Simultaneous determination of levodopa, carbidopa and their metabolites in human plasma and urine samples using LC-EC

Electroanalytical Overview: The Determination of Levodopa (L-DOPA)

L-DOPA (levodopa) is a therapeutic agent which is the most effective medication for treating Parkinson's disease, but it needs dose optimization, and therefore its analytical determination is required. Laboratory analytical instruments can be routinely used to measure L-DOPA but are not always available in clinical settings and traditional research laboratories, and they also have slow result delivery times and high costs. The use of electroanalytical sensing overcomes these problems providing a highly sensitivity, low-cost, and readily portable solution. Consequently, we overview the electroanalytical determination of L-DOPA reported throughout the literature summarizing the endeavors toward sensing L-DOPA, and we offer insights into future research opportunities.

Determination of levodopa by chromatography-based methods in biological samples: a review

Levodopa (L-DOPA) is the most effective drug for Parkinson's disease; however, various side effects occur during therapy. L-DOPA metabolites and the high cumulative dose of L-DOPA were responsible for its side effects. It is necessary to monitor the concentration of L-DOPA and its metabolites for individualized therapy. This review focuses on L-DOPA analysis by chromatography-based methods in biological matrices. Literature published up to September 2021 was collected in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase by using search strategy ("levodopa" OR "L-DOPA") AND ("chromatography"). A total of 1249 articles were identified and 32 articles were included. The contents for method development and validation were summarized and analyzed. Due to the instability of catecholamines (L-DOPA, dopamine, and 3-O-methyldopa) and carbidopa, antioxidation (0.5 mg sodium metabisulfite for 100 μL sample) and environment temperature control were used alone or in combination to enhance stability. Sample was mainly pretreated by protein precipitation (0.4-0.7 M perchloric acid). Separation was usually achieved using methanol or acetonitrile:water (with formic acid) on C18 columns. Mass spectrometry, electrochemical detector, ultraviolet-visible detector and fluorescence detector were used for detection. For L-DOPA, the calibration range was 2.5-10,000 ng/mL, the matrix effect and its coefficient of variation was 85-115 and -9.0-8.5%, and the recovery was 66.8-127.0%. Without stabilization strategy, L-DOPA was stable in plasma at room temperature for 1-7 h (4-6 h for most studies), at - 70 °C to - 80 °C for 10-20 days and after 3-5 freeze-thaw cycles. With stabilization strategies, the stability of L-DOPA in plasma was significantly improved. Metabolites of L-DOPA and enzyme inhibitors (carbidopa, entacapone, tolcapone and benserazide) were all stable in biological matrix. This study might be useful for researchers to develop their methods for individualized therapy of patients with Parkinson.

A rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone and their six related compounds in film-coated tablets

RATIONALE

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated to determine levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone, and corresponding six related substances - levodopa impurity B, levodopa impurity C, methyldopa, methylcarbidopa, entacapone impurity C, and entacapone impurity A - in film-coated tablets for the first time.

METHODS

Chromatographic separation was achieved with a gradient elution by using a C18 column, a mobile phase containing 0.5% formic acid in water and 0.5% formic acid in methanol. The mobile phase flow rate was 0.5 mL min^-1 . The UV detector was set at 280 nm and the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was used in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode.

RESULTS

The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) results were 1.3 and 3.94 ng mL^-1 for levodopa impurity B; 5.26 and 15.9 ng mL^-1 for levodopa impurity C; 0.833 and 2.53 ng mL^-1 for methyldopa; 3.31 and 10.0 ng mL^-1 for methylcarbidopa; 1.67 and 5.06 ng mL^-1 for entacapone impurity C; and 0.61 and 1.86 ng mL^-1 for entacapone impurity A.

CONCLUSIONS

The method was rapid, linear, accurate, and reproducible. The LC/MS/MS method that was developed to determine the related substances and assay of levodopa, carbidopa, and entacapone can be used to evaluate the quality of regular samples in the pharmaceutical industry. It can be also used to test the stability of samples.

The Determination of Parkinson's Drugs in Human Urine by Applying Chemometric Methods

The spectrophotometric-chemometric analysis of levodopa and carbidopa that are used for Parkinson's disease was analyzed without any prior reservation. Parkinson's drugs in the urine sample of a healthy person (never used drugs in his life) were analyzed at the same time spectrophotometrically. The chemometric methods used were partial least squares regression (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR). PLS and PCR were successfully applied as chemometric determination of levodopa and carbidopa in human urine samples. A concentration set including binary mixtures of levodopa and carbidopa in 15 different combinations was randomly prepared in acetate buffer (pH 3.5).). UV spectrophotometry is a relatively inexpensive, reliable, and less time-consuming method. Minitab program was used for absorbance and concentration values. The normalization values for each active substance were good (r2>0.9997). Additionally, experimental data were validated statistically. The results of the analyses of the results revealed high recoveries and low standard deviations. Hence, the results encouraged us to apply the method to drug analysis. The proposed methods are highly sensitive and precise, and therefore they were implemented for the determination of the active substances in the urine sample of a healthy person in triumph.

Micellar HPLC-UV method for the simultaneous determination of levodopa, carbidopa and entacapone in pharmaceuticals and human plasma

A method based on micellar liquid chromatography to quantify levodopa, carbidopa and entacapone in plasma is reported. The sample pretreatment was a simple dilution in a pure micellar solution then filtration and direct injection, without requiring extraction or purification steps. The three drugs were resolved from the matrix in 7 min, using an aqueous solution of 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulphate-10% n-propanol-0.3 tiethylamine, adjusted at pH 2.8 with 0.02 M orthophosphoric acid as mobile phase, running under isocratic mode at 1.0 mL/ min through VP-ODS column. The detection was done by UV (ultraviolet) absorbance at 225 nm. The method was successfully validated by the International Conference Harmonization guidelines in terms of: selectivity, linearity (r² > 0.998) over the concentration ranges of 0.025-1.2, 0.05-1.0 and 0.3-2.0 μg mL^-1 with limits of detection of 0.01, 6.16 × 10^-3 and 0.02 μg mL^-1 and limits of quantification of 0.03, 0.02 and 0.07 μg mL^-1 for levodopa, carbidopa and entacapone, respectively. The proposed method was applied successfully for quantification of the studied drugs in their different dosage forms. Moreover, the method was further extensive to the quantification of the studied drugs in spiked human plasma and was successfully validated by the guidelines of the European Medicines Agency. The proposed procedures were successfully evaluated to determine the studied drugs in real human plasma. The procedure was found reliable, practical, cost-effective, available, short period, easy-to-handle, low-cost, environmental-friendly, secure, useful for the analysis of numerous samples per day. Lastly, the method was performed to the analysis of incurred, using quality control samples in the same analytical run, with adequate results. Therefore, it can be implementable for custom analysis in clinical laboratories.

Simultaneous estimation of levodopa, carbidopa and 3-oxymethyldopa in rat plasma using HPLC-ECD

The aim of study was to develop a suitable analytical method for simultaneous estimation of levodopa, carbidopa and 3-O-methyl dopa in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation of plasma samples was achieved using a reverse-phase C18 column. The mobile phase used consisted of a mixture of methanol and phosphate buffer (10 mM, pH 3.50) in the ratio of 90:10 v/v. All analytes were estimated by electrochemical detection at +800 mV. The developed method has been validated as per the standard guidelines. Precision study results were found to be satisfactory, with percentage relative standard deviation for repeatability and intermediate precision <3.96 and 6.56%, respectively, for all analytes detected in rat plasma. The developed method in rat plasma was found to be simple, rapid, accurate, precise and specific. The proposed method has been successfully applied for analysis of rat plasma samples obtained during an oral pharmacokinetic study of sustained release pellets of levodopa and carbidopa in rats. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simultaneous determination of levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone, tolcapone, 3-O-methyldopa and dopamine in human plasma by an HPLC-MS/MS method

BACKGROUND

In this study, we developed and validated a HPLC-MS/MS method capable of simultaneously determining levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone, tolcapone, 3-O-methyldopa and dopamine in human plasma. RESULTS & METHODOLOGY: Chromatographic separation was achieved using a C8 column with a mobile phase consisting of a gradient of water and acetonitrile:methanol (90:10 v/v), both containing 0.1% formic acid. The developed method was selective, sensitive (LD<7.0 ng ml(-1)), linear (r>0.99), precise (RSD<11.3%), accurate (RE<11.8%) and free of residual and matrix effects. The developed method was successfully applied in plasma patients with Parkinson's disease using Stalevo®.

CONCLUSION

The new method can be used for the clinical monitoring of these substances and applied to adjustments in drug dosages.

A new HILIC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous analysis of carbidopa, levodopa, and its metabolites in human plasma

Monitoring of the plasmatic levels of levodopa (LEV) and carbidopa (CAR) is necessary to adjust the dose of these drugs according to the individual needs of Parkinson's disease patients. To support drug therapeutic monitoring, a method using HILIC mode and LC-MS/MS was developed for the simultaneous determination of carbidopa, levodopa, and its metabolites (3-o-methyldopa (3-OMD) and dopamine (DOPA)) in human plasma. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was operated under the multiple reaction-monitoring mode (MRM) using the electrospray ionization technique. After straightforward sample preparation via protein precipitation, an Atlantis HILIC (150 × 2.1 mm, 3 μm, Waters, USA) column were used for separation under the isocratic condition of acetonitrile/water (79:21, v/v) containing 0.05% formic acid and 3 mmol/L ammonium formate and the total run time was 7 min. Deuterated LEV was used as internal standard for quantification. The developed method was validated in human plasma with a lower limit of quantitation of 75 ng/mL for LEV, 65 ng/mL for CAR and 3-OMD, and 20 ng/mL for DOPA. The calibration curve was linear within the concentration range of 75-800 ng/mL for LEV, 65-800 ng/mL for CAR and 3-OMD, and 20-400 ng/mL for DOPA (r>0.99). The assay was accurate and precise, with inter-assay and intra-assay accuracies within ±13.44% of nominal and inter-assay and intra-assay precision≤13.99%. All results were within the acceptance criteria of the US FDA and ANVISA guidelines for method validation. LEV, CAR, 3-OMD and DOPA were stable in the battery of stability studies, long-term, bench-top, autosampler, and freeze/thaw cycles. Samples from patients undergoing treatment were analyzed, and the results indicated that this new method is suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring in Parkinson's disease patients.

Electrochemically pretreated carbon microfiber electrodes as sensitive HPLC-EC detectors

The paper focuses on the analysis and detection of electroactive compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with electrochemical detection (EC). The fabrication and utilization of electrochemically treated carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFMs) as highly sensitive amperometric detectors in HPLC are described. The applied pretreatment procedure is beneficial for analytical characteristics of the sensor as demonstrated by analysis of the model set of phenolic acids. The combination of CFM with separation power of HPLC technique allows for improved detection limits due to unique electrochemical properties of carbon fibers. The CFM proved to be a promising tool for amperometric detection in liquid chromatography.

Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of levodopa and carbidopa in human plasma

A sensitive and fast high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of levodopa and carbidopa in human plasma was developed and validated. A simple protein precipitation step with perchloric acid was used for the cleanup of plasma, and methyldopa was added as an internal standard. The analyses were carried out using an ACE C(18) column (50 × 4.6 mm i.d.; 5 µm particle size) and a mobile phase consisting of 0.2% formic acid and acetonitrile (90:10). The triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray source in positive mode was set up in the selective reaction monitoring mode to detect the ion transitions m/z 198.1 → m/z 107.0, m/z 227.2 → m/z 181.0, and m/z 212.1 → m/z 139.2 for levodopa, carbidopa, and methyldopa, respectively. The method was validated and proved to be linear, accurate, and precise over the range 50-5000 ng/mL for levodopa and 3-600 ng/mL for carbidopa. The proposed method was successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study with a levodopa/carbidopa tablet formulation in healthy volunteers.

Quantum dot-enhanced chemiluminescence detection for simultaneous determination of dopamine and epinephrine by capillary electrophoresis

A sensitive method based on quantum dot (QD)-enhanced capillary electrophoresis-chemiluminescence (CE-CL) detection was developed for simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (E). In this work, CdTe QD was added into the running buffer of CE to catalyze the post-column CL reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide, achieving higher CL emission. Negative peaks were produced due to the inhibitory effects on CL emission from DA and E eluted from the electrophoretic capillary. The decrease in CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of DA and E in the range of 8.0 × 10(-8)-5.0 × 10(-6)M and 4.0 × 10(-8)-5.0 × 10(-6)M, respectively. Detection limits for DA and E were 2.3 × 10(-8)M and 9.3 × 10(-9)M, respectively. Using this method, the levels of DA and E in human urine from healthy donors were determined.

Electrochemical detection of carbidopa using a ferrocene-modified carbon nanotube paste electrode

A chemically modified carbon paste electrode (MCPE) containing ferrocene (FC) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) was constructed. The electrochemical behavior and stability of the MCPE were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The electrocatalytic activity of the MCPE was investigated and it showed good characteristics for the oxidation of carbidopa (CD) in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). A linear concentration range of 5 to 600 ?M CD, with a detection limit of 3.6?0.17 ?M CD, was obtained. The diffusion coefficient of CD and the transfer coefficient (?) were also determined. The MCPE showed good reproducibility, remarkable long-term stability and especially good surface renewability by simple mechanical polishing. The results showed that this electrode could be used as an electrochemical sensor for the determination of CD in real samples, such as urine samples.

Simultaneous kinetic determination of levodopa and carbidopa by H-point standard addition method

The kinetic H-point standard addition method (HPSAM) was applied to the simultaneous determination of levodopa and carbidopa. The method was based on the difference in the rate of oxidation of these compounds with Cu(II)-neocuproine system and formation of Cu(I)-neocuproine complex at pH 5.5. The absorbance of the Cu(I)-neocuproine complex was monitored at 453 nm. Experimental conditions such as pH, reagent concentrations, ionic strength and temperature were optimized. Simultaneous determination of levodopa and carbidopa was performed in the range of 0.8-4 and 0.2-1.5 microg ml(-1), respectively. The proposed method was applied to the simultaneous determination of levodopa and carbidopa in pharmaceutical samples, and satisfactory results were obtained.

Determination of cationic neurotransmitters and metabolites in brain homogenates by microchip electrophoresis and carbon nanotube-modified amperometry

An electrophoretic method for simultaneous determination of catecholamines and their O-methoxylated metabolites on the microchip as well as in the capillary is presented. A complex separation system employing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles, dendrimers forming a second pseudostationary phase and borate complexation is needed for the satisfactory separation of the selected compounds on the short migration length. A carbon nanotube-modified working electrode has been applied for the sensitive amperometric detection with submicromolar detection limits. The applicability of this new method for the analytics of real samples is demonstrated by analysis of mouse brain homogenate on the microchip and human urine by capillary electrophoresis.

Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Levodopa and Carbidopa in Pharmaceutical Formulations and Water Samples by Using Mean Centering of Ratio Spectra and H-Point Standard Addition Methods

Two spectrophotometric methods are described for the simultaneous determination of binary mixtures of carbidopa and levodopa in pharmaceutical formulations, without prior separation steps, using the mean centering of ratio spectra and H-point standard addition methods (HPSAM). The methods are based on the difference in the absorption spectra for the products of the reaction of carbidopa and levodopa with 4-aminobenzoic acid in the presence of periodate ion at pH 4.0. The methods allow rapid and accurate determination of carbidopa and levodopa. The results showed that the methods were capable to simultaneous determination of 0.30-10.00 microg ml(-1) and 0.50-10.00 microg ml(-1) each of carbidopa and levodopa. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of carbidopa and levodopa in pharmaceutical samples.

Enzymatic sensitivity enhancement of biogenic monoamines on a chip

Detection of biogenic monoamines in nanomolar concentrations is of great importance for probing the brain chemistry and for their analytics in biological fluids. The sensitivity enhancement of amperometric detection of neurotransmitters (NTs) and their metabolites after their electrophoretic separation on a microchip is presented and is based on coupled enzymatic reactions. The current response of the analyte is amplified by cyclic oxidation on a gold electrode mediated by reduced nicotinamide dinucleotide coenzyme and glucose oxidase enzyme present in the electrophoresis buffer. Using this approach, detection limits of about 10 nM for NTs and their metabolites can be reached.

A disposable electrochemical sensor for the rapid determination of levodopa

Levodopa (L-dopa), the biological precursor of catecholamines, is the most widely prescribed drug in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The present work presents a proposal for the application of a gold screen-printed electrode an electrochemical sensor for monitoring L-dopa in stationary solution and a flow system. Using the electrooxidation of L-dopa at +0.63 V in acetate buffer pH 3.0 on a gold screen-printed electrode it is possible to obtain a linear calibration curve from 9.9 x 10(-5) to 1.2 x 10(-3) mol L(-1) and a detection limit of 6.8 x 10(-5) mol L(-1). Under amperometric conditions (E(app) = 0.8 V; flow rate = 14.1 mL min(-1); pH 3.0), an analytical calibration graph for l-dopa was obtained from 1.0 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) 6.6 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) with a detection limit of 9.9 x 10(-7) mol L(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of L-dopa in commercial dosage forms without any pre-treatment.

Microdialysis sampling and high-performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescence detection for in-vivo on-line determination and study of the pharmacokinetics of levodopa in blood

A simple, reliable, and reproducible method for in-vivo on-line separation and determination of levodopa has been based on microdialysis then high-performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescence detection. The perfusate is perfused at a flow rate of 5 microL min(-1). The concentration of levodopa in the dialysate is determined on line with a chemiluminescence system. The dialysate sample volume is approximately 20 microL. The response of the system is linearly related to the concentration of levodopa in the range 1 x 10(-8) to 1 x 10(-6) g mL(-1) (r2 = 0.9995) with a detection limit (3sigma) of 3 x 10(-9) g mL(-1) and sample throughput of 12 h(-1); RSD is 2.8% (n = 11). The method has been successfully used to study the pharmacokinetics of levodopa in vivo; the values of the pharmacokinetics parameters Cmax, AUC(0-t) and Tmax were 16.60, 20.92 ng mL(-1), and 90 min, respectively.

Simultaneous determination of levodopa and benserazide by stopped-flow injection analysis and three-way multivariate calibration of kinetic-spectrophotometric data

The simultaneous determination of levodopa and benserazide in pharmaceutical formulations is described, based on the application of multidimensional partial least-squares regression to the kinetic-spectrophotometric data provided by diode-array detection within a stopped-flow injection method where analytes react with periodate. Flow injection parameters were adequately optimized. Accurate analysis is performed with no sample pre-treatment steps, and with minimum experimental effort. Satisfactory recovery results were obtained on a number of synthetic and commercial samples, in the latter case including the comparison with liquid chromatography measurements.

Chiral On-Chip Separations of Neurotransmitters

The fast on-chip determination of a range of compounds of relevance in the study and treatment of neurological disorders is demonstrated. These include dopamine and its metabolites methoxytyramine, homovanillic acid, noradrenaline, adrenaline, normetanephrine, and metanephrine, its artificial precursors DOPA and tyrosine; and the related compounds DOPS and CDOPA. Two runs are needed for the determination of these compounds. The enantiomers of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine can be separated in a buffer containing the novel combination of a cyclodextrin and a dendrimer. The isomers of homovanillic acid, DOPA, CDOPA, methoxytyramine, metanephrine, and normetanephrine, which were found to interact more weakly with cyclodextrins, could be separated in approximately 3 min with a buffer containing a cyclodextrin and a crown ether. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a fast chiral separation of such a complex mixture on an electrophoresis chip. Detection was carried out amperometrically; derivatization of the analytes is not necessary.