Quantifying exploratory low dose compounds in humans with AMS.

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry is an established technology whose essentiality extends beyond simply a better detector for radiolabeled molecules. Attomole sensitivity reduces radioisotope exposures in clinical subjects to the point that no population need be excluded from clinical study. Insights in human physiochemistry are enabled by the quantitative recovery of simplified AMS processes that provide biological concentrations of all labeled metabolites and total compound related material at non-saturating levels. In this paper, we review some of the exploratory applications of AMS (14)C in toxicological, nutritional, and pharmacological research. This body of research addresses the human physiochemistry of important compounds in their own right, but also serves as examples of the analytical methods and clinical practices that are available for studying low dose physiochemistry of candidate therapeutic compounds, helping to broaden the knowledge base of AMS application in pharmaceutical research.

Accelerator mass spectrometry best practices for accuracy and precision in bioanalytical (14)C measurements.

Accelerator mass spectrometers have an energy acceleration and charge exchange between mass definition stages to destroy molecular isobars and allow single ion counting of long-lived isotopes such as (14)C (t½=5370 years.). 'Low' voltage accelerations to 200 kV allow laboratory-sized accelerator mass spectrometers instruments for bioanalytical quantitation of (14)C to 2-3% precision and accuracy in isolated biochemical fractions. After demonstrating this accuracy and precision for our new accelerator mass spectrometer, we discuss the critical aspects of maintaining quantitative accuracy from the defined biological fraction to the accelerator mass spectrometry quantitation. These aspects include sufficient sample mass for routine rapid sample preparation, isotope dilution to assure this mass, isolation of the carbon from other sample combustion gasses and use of high-efficiency biochemical separations. This review seeks to address a bioanalytical audience, who should know that high accuracy data of physiochemical processes within living human subjects are available, as long as a (14)C quantitation can be made indicative of the physiochemistry of interest.

Early human ADME using microdoses and microtracers: bioanalytical considerations.

Quantitative assessment of metabolites of drug candidates in early-phase clinical development presents an analytical challenge when methods, standards and assays are not yet available. Radioisotopic labeling, principally with radiocarbon ((14)C), is the preferred method for discovering and quantifying the absolute yields of metabolites in the absence of reference material or a priori knowledge of the human metabolism. However, the detection of (14)C is inefficient by decay counting methods and, as a result, high radiological human (14)C-doses had been needed to assure sensitive detection of metabolites over time. High radiological doses and the associated costs have been a major obstacle to the routine (and early) use of (14)C despite the recognized advantages of a (14)C-tracer for quantifying drug metabolism and disposition. Accelerator mass spectrometry eliminates this long-standing problem by reducing radioactivity levels while delivering matrix-independent quantitation to attomole levels of sensitivity in small samples or fractionated isolates. Accelerator mass spectrometry and trace (14)C-labeled drugs are now used to obtain early insights into the human metabolism of a drug candidate in ways that were not previously practical. With this article we describe some of our empirically based approaches for regualted bioanalysis and offer perspectives on current applications and opportunities for the future.