Development and validation of a LC-MS/MS assay for quantification of cisplatin in rat plasma and urine.

Till date, no analytical method published to detect Cisplatin has been validated according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We report, a validated LC-MS/MS method for quantitative determination of cisplatin in rat plasma and urine according to FDA guidlines. Cisplatin is a platinum containing compound used for the treatment of different types of cancers. Quantitative determination of cisplatin has been carried out using atomic absorption spectroscopy, high pressure liquid chromatography with phosphorescence, ultra-violet detection, or with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Few LC-MS/MS methods have been reported for the analysis of cisplatin either for direct quantification or indirect by derivatizing with organic compounds but none of the reported methods have validated the method. The developed and validated assay presented here is a highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method developed and validated for the quantitative determination of cisplatin following derivatization with diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) in order to detect platinum (Pt) of cisplatin, suitable for pharmacokinetic studies in rats and to further use it to study human toxicology. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column (3×50mm, 2.7µm) with a binary gradient mobile phase. Quantification was performed on a triple quadruple with electrospray ionization and detection was performed using multiple reaction monitoring. The method has a limit of detection of 1ng/mL, and the quantifiable range was 3-3000ng/mL in rat plasma and urine. The method was accurate and precise with an accuracy and precision for intra-day and inter-day of ±20% for lower limit of quantitation and of ±15% for low, mid and high quality control samples. This method was successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetic profile of cisplatin in rat plasma and urine given a range of doses from 0.5 to 3.5mg/kg.

Characterization of 1-Aminobenzotriazole and Ketoconazole as Novel Inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidase (MAO): An In Vitro Investigation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: 1-Aminobenzotriazole, a known time-dependent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, and ketoconazole, a strong inhibitor of the human CYP3A4 isozyme, are used as standard probe inhibitors to characterize the CYP and/or non-CYP-mediated metabolism of xenobiotics. In the present investigation, 1-Aminobenzotriazole and ketoconazole are characterized as potent monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors in vitro using mouse, rat and human liver microsomes and S9 fractions. METHODS: Inhibition potential of 1-aminobenzotriazole and ketoconazole was studied in mice, rat and human liver microsomes, S9 fractions, MAO-A and MAO-B expressed enzymes by monitoring the formation of 4-hydroxyquinoline (4-HQ) from kynuramine, a specific substrate of MAO by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Mechanism of MAO inhibition was studied by incubating varying concentration of kynuramine with mouse, rat and human S9 fractions at varying concentration of 1-aminobenzatriazole and ketoconazole and monitoring the formation of 4-HQ. RESULTS: 1-aminobenzotriazole and ketoconazole inhibited both MAO isozymes (MAO-A and MAO-B) with more specificity towards MAO-B. Kynuramine substrate kinetics in mouse, rat and human S9 fractions with varying 1-aminobenzotriazole and ketoconazole concentrations showed decreased maximum rate (V max) for 4-HQ formation without affecting the Michaelis-Menten constant (K m). A non-competitive inhibition model was constructed and inhibition constants (K i) for 1-aminobenzotriazole (7.87 ± 0.61, 8.61 ± 0.92, 65.2 ± 1.61 µM for mice, rat and humans, respectively) and ketoconazole (0.12 ± 0.01, 2.04 ± 0.08, 5.52 ± 0.47 µM for mice, rat and humans, respectively) were determined. CONCLUSIONS: 1-Aminobenzotriazole and ketoconazole are characterized as non-competitive inhibitors of mice, rat and human MAO in vitro and the extent of their MAO inhibition potential is species specific. 1-Aminobenzotriazole or ketoconazole can be used as a probe inhibitor in vitro for screening the involvement of MAO-dependent metabolism of new chemical entities (NCE) in early drug discovery.

Mechanism of Drug-Drug Interactions Between Warfarin and Statins.

The anticoagulant drug warfarin and the lipid-lowering statin drugs are commonly co-administered to patients with cardiovascular diseases. Clinically significant drug-drug interactions (DDIs) between these drugs have been recognized through case studies for many years, but the biochemical mechanisms causing these interactions have not been explained fully. Previous theories include kinetic alterations in cytochrome P-450-mediated drug metabolism or disturbances of drug-protein binding, leading to anticoagulant activity of warfarin; however, neither the enantioselective effects on warfarin metabolism nor the potential disruption of drug transporter function have been well investigated. This study investigated the etiology of the DDIs between warfarin and statins. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methods were developed and validated to quantify racemic warfarin, 6 of its hydroxylated metabolites, and pure enantiomers of warfarin; these methods were applied to study the role of different absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion properties, leading to DDIs. Plasma protein binding displacement of warfarin was performed in the presence of statins using equilibrium dialysis method. Substrate kinetics of warfarin and pure enantiomers were performed with human liver microsomes to determine the kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax) for the formation of all 6 hydroxywarfarin metabolites, inhibition of warfarin metabolism in the presence of statins, was determined. Uptake transport studies of warfarin were performed using overexpressing HEK cell lines and efflux transport using human adenocarcinoma colonic cell line cells. Fluvastatin significantly displaced plasma protein binding of warfarin and pure enantiomers; no other statin resulted in significant displacement of warfarin. All the statins that inhibited the formation of 10-hydroxywarfarin, atorvastatin, pitavastatin, and simvastatin were highly potent compared to other statins; in contrast, only fluvastatin was found to be a potent inhibitor of formation of 7-hydroxy warfarin. Uptake and efflux drug transporters do not play any role in these DDIs. The results showed that DDIs between warfarin and statins are primarily caused by cytochrome P-450 inhibition.

Comparison of enzyme kinetics of warfarin analyzed by LC-MS/MS QTrap and differential mobility spectrometry.

Warfarin is an anticoagulant used in the treatment of thrombosis and thromboembolism. It is given as a racemic mixture of R and S enantiomers. These two enantiomers show differences in metabolism by CYPs: S-warfarin undergoes 7 hydroxylation by CYP2C9 and R-warfarin by CYP3A4 to form 10 hydroxy warfarin. In addition, warfarin is acted upon by different CYPs to form the minor metabolites 3'-hydroxy, 4'-hydroxy, 6-hydroxy, and 8-hydroxy warfarin. For analysis, separation of these metabolites is necessary since all have the same m/z ratio and similar fragmentation pattern. Enzyme kinetics for the formation of all of the six hydroxylated metabolites of warfarin from human liver microsomes were determined using an LC-MS/MS QTrap and LC-MS/MS with a differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) (SelexION™) interface to compare the kinetic parameters. These two methods were chosen to compare their selectivity and sensitivity. Substrate curves for 3'-OH, 4'-OH, 6-OH, 7-OH, 8-OH and 10-OH warfarin formation were generated to determine the kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax) in human liver microsomal preparations. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for all the six hydroxylated metabolites of warfarin were in the range of 1-3nM using an LC-MS/MS QTrap method which had a run time of 22min. In contrast, the LOQ for all the six hydroxylated metabolites using DMS interface technology was 100nM with a run time of 2.8min. We compare these two MS methods and discuss the kinetics of metabolite formation for the metabolites generated from racemic warfarin. In addition, we show inhibition of major metabolic pathways of warfarin by sulfaphenazole and ketoconazole which are known specific inhibitors of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 respectively.

Species difference in the in vitro and in vivo metabolism of amtolmetin guacil.

Tolmetin (TMT, CAS 26171-23-3) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated for the relief of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As TMT causes gastro-intestinal side effects like other NSAIDs, its nonacidic prodrug amtolmetin guacil (AMG, CAS 87344-06-7) was synthesized. AMG has similar NSAID properties like TMT with additional gastroprotective property. The aim of this study was to investigate whether TMT and AMG are differentially metabolised in rat and human plasma (fresh and acidified) and liver microsomes. TMT was found to be stable in all the matrices tested viz., rat and human plasma (fresh and acidified) and liver microsomes. AMG was found to be stable only in acidified rat and human plasma. On the contrary, in fresh human plasma and human liver microsomes AMG was rapidly converted to two metabolites, which were subsequently identified as MED5 and MED5 methyl ester, without yielding any intact TMT. However, in rat fresh plasma and liver microsomes, AMG formed MED5 (predominant) and TMT. To corroborate the in vitro findings, in vivo pharmacokinetics (PK) studies were done following separate dosing of AMG in both rats and humans. In rats, the PK data substantiated that following oral administration of AMG it will be converted to TMT resulting in similar PK parameters observed for TMT when it was administered alone. In humans, however, AMG yields low levels of TMT which substantes the in vitro results. Levels of AMG were not detectable in the plasma. These results confirm the species differences in the in vitro and in vivo metabolism and disposition of AMG. More research work to further explore and understand AMG metabolism in humans is required.