Stereoselective determination of R-(-)- and S-(+)-prilocaine in human serum by capillary electrophoresis using a derivatized cyclodextrin and ultraviolet detection

Chiral Aspects of Local Anesthetics

Thanks to the progress made in chemical technology (particularly in the methodologies of stereoselective syntheses and analyses) along with regulatory measures, the number of new chiral drugs registered in the form of pure enantiomers has increased over the past decade. In addition, the pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties of the individual enantiomers of already-introduced racemic drugs are being re-examined. The use of the pure enantiomer of a drug that has been used to date in the form of a racemate is called a "chiral switch". A re-examination of the properties of the pure enantiomers of racemates has taken place for local anesthetics, which represent a group of drugs which have long been used. Differences in (R) and (S)-enantiomers were found in terms of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic activity as well as in toxicity. Levobupivacaine and robivacaine were introduced into practice as pure (S)-(-)-enantiomers, exhibiting more favorable properties than their (R)-(+)-stereoisomers or racemates. This overview focuses on the influence of chirality on the pharmacological and toxicological activity of local anesthetics as well as on individual HPLC and capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods used for enantioseparation and the pharmacokinetic study of individual local anesthetics with a chiral center.

Development and validation of gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy method for determination of prilocaine HCl in human plasma using internal standard methodology

The accurate determination of prilocaine HCl levels in plasma is important in both clinical and pharmacological/toxicological studies. Prilocaine HCl is quickly hydrolyzed to o-toluidine, causing methemoglobinemia. For this, the present work describes the methodology and validation of a GC-MS assay for determination of prilocaine HCl with lidocaine HCl as internal standard in plasma. The validation parameters of linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, specificity, limit of detection and limit of quantification were studied. The range of quantification for the GC-MS was 20-250 ng/mL in plasma. Within-day and between-day precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation (RSD) were less than 6.0%, and accuracy (relative error) was better than 9.0% (n = 6). The analytical recovery of prilocaine HCl and IS from plasma has averaged 94.79 and 96.8%, respectively. LOQ and LOD values for plasma were found to be 20 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. The GC-MS method can be used for determination from plasma of prilocaine HCl in routine measurement as well as in pharmacokinetic studies for clinical use.

Enantiospecific analysis by capillary electrophoresis: applications in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics

Enantiospecific analysis has an important role in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic investigations and its now no longer acceptable to determine total drug, or metabolite, concentrations following the administration of a racemate. Inspite of the fact that capillary electrophoresis (CE) has become an essential technique in pharmaceutical and enantiospecific analysis, the chromatographic methodologies remain the most commonly used approach for the determination of the enantiomeric composition of drugs in biological fluids. The application of CE to bioanalysis has been slow, which is in part associated with the complexity of biological matrices together with the relatively poor concentration limits of detection achievable. However, as a result of its versatility, high separation efficiency, minimal sample requirements, speed of analysis and low consumable expense CE is likely to play an increasingly significant role in the area. This review present an overview of enantiospecific CE in bioanalysis in which the approaches to enantiomeric resolution and the problems associated with biological matrices are briefly discussed. The application of enantiospecific CE to samples of biological origin is illustrated using examples where the methodology has either solved an analytical problem, or provided a useful alternative to the currently available chromatographic methods. Such improvements in methodology are associated with either the high separation efficiency and/or microanalytical capabilities of the technique. Enantiospecific CE will not replace the chromatographic methodologies but does provide the bioanalyst with a useful addition to his armamentarium.

Enantioselective determination by capillary electrophoresis with cyclodextrins as chiral selectors

This review surveys the separation of enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis using cyclodextrins as chiral selector. Cyclodextrins or their derivatives have been widely employed for the direct chiral resolution of a wide number of enantiomers, mainly of pharmaceutical interest, selected examples are reported in the tables. For method optimisation, several parameters influencing the enantioresolution, e.g., cyclodextrin type and concentration, buffer pH and composition, presence of organic solvents or complexing additives in the buffer were considered and discussed. Finally, selected applications to real samples such as pharmaceutical formulations, biological and medical samples are also discussed.

Enantiomer separation of drugs by capillary electromigration techniques

The review summarizes the most recent developments in the field of enantioseparation of chiral drugs using capillary electromigration techniques. The basic principles of enantioseparations in CE are discussed. Recent developments in sample introduction, separation and detection in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography are summarized. The applications are arbitrarily divided into the following three groups: (a) racemates and artificial mixtures of enantiomers, (b) drug forms and (c) chiral drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids. Among the various techniques involved the relatively new developments such as CEC in aqueous and nonaqueous buffers, on-line CE-MS coupling, etc. are emphasized.

Enantioselective determination of drugs in body fluids by capillary electrophoresis

During the past decade, chiral capillary electrophoresis (CE) emerged as a promising, effective and economic approach for the enantioselective determination of drugs in body fluids, hair and microsomal preparations. This review discusses the principles and important aspects of CE-based chiral bioassays, provides a survey of the assays developed and presents an overview of the key achievements encountered. Applications discussed encompass the pharmacokinetics of drug enantiomers, the elucidation of the stereoselectivity of drug metabolism and bioanalysis of drug enantiomers of toxicological and forensic interest.

Capillary electrophoresis of drugs: current status in the analysis of pharmaceuticals

The current status of capillary electrophoresis (CE) in pharmaceutical analyses is reviewed with about 300 references, mainly from 1996 until 1999. This article covers the use of CE for assay and purity determination of the main component, analysis of natural medicines, antisense DNA, peptides, and proteins. Analysis of hydrophobic and/or electrically neutral drugs by electrokinetic chromatography, capillary electrochromatography and nonaqueous CE is critically evaluated. Detailed techniques for the separation of enantiomers are given in the text with some actual applications. Furthermore, this review includes sensitivity and regulatory aspects for the actual use of CE in new drug applications (NDA). The analytical validation required for CE in NDA is also treated.

Coupling of biological sample handling and capillary electrophoresis

The analysis of biological samples (e.g., blood, urine, saliva, tissue homogenates) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) requires efficient sample preparation (i.e., concentration and clean-up) procedures to remove interfering solutes (endogenous/exogenous and/or low-/high-molecular-mass), (in)organic salts and particulate matter. The sample preparation modules can be coupled with CE either off-line (manual), at-line (robotic interface), on-line (coupling via a transfer line) or in-line (complete integration between sample preparation and separation system). Sample preparation systems reported in the literature are based on chromatographic, electrophoretic or membrane-based procedures. The combination of automated sample preparation and CE is especially useful if complex samples have to be analyzed and helps to improve both selectivity and sensitivity. In this review, the different modes of solid-phase (micro-) extraction will be discussed and an overview of the potential of chromatographic, electrophoretic (e.g., isotachophoresis, sample stacking) and membrane-based procedures will be given.

Capillary electrophoresis as a versatile tool for the bioanalysis of drugs--a review

This review article presents an overview of current research on the use of capillary electrophoretic techniques for the analysis of drugs in biological matrices. The principles of capillary electrophoresis and its various separation and detection modes are briefly discussed. Sample pretreatment methods which have been used for clean-up and concentration are discussed. Finally, an extensive overview of bioanalytical applications is presented. The bioanalyses of more than 200 drugs have been summarised, including the applied sample pretreatment methods and the achieved detection limits.

A literature assessment of sample pretreatments and limits of detection for capillary electrophoresis of drugs in biological fluids and practical investigation with some antimalarials in plasma

A literature survey on published reports of the determination of drugs in biological fluids shows that all methods of sample pretreatment have been used and that the limits of detection achieved vary widely, ranging from low ngcm(-3) to microgcm(-3). The most widely used injection method was hydrodynamic and, in the majority of cases, whenever low detection limits were achieved, this was a result of preconcentration during the sample pretreatment. Only a small proportion of the reported methods employed electrokinetic injection and utilised the field amplified sample injection (FASI) techniques. An experimental investigation of the alternative hydrodynamic and electrokinetic injection methods for a small set of antimalarial drugs is reported. It was found that electrokinetic injection with FASI from an acetonitrile-water matrix produced dramatic improvements in detection limits. This improvement could not, however, be achieved when the drugs were in plasma using protein precipitation, liquid-liquid extraction or solid phase extraction pretreatment methods. This highlights the importance of sample pretreatment in utilising the potential sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis with electrokinetic injection.