Effects of organic modifier and temperature on the enantiomeric separation of several azole drugs using supercritical fluid chromatography and the Chiralpak AD column.

The effects of organic modifier and temperature on the enantioseparation of 10 triazoles and eight imidazoles, using supercritical fluid chromatography with the Chiralpak AD column, have been investigated in this work. For this purpose four different organic modifiers (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol and acetonitrile) were evaluated. Only in the case of two compounds could the enantiomeric separation not be achieved with any of the modifiers tested; the rest of compounds were baseline or partially resolved with at least one of the modifiers. The alcohol-type modifiers provided the best results in terms of retention time and resolution. In general, retention increased in the order methanol < ethanol < 2-propanol; moreover it was possible to establish a relationship between the retention and the number of aromatic rings and dioxolane groups in the molecule, that is, the higher the number is, the higher the retention time. From the study of the temperature effect, the enthalpy-entropy compensation was demonstrated for all the compounds, except for bifonazole using methanol and miconazole using acetonitrile. This suggested that both analytes are enantiomerically resolved through different mechanisms.

Liquid chromatography coupled to ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry to evaluate juvenile hormone III levels in bee hemolymph from Nosema spp. infected colonies.

It has been described a fast, simple and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to measure juvenile hormone III (JH III), which was used to study of the effects of Nosema spp. infection on JH III levels in bee hemolymph. Honey bee hemolymph was extracted by centrifugation and mixed with a solution of phenylthiourea in methanol. This mixture was then centrifuged and the supernatant removed and evaporated to dryness. The residue was reconstituted in methanol containing the internal standard (methoprene) and injected onto an LC-MS/MS (ion-trap) system coupled to electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive mode. Chromatography was performed on a Synergi Hydro-RP column (4 µm, 30 mm × 4.60 mm i.d.) using a mobile phase of 20 mM ammonium formate and methanol in binary gradient elution mode. The method was fully validated and it was found to be selective, linear from 15 to 14,562 pg/µL, precise and accurate, with %RSD values below 5%. The limits of detection and quantification were: LOD, 6 pg/µL; LOQ, 15 pg/µL. Finally, the proposed LC-MS/MS method was used to analyze JH III levels in the hemolymph of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera iberiensis) experimentally infected with different Nosema spp. (Nosema apis, Spanish and Dutch Nosema ceranae strains). The highest concentrations of JH III were detected in hemolymph from bees infected with Spanish N. ceranae.

Supercritical fluid extraction of free amino acids from broccoli leaves.

The extraction of free amino acids (AAs) from broccoli leaves using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with CO(2) modified with methanol, is presented in this work. The effect of the different variables was studied, showing the percentage of methanol a strong influence on the extraction. The best results in terms of extraction yield were obtained at 250 bar, 70°C, 35% methanol as organic modifier, a flow rate of 2 mL/min, and 5 min and 30 min as static and dynamic extraction times, respectively. The extraction yield obtained with the SFE method was comparable to that obtained employing conventional solvent extraction with methanol-water (70:30) and minor than using water, but the relative proportion of the AAs in the extracts was very different. For example, the use of SFE allowed the enrichment in proline and glutamine of the extracts. The selected conditions were applied to obtain SFE extracts of broccoli leaves from different varieties (Naxos, Nubia, Marathon, Parthenon and Viola). The highest levels of AAs were found in the SFE extracts from the Nubia variety.

Determination of tylosins A, B, C and D in bee larvae by liquid chromatography coupled to ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry.

A LC-MS/MS method has been developed to simultaneously quantify tylosins A, B, C and D in bee larvae, compounds currently used to treat one of the most lethal diseases affecting honey bees around the world, American Foulbrood (AFB). The influence of different aqueous media, temperature and light exposure on the stability of these four compounds was studied. The analytes were extracted from bee larvae with methanol and chromatographic separation was achieved on a Luna C(18) (150 × 4.6 mm i.d.) using a ternary gradient composed of a diluted formic acid, methanol and acetonitrile mobile phase. To facilitate sampling, bee larvae were initially dried at 60°C for 4h and afterwards, they were diluted to avoid problems of pressure. MSD-Ion Trap detection was employed with electrospray ionization (ESI). The calibration curves were linear over a wide range of concentrations and the method was validated as sensitive, precise and accurate within the limits of quantification (LOQ, 1.4-4.0 ng/g). The validated method was successfully employed to study bee larvae in field tests of bee hives treated with two formulations containing tylosin. In both cases it was evident that the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) had been reached.

Study of the enantiomeric separation of an acetamide intermediate by using supercritical fluid chromatography and several polysaccharide based chiral stationary phases.

Four chiral stationary phases, based on the phenylcarbamate derivatives of amylose or cellulose: Chiralcel OD-H, Chiralpak AD, Lux Cellulose-2 and Lux Amylose-2, were evaluated for the enantiomeric separation of an acetamide chiral intermediate, the (4S-trans)-4-(ethylamino)-4-(N-acetamide)-5,6-dihydro-(6S)-methyl-4H-thieno-[2,3-b]thiopyran-7,7-dioxide, using SFC. The effect of the different modifiers and temperatures, on the separation, was also studied. The chiral separation could not be achieved using the Chiralpak AD column, nevertheless the other columns provided excellent results with analysis times close to 6 min and resolutions higher than 2. The highest enantioresolutions and retentions were obtained with the Lux Cellulose-2 column and 2-propanol as organic modifier. The isoelution temperatures were estimated from the van't Hoff plots, and in all the cases they were above the temperature range studied which means that the enantiomeric separation was enthalpy driven.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-fluorescence-mass spectrometry method to measure glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid in rat plasma.

A simple and fast method has been developed and validated to measure glyphosate (GLYP) and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in rat plasma based on reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled to fluorescence (FLD) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) detection. After protein precipitation with acetonitrile, GLYP and AMPA were derivatized with 9-fluorenylmethylchloroformate (FMOC-Cl) and then separated on a C(12) column (250mm×4.60mm i.d.) using a gradient of an ammonium formate (20mM, pH 8.5) and acetonitrile mobile phase. Selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode of the MS was used to obtain maximum sensitivity when quantifying GLYP and AMPA. The validation shows the method to be consistent and reliable, with an intra- and inter-day precision for GLYP and AMPA>9% for both detectors. For both compounds the accuracy ranged from 2.1% to 7.8% for the intra-day readings, and from 4.1% to 8.6% for the inter-day values. The efficacy of GLYP extraction ranged from 87% to 93% and it was between 76% and 88% for AMPA. Moreover, the limits of quantification (LOQ) for GLYP and AMPA were 5 and 10ng/mL, respectively with FLD, and 0.4 and 2ng/mL with ESI-MS. The method was successfully applied to simultaneously measure both compounds in rat plasma samples several days after oral administration of glyphosate.

Overview of pesticide residues in stored pollen and their potential effect on bee colony (Apis mellifera) losses in Spain.

In the last decade, an increase in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony losses has been reported in several countries. The causes of this decline are still not clear. This study was set out to evaluate the pesticide residues in stored pollen from honey bee colonies and their possible impact on honey bee losses in Spain. In total, 1,021 professional apiaries were randomly selected. All pollen samples were subjected to multiresidue analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (MS) and liquid chromatography-MS; moreover, specific methods were applied for neonicotinoids and fipronil. A palynological analysis also was carried out to confirm the type of foraging crop. Pesticide residues were detected in 42% of samples collected in spring, and only in 31% of samples collected in autumn. Fluvalinate and chlorfenvinphos were the most frequently detected pesticides in the analyzed samples. Fipronil was detected in 3.7% of all the spring samples but never in autumn samples, and neonicotinoid residues were not detected. More than 47.8% of stored pollen samples belonged to wild vegetation, and sunflower (Heliantus spp.) pollen was only detected in 10.4% of the samples. A direct relation between pesticide residues found in stored pollen samples and colony losses was not evident accordingly to the obtained results. Further studies are necessary to determine the possible role of the most frequent and abundant pesticides (such as acaricides) and the synergism among them and with other pathogens more prevalent in Spain.

Profile and relative concentrations of fatty acids in corn and soybean seeds from transgenic and isogenic crops.

In this work 44 fatty acids, which were analyzed as methyl esters by GC/MS in scan mode, have been determined in genetically modified corn and soybean seeds. Their relative concentrations have been compared with those of isogenic lines grown in the same conditions. Studied compounds comprised saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, including cis/trans isomers and minor fatty acids. A classical soxhlet extraction and an accelerated solvent extraction have been assayed to extract the fatty compounds from seeds and the GC separation has been carried out on a biscyanopropylpolysiloxane chromatographic column. Soxhlet extraction was selected as the most convenient and applied to compare the samples. Specific compounds, which could denote the origin of the crop have not been observed, but for some sample pairs, significant differences have been found in relation to the percentage of certain acids; the highest differences for major acids were 4.1% in corn and 4.8% in soybean. The concentrations of long chain acids such as 24:0, 26:0 and 28:0 were higher in some isogenic lines whereas the concentrations of short chain acids such as 6:0, 8:0, 9:0, 10:0 and 12:0 were higher in their transgenic counterparts.

Toxicokinetics of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphonic acid in rats.

The toxicokinetics of glyphosate after single 100 mgkg(-1) intravenous (i.v.) and 400 mgkg(-1) oral doses were studied in rats. Serial blood samples were obtained after i.v. and oral administration. Plasma concentrations of glyphosate and its metabolite amiomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA) were determined by HPLC method. After i.v. and oral administration, plasma concentration-time curves were best described by a two-compartment open model. For glyphosate, the elimination half-lives (T(1/2beta)) from plasma were 9.99 h after i.v. and 14.38 h after oral administration. The total plasma clearance was not influenced by dose concentration or route and reached a value of 0.995 l h(-1)kg(-1). After i.v. administration, the apparent volume of distribution in the second compartment (V(2)) and volume of distribution at steady state (V(ss)) were 2.39 and 2.99 l kg(-1), respectively, suggesting a considerable diffusion of the herbicide into tissues. After oral administration, glyphosate was partially and slowly absorbed with a T(max) of 5.16 h. The oral bioavailability of glyphosate was found to be 23.21%. Glyphosate was converted to AMPA. The metabolite AMPA represented 6.49% of the parent drug plasma concentrations. The maximum plasma concentrations of glyphosate and AMPA were 4.62 and 0.416 microg ml(-1), respectively. The maximum plasma concentration of AMPA was achieved at 2.42 h. For AMPA, the elimination half-life (T(1/2beta)) was 15.08 h after oral administration of glyphosate parent compound.

Comparative study of sample preparation procedures to determine fipronil in pollen by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric and electron-capture detection.

Several sample preparation methods have been assayed to analyze residues of fipronil in pollen at trace concentrations. Extraction with organic solvents, solid-phase extraction on either commercial cartridges or a Florisil-packed column and a matrix solid-phase dispersion, also with Florisil as a dispersing agent, have been tested. Determination of fipronil in the extracts has been carried out by GC with electron-capture and mass spectrometric detection. An extraction with acetonitrile followed by a clean-up on ODS or polymeric cartridges was the most suitable procedure to obtain acceptable recoveries and relatively simple chromatograms. The matrix-effects observed in the quantification can be corrected with a matrix-matched calibration.

Semipreparative enantiomeric separation of omeprazole by supercritical fluid chromatography.

Omeprazole, a widely used antiulcer drug, has been enantiomerically separated at semipreparative scale on a polysaccharide based chiral stationary phase by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). For this work, a modular supercritical fluid chromatograph was adapted to operate at semipreparative scale and a Chiralpak AD (250 mm x 10 mm) column was used. The effect of two organic modifiers (ethanol and 2-propanol) was studied, and different injection volumes and concentrations of the omeprazole racemic mixture were evaluated in order to obtain high enantiomeric purities and production rates. Better results were achieved using concentration overloading instead of volume overloading. The recoveries decreased when the requirements of enantiomeric purity or the load increased, but it was possible to recover 100% of both enantiomers at an enantiomeric purity higher than 99.9% under some loading conditions, like injecting 1 and 2 ml of a solution of 3g/l. As far as production rates are concerned, the best result for S-(-)-omeprazole at that purity (27.2mg/h) was achieved with sample concentrations of 10 g/l and the injection of 2 ml, while a volume of 4 ml was better in the case of R-(+)-omeprazole (20.5mg/h).

Study of the enantiomeric separation of oxfendazole and cetirizine using subcritical fluid chromatography on an amylose-based column.

The enantiomeric separation of cetirizine and oxfendazole on a Chiralpak AD column using subcritical fluid chromatography has been studied in this work. The enantioseparation of cetirizine was only possible when 2-propanol was used as a modifier, obtaining better results in presence of the additives triethylamine (TEA) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFAA). On the contrary, 2-propanol provided the lowest enantioresolutions for oxfendazole, in this case the best results in terms of high resolution and short analysis time were obtained with ethanol. The study of the temperature effect revealed that in the case of cetirizine using 2-propanol, and oxfendazole using methanol, the separation was enthalpy-driven and the isoelution temperature was above the working range. Using ethanol or 2-propanol, the results showed that the oxfendazole enantioseparation was entropically driven and the isoelution temperatures were below the range studied.

Trace analysis of tiamulin in honey by liquid chromatography-diode array-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection.

A liquid chromatography with diode array or electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry detection (LC-DAD-ESI-MS) method for the determination of tiamulin residues in honey is presented. The procedure employs a solid-phase extraction (SPE) on polymeric cartridges for the isolation of tiamulin from honey samples diluted in aqueous solution of tartaric acid. Chromatographic separation of the tiamulin is performed, in isocratic mode, on a C18 column using methanol and ammonium carbonate 0.1% in water, in proportion (30:70, v/v). Average analyte recoveries were from 88 to 106% in replica sets of fortified honey samples. The LC-ESI-MS method detection limits differ from 0.5 microg kg(-1) for clear honeys to 1.2 microg kg(-1) for dark honeys. The developed method has been applied to the analysis of tiamulin residues in multifloral honey samples collected from veterinary treated beehives.

[Cholesterol, alpha-tocopherol, and retinoid concentrations in silicone oil used as a vitreous substitute]. / concentraciones de colesterol, alfa-tocoferol y retinoides en aceite de silicona tras su utilización como sustitutivo vítreo.

OBJECTIVE: To verify the existence of organic lipophylic compounds in silicone oil extracted from human eyes following its use for previous retinal detachment, and to determine the intraocular permanence time of these substances in the oil. METHODS: Concentrations of retinoic acid, retinol, retinal, cholesterol and alpha-tocopherol were detected by HPLC in 23 samples of silicone oil extracted from patients with complicated retinal detachments. The time interval between the time of injection of the silicone oil and the subsequent assessment varied from 3 to 50 months (the permanence time). RESULTS: All tested compounds were found in the samples, but these were most commonly cholesterol and less frequently alpha-tocopherol. There was an inverse relationship between retinoic acid concentration and age (p=0.023), and a direct relationship between cholesterol concentration and permanence time (p=0.0008) at least up to 20 months. CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm that silicone oil is not an inert substance but is capable of extracting lipophylic compounds from the intraocular tissues. There is a clear linear elevation of cholesterol levels with increased intraocular permanence time. This finding could be used to further establish a safe permanence time for intraocular silicone oil used in ophthalmologic surgery. More studies with larger samples are warranted to evaluate this further.

LC-ESI-MSD fast determination of residual mitomycin C in hen aqueous humour after corneal refractive surgery.

A simple, fast and reliable method has been developed for the assay of traces of mitomycin C (MMC) in hen aqueous humour samples. The determination was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection. In isocratic elution analysis, the mobile phase was a mixture of water-acetonitrile (78:22, v/v) and the chromatographic column was C(18) at 35 degrees C. The method has been validated over a range from 0.1 to 250 microg L(-1) in hen aqueous humour with correlation coefficients higher than 0.999. Limit of detection and limit of quantification for MMC based in signal to noise ratio of 3 and 10, respectively, were 20 and 71 ng L(-1). The developed method allows the analysis of MMC in hen aqueous humour samples obtained at different times and conditions in order to evaluate and compare the efficacy of the drug administration.

Comparative study of the enantioselective separation of several antiulcer drugs by high-performance liquid chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography.

A comparative study of the enantiomeric separation of several antiulcer drugs such as omeprazole, lansoprazole, rabeprazole and pantoprazole using HPLC and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) on the Chrialpak AD column is presented in this work. The results show that employing the above mentioned column only two compounds (omeprazole and pantoprazole) could be enantiomerically resolved using HPLC, on the contrary SFC allowed the enantiomeric separation of all the compounds studied with higher resolutions and lower analysis times.

Chiral separation of some triazole pesticides by supercritical fluid chromatography.

The enantiomeric separation of six triazole pesticides: cyproconazole, propiconazole, diniconazole, hexaconazole, tebuconazole and tetraconazole, using supercritical fluid chromatography and the Chiralpak AD column, is presented in this work. The effect of different organic modifiers such as methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol on the retention and resolution was studied as well as the presence of additives in the mobile phase. The results obtained were highly successful, all the compounds were enantiomerically separated and in most of the cases the analysis time was close to 10 min. The type of organic modifier that provided the best results depended on the compound.

Use of semipreparative supercritical fluid chromatography to obtain small quantities of the albendazole sulfoxide enantiomers.

The semipreparative separation of the albendazole sulfoxide enantiomers using chiral supercritical fluid chromatography is presented in this work. For this purpose, a modular SFC chromatograph was adapted to work at semipreparative scale and a Chiralpak AD (250 x 10 mm) column was used. Different injection volumes were evaluated in order to obtain high purities and throughputs. Using the maximum load, it was possible to obtain 37 mg/h of the first eluted enantiomer with a purity of 99.9%, and 36.5 mg/h of the second eluted enantiomer with a purity of 95%.

Separation of triadimefon and triadimenol enantiomers and diastereoisomers by supercritical fluid chromatography.

The enantiomeric separation of triadimenol and triadimefon on a Chiralpak AD column using supercritical fluid chromatography, was studied in this work. The effect of different modifiers (methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol) was tested, with methanol and ethanol providing the best results for the enantiomeric separation of the two compounds. The enantioseparation of a mixture of triadimenol and triadimefon (six stereoisomers) was achieved in only 15 min using a gradient of ethanol, 200 bar, 35 degrees C and a flow-rate of 2 ml/min. The separation of triadimenol diastereoisomers on different achiral columns (diol, silica and ODS) was also investigated. In this case, the type of organic modifier to be used depended on the stationary phase, the Spherex Diol being the column that gave the best separation. Using this column, resolutions higher than 3 were obtained in analysis times of 5 min with any of the modifiers checked.

Factors affecting the extraction, hydrolysis and derivatization steps for the quantitation of total residues of amitraz in honey by gas chromatography with electron capture detection.

A study about the most adequate conditions for the determination of the amitraz total residues in honey by gas chromatography is presented. Solvent and solid phase extraction procedures as well as the influence of several parameters on the extraction, hydrolysis and derivatization steps are considered. Solid phase extraction on ODS cartridges was found to be not reliable for the determination of total residues, because recovery for 2,4-dimethylaniline (DMA) was poor. Liquid-liquid extraction with hexane was accomplished in a single step and was more reproducible. The pH of the aqueous solution had to be set at pH 11 to achieve extraction of DMA. The derivatization of DMA with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA) was practically instantaneous at room temperature.