base sequence, as well as size. This may be attributed to the interaction of exposed bases in major or minor grooves with the hydrophobic alky chains of stationary phase. In addition, no specific influence of guanine and cytosine content was confirmed on retention of double-stranded DNAs. Notably, the space effect resulted from the stereostructure of nucleic acids also influences the retention behavior in ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Reduced molecular size and altered disaccharide composition of cerebral chondroitin sulfate upon Alzheimer's pathogenesis in mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive disorder leading to cognitive impairment and neuronal loss. Cerebral extracellular accumulation and deposition of amyloid ß plaques is a pathological hallmark of AD. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is an extracellular component abundant in the brain. CS is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan covalently attached to a core protein, forming chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan. The structure of CS is heterogeneous with sulfation modification and elongation of the chain. The structural diversity of CS allows it to play various roles in the brain. Increasing evidence has shown that CS promotes aggregation of amyloid ß peptides into higher-order species such as insoluble amyloid ß fibrils. Difficulties in the structural analysis of brain CS, as well as its heterogeneity, limit the study of potential roles of CS in AD pathology. Here we established a microanalysis method with reversed-phase ion-pair high performance liquid chromatography and found that CS in the brains of Tg2576 AD model mice show a lower molecular size and an increased ratio of CS-B motif di-sulfated disaccharide. Our findings provide insight into the structural changes of cerebral CS upon Alzheimer's pathogenesis.

Genome-Wide Association Study to Identify Genes Related to Renal Mercury Concentrations in Mice.

Background:Following human mercury (Hg) exposure, the metal accumulates in considerable concentrations in kidney, liver, and brain. Although the toxicokinetics of Hg have been studied extensively, factors responsible for interindividual variation in humans are largely unknown. Differences in accumulation of renal Hg between inbred mouse strains suggest a genetic interstrain variation regulating retention or/and excretion of Hg. A.SW, DBA/2 and BALB/C mouse strains accumulate higher amounts of Hg than B10.S.Objectives:We aimed to find candidate genes associated with regulation of renal Hg concentrations.Methods:A.SW, B10.S and their F1 and F2 offspring were exposed for 6 weeks to 2.0 mg Hg/L drinking water. Genotyping with microsatellites was conducted on 84 F2 mice for genome-wide scanning with ion pair reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP RP HPLC). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) were established. Denaturing HPLC was used to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms for haplotyping and fine mapping in 184 and 32 F2 mice, respectively. Candidate genes (Pprc1, Btrc and Nfkb2) verified by fine mapping and QTL were further investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Genes enhanced by Pprc1 (Nrf1 and Nrf2) were included for gene expression analysis.Results:Renal Hg concentrations differed significantly between A.SW and B10.S mice and between males and females within each strain. QTL analysis showed a peak logarithm of odds ratio score 5.78 on chromosome 19 (p = 0.002). Haplotype and fine mapping associated the Hg accumulation with Pprc1, which encodes PGC-1-related coactivator (PRC), a coactivator for proteins involved in detoxification. Pprc1 and two genes coactivated by Pprc1 (Nrf1 and Nrf2) had significantly lower gene expression in the A.SW strain than in the B10.S strain.Conclusions:This study supports Pprc1 as a key regulator for renal Hg excretion.Citation:Alkaissi H, Ekstrand J, Jawad A, Nielsen JB, Havarinasab S, Soderkvist P, Hultman P. 2016. Genome-wide association study to identify genes related to renal mercury concentrations in mice. Environ Health Perspect 124:920–926; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409284

Reversed‐phase ion‐pair high‐performance liquid chromatography assay of polyprenyl diphosphate oligomer homologues

A reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography procedure was developed for the separation of polyprenyl diphosphate oligomer homologues obtained chemically from plant polyprenols. Tetrabutylammonium phosphate was used as the ion-pair reagent, and the dependence of the separation quality on pH of ion-pair reagent was investigated for the first time. The procedure is applicable for the control of commercial available polyprenyl monophosphates (the active components of veterinary drugs Phosprenyl and Gamapren) for the possible presence of polyprenyl diphosphate byproducts.

Structural peculiarity and antithrombin binding region profile of mucosal bovine and porcine heparins

The major compositional differences between bovine mucosal heparin (BMH) and the currently employed porcine mucosal heparin (PMH) have been reported to essentially consist of reduced 6-O-sulfation of the glucosamine residues in BMH and somewhat lower 2-O-sulfation of the iduronate residues in PMH. The present work is based on direct comparison of several BMH and PMH commercial preparations. A combined study by 2D (heteronuclear single quantum coherence, HSQC) NMR and ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (IPRP-HPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) on the heparins, extended to the analysis of their heparinases digests and fractions separated by affinity chromatography on antithrombin (AT), confirmed the previously reported lower degree of 6-O-sulfation and showed lower 3-O-sulfated glucosamine content in BMH. More detailed studies allowed the identification of structural variants of AT-binding region (ATBR) structural variants, showing higher content of the N-sulfated components in BMH than in PMH.

Simultaneous determination of five active components of compound α-ketoacid tablet in human urine by ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

A simple and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of five active components, D, L-α-hydroxymethionine calcium (HMACa), α-ketovaline calcium (KVCa), D, L-α-ketoisoleucine calcium (KILCa), α-ketoleucine calcium (KLCa) and α-ketophenylalanine calcium (KPACa) of compound α-ketoacid tablet in human urine by ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was developed and validated. The separation conditions, such as the concentration of ion-pair reagent, the pH value of the mobile phase and the concentration of the buffer were optimized. All the five analytes were separated well on a C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with diode array detection at 210 nm and the column temperature of 35 °C. The mobile phases were acetonitrile and 20 mmol/L phosphate buffer (containing 15 mmol/L tetrabutylammonium hydroxide; pH 7) at the flow rate of 1. 0 mL/min with gradient elution. The calibration curves for the five components were linear in the range from 20 to 200 mg/L (r≥ 0. 9990). The limits of detection (LODs, S/N= 3) were 3.0, 5. 0, 3. 6, 5.7 and 2. 5 mg/L, and the limits of quantification (LOQs, S/N= 10) were 9. 6, 16.7, 12.0, 19.0 and 8.3 mg/L for HMACa, KVCa, KILCa, KLCa and KPACa, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 7%, and the average recoveries were between 86.79% and 112. 00% in the human urine with RSDs lower than 9% (n= 5). The method proved precise, specific and reproducible, and can be used for the determination of the five components in urine.

Study on differences of reaction behavior of phenolic hydroxyl groups with vinyl sulfone reactive dyes and monochlorotriazine reactive dyes

Using p-methylphenol as a model compound for phenolic hydroxyl groups on silk fibroin, the reaction kinetics of two typical of reactive dyes including vinyl sulfone reactive dyes and monochlorotriazine reactive dyes with phenolic hydroxyl groups were studied by reverse phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that, the reaction rates of monochlorotriazine reactive dyes with phenolic hydroxyl groups were by far faster than those of vinyl sulfone reactive dyes, attributed to the stability of resultants from the former. The optimum reaction conditions for phenolic hydroxyl groups with vinyl sulfone reactive dyes and monochlorotriazine reactive dyes were at 50–70 °C and pH=8–9 for the former, and at 85–95 °C and pH=8–9 for the latter. The methods and results in this paper would help to deeply study the reaction mechanisms of reactive dyes with silk fibroin.

PH Oscillations and Mechanistic Analysis in the Hydrogen Peroxide–Sulfite–Thiourea Reaction System

A new pH oscillator has been constructed by combining the pH clock reaction H2O2-SO3(2-)-H(+) with thiourea (Tu, (NH2)2CS) as a proton-consuming species. The system exhibited oligo-oscillatory behavior in a closed system, and large amplitude oscillations in a continuous-flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR) were observed in a narrow range of input concentrations, flow rate, and temperature. For the purpose of constructing the kinetic model, a reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometer (MS) were used to track and determine intermediate species during the oxidation of thiourea by hydrogen peroxide. Experimental results illustrated that the four species: thiourea monoxide (TuO), formamidine disulfide (Tu2(2+)), thiourea dioxide (TuO2), and thiourea trioxide (TuO3) were formed during the oxidation process. A ten-step mechanistic model was proposed, where TuO was another key species participating in two proton feedback loops in addition to bisulfite. Numerical simulations based on this model agreed well with the experimental results.

Ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography method for the quantification of isoaspartic acid in a monoclonal antibody

Isomerization of aspartic acid residues is one of the major causes of chemical degradation during the shelf life of biological pharmaceuticals. Monoclonal antibody biopharmaceuticals are typically stored at mildly acidic pH conditions, which can lead to the isomerization reaction. The mechanism of this non-enzymatic chemical reaction has been studied in great detail. However, the identification and quantification of the isomerization sites in a given protein still remains a challenge. We developed an ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC method for the separation of an intact monoclonal antibody variant containing a single isoaspartic acid residue from its native counterpart. We identified and characterized the isomerization site using ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC mass spectrometry methods of the reduced and alkylated antibody and the enzymatically cleaved antibody. Lys-C followed by Asp-N digestion of the antibody was used for the identification of the isomerization site. Electron transfer dissociation (ETD) mass spectrometry was used to confirm the isomerization site at a DY motif at an aspartic acid residue in the CDR-H3 region of the antibody. Tyrosine at the C-terminus of an aspartic acid residue is typically not regarded as a hot spot for isomerization. Our findings suggest that it is not possible to predict isomerization sites in proteins with confidence and all aspartic acid residues located in the CDR regions of antibodies must be considered as potential isomerization site due to the solvent exposure or the flexibility of these regions of the molecule. Additionally, the effect of the pH on the isomerization rate was evaluated using the ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC method, showing that at a lower pH the isomerization rate is faster. Storage at 25°C for 6 months resulted in an increase of the amount of isoaspartic acid to 6.6% at pH 5.4, 6.0% at pH 5.8, and 5.6% at pH 6.2.

Speciation of [PtIVCl6-nBrn]2- (n = 0-6) and some of their mono-aquated [PtIVCl5-nBrn(H2O)]- (n = 0-5) anions in solution at low concentrations by means of ion-pairing reversed-phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ion

The speciation of the purely inorganic [PtCl6-n Brn](2-) (n = 0-6) anions and their corresponding mono-aquated [PtCl5-n Brn (H2O)](-) (n = 0-5) anions is of considerable importance to the precious metal refining and recycling industry, to ensure optimum recovery and separation efficiencies. Speciation of platinum complexes present in precursor solutions used for the preparation of precious metal nano-crystals of defined size and morphology appears also to be important. The various possible Pt(IV) complex anions in dilute aqueous can be characterized using ion-pairing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOFMS). Ion-pairing reversed-phase ultra-high-performance LC separation of the Pt(IV) complex anions present in aqueous solutions prior to detection by means of high-resolution ESI-Q-TOFMS using a low ESI source cone voltage (5 V) allows for the clear identification of all the platinum complexes from the characteristic pattern of fragment ions (m/z), presumably generated by 'reductive conversion' in the ESI source of the mass spectrometer. Sufficient chromatographic resolution for the series of Pt(IV) complexes is achieved using the (n-butyl)3 NH(+) ion generated in a formic acid/water/methanol (pH ~3.5) mobile phase. This mobile phase composition facilitates a low-background for optimal ESI-Q-TOFMS detection with enhanced sensitivity. Direct-infusion mass spectrometry of the inorganic platinum complexes in aqueous solution is impractical due to their low volatility, but more importantly as a result of the very extensive series of fragment ions generated in the ESI source, which leads to virtually uninterpretable mass spectra. However, with prior separation, and by using low ESI cone voltages (5 V), the mass spectra of the separated analyte ions show simpler and systematic fragmentation patterns [Pt(IV) X5](-) → [Pt(III) X4 ](-) → [Pt(II) X3](-) → [Pt(I)X2 ](-) (X = Cl(-) and Br(-)), resulting in clear assignments. This methodology facilitates the characterization of the partially aquated [PtCl5-n Brn (H2O)](-) (n = 0-5) anions derived from the homo- and heteroleptic [PtCl6-n Brn](2-) (n = 0-6) anions, in equilibrated solutions at low concentrations. Speciation of homo- and heteroleptic [PtCl6-n Brn](2-) (n = 0-6) anions, together with some of their partially aquated [PtCl5-n Brn (H2O)](-) (n = 0-5) species in dilute solution, can successfully be carried out by means of prior ion-pairing reversed-phase LC separation coupled to high-resolution ESI-Q-TOFMS at low ESI cone-voltage settings.

Determination of spectinomycin and related substances by HPLC coupled with evaporative light scattering detection

An improved ion-pairing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) was developed to determine spectinomycin and its related substances in commercial samples. The method was validated in accordance with International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The specificity of the HPLC-ELSD method was similar to that of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) method, and repeatability and robustness were markedly improved relative to other reported methods due to our empirical evaluation of separation columns. Indeed, it is a more specific assay of spectinomycin than traditional microbiological techniques. The HPLC-ELSD method was used to evaluate the impurity profiles of eight compounds in seven spectinomycin batches from five different companies. Liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) was employed to characterize the structures of these compounds. Though the HPLC...

Structural features of glycol-split low-molecular-weight heparins and their heparin lyase generated fragments

Periodate oxidation followed by borohydride reduction converts the well-known antithrombotics heparin and low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) into their "glycol-split" (gs) derivatives of the "reduced oxyheparin" (RO) type, some of which are currently being developed as potential anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs. Whereas the structure of gs-heparins has been recently studied, details of the more complex and more bioavailable gs-LMWHs have not been yet reported. We obtained RO derivatives of the three most common LMWHs (tinzaparin, enoxaparin, and dalteparin) and studied their structures by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis was extended to their heparinase-generated oligosaccharides. The combined NMR/LC-MS analysis of RO-LMWHs provided evidence for glycol-splitting-induced transformations mainly involving internal nonsulfated glucuronic and iduronic acid residues (including partial hydrolysis with formation of "remnants") and for the hydrolysis of the gs uronic acid residues when formed at the non-reducing ends (mainly, in RO-dalteparin). Evidence for minor modifications, such as ring contraction of some dalteparin internal aminosugar residues, was also obtained. Unexpectedly, the N-sulfated 1,6-anhydromannosamine residues at the enoxaparin reducing end were found to be susceptible to the periodate oxidation. In addition, in tinzaparin and enoxaparin, the borohydride reduction converts the hemiacetalic aminosugars at the reducing end to alditols. Typical LC-MS signatures of RO-derivatives of individual LMWH both before and after digestion with heparinases included oligosaccharides generated from the original antithrombin-binding and "linkage" regions.