Solid phase microextraction combined with thermal-desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for high-throughput pharmacokinetics assays

Recent advances in the use of SPME for drug analysis in clinical, toxicological, and forensic medicine studies

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has gained attention as a simple, fast, and non-exhaustive extraction technique, as its unique features enable its use for the extraction of many classes of drugs from biological matrices. This sample-preparation approach consolidates sampling and sample preparation into a single step, in addition to providing analyte preconcentration and sample clean-up. These features have helped SPME become an integral part of several analytical protocols for monitoring drug concentrations in human matrices in clinical, toxicological, and forensic medicine studies. Over the years, researchers have continued to develop the SPME technique, resulting in the introduction of novel sorbents and geometries, which have resulted in improved extraction efficiencies. This review summarizes developments and applications of SPME published between 2016 and 2022, specifically in relation to the analysis of central nervous system drugs, drugs used to treat cardiovascular disorders and bacterial infections, and drugs used in immunosuppressive and anticancer therapies.

Direct Coupling of SPME to Mass Spectrometry

Solid-phase microextraction devices are normally analyzed by gas or liquid chromatography. Their use has become increasingly widespread since their introduction in 1990, and nowadays most analytical laboratories use or have used SPME as an efficient and green method to perform analyte extraction and sample clean-up in one step. The SPME technique is intrinsically flexible, and allows for a high degree of optimization with regard to the extracting phase, as well as the way sample is analyzed. Since its introduction, researchers have been trying different ways to transfer analytes extracted from the solid phase to a mass spectrometer, with the aim to increase throughput and reduce solvent, gas usage and costs associated with conventional chromatographic techniques. Furthermore, but not less important, for pure fun of developing new, more efficient and sensitive analytical strategies! This chapter aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the most relevant non-chromatographic mass spectrometric approaches developed for SPME. Technical aspects of each SPME-MS approach will be discussed, highlighting their advantages, disadvantages and future potential developments. Particular emphasis will be given on the most recent direct coupling approaches using novel ionization approaches, and a concise overview of the existing applications will also be provided.

Avatar-like body imaging of dermal exposure to melamine in factory workers analyzed by ambient mass spectrometry

Ambient mass spectrometry thermal desorption-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS) can rapidly identify chemicals without pretreatment of biological samples. This study used a rapid semi-quantitative TD-ESI/MS screening technique for the probe skin sampling of melamine workers occupationally exposed to different ambient melamine concentrations to create avatar-like body images, which were then used to study temporal and dynamic changes in nephrotoxic melamine exposure. We enrolled four voluntary melamine workers from one factory, each from one of four worksites. Melamine exposure was highest in manufacturing and molding, followed by grinding and polishing, packing, and administration, the lowest. Skin samples were collected Friday (end-of-shift) and Monday (pre-shift). Early morning one-spot urine samples were also collected right after skin sampling. 2198 probe skin samples were collected and subjected to semi-quantitative TD-ESI/MS analyses of melamine chemical within 40 h. After normalization, converted body image scores revealed exposure to be highest in the manufacturing worker on Friday and lowest in the administrative worker on Monday. The absolute differences (Friday minus Monday) of normalized body image scores were all significantly positive in each individual worker and across all four workers (permutation test, all p-values < 0.002). The slope estimates of the linear regression line between body image scores and urinary melamine levels were 0.81 (p-value = 0.008). We concluded that this fast and non-invasive technique can potentially be used to study temporal and dynamic changes in exposure to occupational hazards. A future study of developing an automatic and reproducible TD-ESI/MS sampling platform is needed.

Solventless Microextration Techniques for Pharmaceutical Analysis: The Greener Solution

Extensive efforts have been made in the last decades to simplify the holistic sample preparation process. The idea of maximizing the extraction efficiency along with the reduction of extraction time, minimization/elimination of hazardous solvents, and miniaturization of the extraction device, eliminating sample pre- and posttreatment steps and reducing the sample volume requirement is always the goal for an analyst as it ensures the method’s congruency with the green analytical chemistry (GAC) principles and steps toward sustainability. In this context, the microextraction techniques such as solid-phase microextraction (SPME), stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS), fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE), in-tube extraction dynamic headspace (ITEX-DHS), and PAL SPME Arrow are being very active areas of research. To help transition into wider applications, the new solventless microextraction techniques have to be commercialized, automated, and validated, and their operating principles to be anchored to theory. In this work, the benefits and drawbacks of the advanced microextraction techniques will be discussed and compared, together with their applicability to the analysis of pharmaceuticals in different matrices.

Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for clinical diagnostics

Mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool used for the analysis of a wide range of substances and matrices; it is increasingly utilized for clinical applications in laboratory medicine. This Primer includes an overview of basic mass spectrometry concepts, focusing primarily on tandem mass spectrometry. We discuss experimental considerations and quality management, and provide an overview of some key applications in the clinic. Lastly, the Primer discusses significant challenges for implementation of mass spectrometry in clinical laboratories and provides an outlook of where there are emerging clinical applications for this technology.

Tandem mass spectrometry is increasingly utilized for clinical applications in laboratory medicine. In this Primer, Thomas et al. discuss experimental considerations and quality management for implementing clinical tandem mass spectrometry in the clinic with an overview of some key applications.

Pharmacometabonomics: data processing and statistical analysis

Individual variations in drug efficacy, side effects and adverse drug reactions are still challenging that cannot be ignored in drug research and development. The aim of pharmacometabonomics is to better understand the pharmacokinetic properties of drugs and monitor the drug effects on specific metabolic pathways. Here, we systematically reviewed the recent technological advances in pharmacometabonomics for better understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of diseases as well as the metabolic effects of drugs on bodies. First, the advantages and disadvantages of all mainstream analytical techniques were compared. Second, many data processing strategies including filtering, missing value imputation, quality control-based correction, transformation, normalization together with the methods implemented in each step were discussed. Third, various feature selection and feature extraction algorithms commonly applied in pharmacometabonomics were described. Finally, the databases that facilitate current pharmacometabonomics were collected and discussed. All in all, this review provided guidance for researchers engaged in pharmacometabonomics and metabolomics, and it would promote the wide application of metabolomics in drug research and personalized medicine.

Hyphenated sample preparation-electrospray and nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for biofluid analysis

Stand-alone electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been advancing through enhancements in throughput, selectivity and sensitivity of mass spectrometers. Unlike traditional MS techniques which usually require extensive offline sample preparation and chromatographic separation, many sample preparation techniques are now directly coupled with stand-alone MS to enable outstanding throughput for bioanalysis. In this review, we summarize the different sample clean-up and/or analyte enrichment strategies that can be directly coupled with ESI-MS and nano-ESI-MS for the analysis of biological fluids. The overview covers the hyphenation of different sample preparation techniques including solid phase extraction (SPE), solid phase micro-extraction (SPME), slug flow micro-extraction/nano-extraction (SFME/SFNE), liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA), extraction electrospray, extraction using digital microfluidics (DMF), and electrokinetic extraction (EkE) with ESI-MS and nano-ESI-MS.

Recent Applications of Solid Phase Microextraction Coupled to Liquid Chromatography

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) is one of the most popular sample preparation methods which can be applied to organic compounds allowing the simultaneous extraction and pre-concentration of analytes from the sample matrix. It is based on the partitioning of the analyte between the extracting phase, generally immobilized on a fiber substrate, and the matrix (water, air, etc.), and has numerous advantages such as rapidity, simplicity, low cost, ease of use and automation, and absence of toxic solvents. Fiber SPME has been widely used in combination with various analytical instrumentation even if most of the work has been done coupling the extraction technique with gas and liquid chromatography (GC and LC). This manuscript presents an overview of the recent works (from 2010 to date) of solid phase microextraction coupled to liquid chromatography (SPME-LC) relevant to analytical applications performed using commercially available fibers or lab-made fibers already developed in previous papers, and to improved instrumental systems and approaches.

Wire Desorption Combined with Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Direct Analysis of Small Organic and Large Biological Compounds

A novel atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry based on wire desorption and electrospray ionization (WD-ESI) for direct analysis was developed to characterize chemical compounds with different polarities and thermal stabilities at atmospheric pressure. This technique is a variant of the thermal desorption electrospray ion source developed by Shiea et al. One large improvement is that the heating speed (>500 °C/s) of the thermal desorption in this work is extremely fast, using a self-heating metal wire, with which sample solution can splash from the surface to form small droplets and thus the analytes can be protected from thermal decomposition. With this feature, we have successfully achieved soft ionization of highly polar organic and biological compounds such as aflatoxin, small peptides, and even large proteins from complex matrices. The simple structure and self-cleaning capability of the WD-ESI source make it ideal for on-site screening in various applications such as food safety and biodrug testing, especially when coupled with a transportable mass spectrometer.

Rapid quantification of acetaminophen in plasma using solid-phase microextraction coupled with thermal desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Solid-phase microextraction coupled with thermal desorption electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (SPME-TD-ESI-MS/MS) is proposed as a novel method for the rapid quantification of acetaminophen in plasma samples from a pharmacokinetics (PK) study.

METHODS

Traces of acetaminophen were concentrated on commercial fused-silica fibers coated with a polar polyacrylate (PA) polymer using direct immersion SPME. No agitation, heating, addition of salt, or adjustment of the pH of the sample solution was applied during the extraction. Any acetaminophen absorbed on the SPME fibers was subsequently desorbed and detected by TD-ESI-MS/MS.

RESULTS

Parameters of the absorption, sensitivity, reproducibility, and linearity for the SPME-TD-ESI-MS/MS method were evaluated. The time required to complete a TD-ESI-MS/MS analysis was less than 30 seconds. Matrix-matching calibration was performed to calculate the concentration of acetaminophen in the sample. A linear calibration curve with a concentration range of 100-10,000 ng/mL was constructed to calculate the quantity of acetaminophen. The SPME-TD-ESI-MS quantification results for acetaminophen in plasma were in good agreement with those obtained by the conventional LC/MS/MS method.

CONCLUSIONS

With the proposed method, a 10-min SPME time was enough to achieve the lower limit of quantitation (i.e. 100 ng/mL) and for a complete PK profiling of acetaminophen. A shorter extraction time could be achieved by applying agitation, heating, adding salt, or adjusting the pH of the sample solution to enhance analyte absorption efficiency. The time required to detect acetaminophen on the SPME fiber was less than 30 s, allowing the rapid quantification of acetaminophen in plasma with good accuracy.

Hunting Molecules in Complex Matrices with SPME Arrows: A Review

Thirty years since the invention and public disclosure of solid phase microextraction (SPME), the technology continues evolving and inspiring several other green extraction technologies amenable for the collection of small molecules present in complex matrices. In this manuscript, we review the fundamental and operational aspects of a novel SPME geometry that can be used to “hunt” target molecules in complex matrices: the SPME Arrow. In addition, a series of applications in environmental, food, cannabis and forensic analysis are succinctly covered. Finally, special emphasis is placed on novel interfaces to analytical instrumentation, as well as recent developments in coating materials for the SPME Arrow.

Selective detection of phospholipids in human blood plasma and single cells for cancer differentiation using dispersed solid-phase microextraction combined with extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Rapid and selective determination of phospholipids in microvolume biofluid samples for cancer differentiation was achieved by d-SPME–iEESI-MS.

Direct and rapid characterization of illicit drugs in adulterated samples using thermal desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Foods and drinks have been adulterated with illicit drugs to facilitate criminal activities. Unfortunately, conventional analytical methods are incapable of rapidly characterizing these drugs in samples, as serious interferences from sample matrices must be removed through tedious and time-consuming pretreatment. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry (AMS) generally does not require sample pretreatment and is thus a suitable tool for directly and rapidly detecting illicit drugs in samples in different physical states. In this study, thermal desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS), an AMS technique, was utilized to efficiently characterize illicit drugs spiked in samples including drinks, powders, and jelly candies. To perform sensitive analysis, the mass analyzer was operated in multiple reaction monitoring mode to monitor the molecular and fragment ions of the target analytes. The time required to complete a typical TD-ESI/MS analysis was less than 30 s. The limits of detection (LODs) for illicit drugs were found to be 100 ppb in drinks, 100–1000 ppb in instant powders, and 1.3–6.5 ng/mm² on stamp surfaces. FM2 and nitrazepam laced in the inner layer of a jelly candy were detected by TD-ESI/MS, showcasing the advantage of the technique for direct and rapid analysis as opposed to conventional methods.