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An on-line size exclusion chromatography (SEC)-solid-phase extraction (SPE)-capillary electrophoresis (CE) system using a Tee-split interface has been developed for the analysis of peptides in biological fluids. The SEC column fractionates the sample by molecular size and the low-molecular-weight fraction, which contains the peptides, is directed to a C(18) SPE microcolumn, where the peptides are trapped and concentrated. The SPE column is desorbed with 425 nL acetonitrile and the effluent is sent to the Tee-split interface, which hydrodynamically splits (1:40) the flow and, thus, allows appropriate injection of analytes into the CE system. The performance of the system is investigated by the analysis of enkephalins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It is demonstrated that the SEC step efficiently removes potentially interfering proteins, permitting reproducible SPE and CE. The total system provides efficient separations of the enkephalins with plate numbers up to 100,000. Concentration limits of detection (S/N = 3) for the peptides are about 100 ng/mL for injection of 20 microL spiked CSF samples. Plots of enkephalin peak areas versus concentration showed good linearity over the 0.25-10 microg/mL range (R2 > or = 0.985). Repeatability of migration time and peak area was within 2% and 10% R.S.D., respectively.

Three model tripeptides, N-acetyl-Tyr-Pro-azaGly-NH(2) (NYPaG), Tyr-Pro-azaGly-NH(2) (YPaG), and Tyr-Pro-Gly-NH(2)(YPG), were subjected to a systematic degradation study to get information about the degradation of the azaglycinamido residue. The degradation products were characterized with LC-MS. Main degradation products of NYPaG possess partially or totally eliminated azaglycinamido residues, while YPaG and YPG are exhibit cyclo(Tyr-Pro) formation, a diketopiperazine. The influence of the pH on the degradation rate constant k(obs) was investigated for NYPaG and YPaG in the pH range 0.4-11. An U-shaped profile with an inflexion around pH 9 was found for NYPaG while the degradation rate of YPaG was independent of the pH. NYPaG apparently was subject to proton-, solvent-, and hydroxyl-catalyzed degradation reactions whereas YPaG only underwent solvent-catalyzed reactions. Some influence of acetate and phosphate ions on k(obs) was found for YPaG. Arrhenius plots of NYPaG and YPaG were found to be linear., (Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 89: 108-114, 2000)

The metabolic oxidation of one of the chloroethyl groups of the antitumour drug ifosfamide leads to the formation of the inactive metabolites 2- and 3-dechloroethylifosfamide together with the neurotoxic metabolite chloroacetaldehyde. A very sensitive capillary gas chromatographic method, requiring only 50 microliters of plasma or urine, has been developed to measure the amounts of the drug and the two inactive metabolites in a single run. Calibration curves were linear (r > 0.999) in the concentration ranges from 50 ng/ml to 100 micrograms/ml in plasma and from 100 ng/ml to 1 mg/ml in urine.

In oncology, particularly in pediatric malignancies, high doses (5-10 g/m2) of the oxazaphosphorine ifosfamide play an important role in the treatment of sarcomas. Pharmacokinetic data of ifosfamide and its metabolites in these cases are scanty. Considering the special demands of the determination of ifosfamide in plasma of young children, a very sensitive capillary gas chromatographic method, requiring only 50 microliters of plasma, has been developed. This bioanalysis of ifosfamide shows good linearity and accuracy in the concentration range 10 ng to 100 micrograms per ml of plasma and 25 ng to 1 mg per ml of urine. The absolute limits of detection in plasma and urine are 2 ng/ml and 5 ng/ml, respectively. The stability of various solutions of ifosfamide and trofosfamide was tested and proved to be satisfactory, except for ifosfamide in plasma and urine kept in the refrigerator. The validity of the method for pharmacokinetic purposes is shown in the case of one patient.