Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous determination of metabolites in purine pathway of rat plasma.

It has been proved that the purine metabolic pathway has been implicated in various biological disorders including gout, diabetes, coronary heart diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. The analysis of the purine metabolic pathway in organisms reveals important alterations under different physiological and pathological conditions, which contributes to the pathological study, diagnosis, and therapy of related diseases. In the present study, an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-UV-MS/MS) method was developed for conducting the comprehensive analysis of the metabolite profiles of the purine pathway in rat plasma through a single analysis. The purine metabolites including adenosine-5'-monophosphate, guanosine-5'-monophosphate, adenosine, inosine, guanosine, inosine-5'-monophosphate, deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine, deoxyinosine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, and uric acid, were separated and quantified in the short running time of 10min. After rapid chromatographic separation achieved by an Agilent Zorbax SB-Aq column, high concentration of uric acid and the remaining purine metabolites at lower levels were respectively detected by ultraviolet detector and triple quadruple mass spectrometry within a single analysis. The proposed method was validated by applying charcoal-stripped plasma as a matrix and it was proved to be linear (R2>0.982), accurate (with a relative error for accuracy <±15% and the relative standard deviation for intra- and inter-run precision <11%) and reproducible (with a matrix effect ranging between 86.49% and 111.44% with a maximum RSD of 8.69%). As a result, the method was successfully applied to the quantification of the endogenous purine metabolites in rat plasma. It was found that the concentration levels of the purine metabolites may keep a physiological balance as an integrated system in normal individuals and the concentration level of uric acid in rat plasma was 64μM which was more than 200 times greater than the other purine metabolites. The established method and the measurement of the concentration of these purines in normal rat plasma may help the investigation of the action mechanisms between purine disorders and related diseases.

Lu JJ ，Jia BJ ，Yang L ，Zhang W ，Dong X ，Li P ，Chen J ... -  《-》

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for comprehensive determination of metabolites in the purine pathway of rat plasma and its application in anti-gout effects of Lycium ruthenicum Murr.

Jia Q ，Yang Z ，Wang Q ，Yang H ，Tang X ，Zhang H ，Cao L ，Zhang G ... -  《-》

Metabolic signatures of metabolites of the purine degradation pathway in human plasma using HILIC UHPLC-HRMS.

The metabolic disorders in the purine degradation pathway have proven to be closely associated with several human diseases. However, the etiology is not yet fully understood. Profile assay of purine intermediates and uric acid involved in the metabolic pathway can provide additional insight into the nature and severity of related diseases. Purine metabolites are endogenous chemicals with high hydrophilicity, polarity, and similar structures, thus there is a great need for a specific method to quantify them directly in biological fluids with a short running time. Herein, eight purine degradation pathway metabolites, including xanthine, hypoxanthine, guanine, xanthosine, inosine, guanosine, adenosine and uric acid, in human plasma were quantitatively measured using hydrophilic interaction chromatography-tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (HILIC-HRMS) in a short running time of 10 min. The method was systematically validated for specificity, linearity of the calibration curve, the limit of detection, the limit of quantification, the lower limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, extraction recovery, matrix effect, and stability. The results showed that the method was linear (R2 > 0.99), accurate (the intra- and inter-day recoveries of all analytes ranged from 90.0 % to 110.0 %), and precise (the intra- and inter-day precisions were less than 6.7 % and 8.9 %, respectively) with the lower limits of quantification ranging from 3 to 10,000 ng/mL. The extraction recoveries and matrix effects were repeatable and stable. All the analytes were stable in the autosampler and could be subject to three freeze-thaw cycles. The developed method was ultimately applied to 100 plasma specimens from healthy individuals. The results showed that the concentrations of different purine metabolites varied dramatically in plasma specimens. Diet and body mass index (BMI) were the most significant factors determining purine levels, followed by drinking and sex. Age, smoking and bedtime showed a very weak correlation with purine metabolism. The findings of the present work reveal the characteristics of purine metabolism in human plasma under non-pathological conditions. The results also highlight the factors that can cause changes in purine metabolism, which are useful in developing effective treatment strategies for metabolic disorders of purines, particularly for those caused by lifestyle factors.

Liu R ，Wu Q ，Wu C ，Qu Y ，Fang Y ，De J ，Fan R ，Song W ... -  《-》

Simultaneous quantification of urinary purines and creatinine by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectroscopy and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry: Method development, validation, and application to gout study.

We present an ultra high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectroscopy and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of ten purines (adenine, hypoxanthine, guanine, xanthine, deoxyadenosine, adenosine, inosine, guanosine, xanthosine, and uric acid) and creatinine in human urine. After chromatographic separation on an ACE Excel 2 AQ column, high abundant creatinine and uric acid and the other low abundant purines were sequentially detected by ultraviolet and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry within a single run. Method validations including specificity (improved by accurate mass measurement), linearity (correlation coefficients ≥0.9944), limit of quantification (0.002-9.756 µg/mL), intra- and interday precision (relative standard deviations ≤9.1 and 14.0%, respectively), accuracy (relative errors ≤13.1%), extraction recovery (between 90.3 and 109.6%), matrix effect (between 85.3 and 110.5%), and stability (relative errors ≤14.3%) were fully evaluated. This approach was applied to characterize the disordered purine metabolism in acute and chronic gout as an example. Quantitative results (normalized by creatinine) showed that an overproduction of urinary purine precursors might be involved in the gout process. The developed method represents a useful tool to investigate the purine disturbances in gout and other relevant diseases.

Yuan Y ，Jiang M ，Zhang H ，Liu J ，Zhang M ，Hu P ... -  《-》

Determination of xanthatin by ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry: application to pharmacokinetic study of xanthatin in rat plasma.

A sensitive, specific and rapid ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method has been established to study pharmacokinetic properties of xanthatin. Xanthatin, a compound which belongs to sesquiterpene lactone group, was determined in rat plasma with psoralen as internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Zorbax Eclipse plus C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) with gradient elution system at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The mobile phase was composed of methanol and 0.1% formic acid water solution. Analysis was performed under a triple-quadruple tandem mass-spectrometer with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source via the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode to determine xanthatin at [M+H](+)m/z 247.3→m/z 205.2 and that of IS at [M+H](+)m/z 187.1→m/z 143.0 within 5 min. The assay method exhibited good separation of xanthatin from the interference of endogenous substances. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1 ng/mL, with a good linearity within the concentration range of 1-5000 ng/mL (r=0.9990). Intra-day and inter-day precision RSD was less than 9.27%; intra-day and inter-day accuracy was 88.48% and 102.25% respectively. The extraction recoveries of xanthatin range from 82.12% to 89.55%, and the extraction RSD was less than 9.01%. The established LC-ESI-MS/MS method is rapid and sensitive, which has been successfully applied to quantify xanthatin in rat plasma for the first time.

Yan C ，Li H ，Wu Y ，Xie D ，Weng Z ，Cai B ，Liu X ，Li W ，Chen Z ... -  《-》