• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1139-1143
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• 2002

Analysis of lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs) is of clinical importance as they can serve a potential marker for ovarian and other gynecological cancers and obesity. It is critically important to develop a highly sensitive and specific method for the early detection of gynecological cancers to improve the overall outcome of this disease. We have established a novel quantification method of LPAs in human plasma by negative ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode without the conventional TLC step. Protein-bound lipids, LPAs in plasma were extracted with methanol : chloroform (2:1) containing LPA C14:0 as an internal standard under acidic condition. Following back extraction with chloroform and water, the centrifuged lower phase was evaporated and reconstituted in methanol. The reconstituted solution was directly injected into electrospray source of MS/MS. For MRM mode, Q1 ions selected were m/z 409, 433, 435, 437 and 457 which corresponds to molecular mass [M-H]- of C16:0, C18:2, C18:1, C18:0 and C20:4 LPA, respectively. Q2 ions selected for MRM were m/z 79, phosphoryl product. Using MS/MS with MRM mode, all the species of LPAs were completely separated from plasma matrix without severe interferences. This method allowed simultaneous detection and quantification of different species of LPAs in a plasma over a linear dynamic range of 0.01-25 ㎛olL-1 . The detection limit of the method was 0.3 pmol/mL, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9983 in most LPAs analyzed. When applied to the plasmas of normal and gynecological cancer patients, this new method differentiated two different groups by way of total LPA level.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.359-362
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• 1995

The highly polymorphic variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) loci in the human genome are informative markers for the genetic characterization of individuals in the paternity test and forensic science as well as for the study of human disease. In this study, VNTR loci D1S80 and D2S123 have been amplified by PCR and the amplified length polymorphic alleles were detected with a discontinuous vertical PAGE system and silver staining. For explicit DNA typing, PCR optimization, in which amplification efficiencies are similar over a wide range of allele sizes, non-specific amplifications are minimal, and new longer alleles have high amplification efficiency, has been performed by changing the PCR reaction buffer composition and thermal cycling conditions. It turned out that adding an appropriate amount of Tween 20 and NP40 to the PCR reaction buffer and raising the annealing temperature to $68^{\circ}C$ in thermal cycling made it possible for optimal VNTR loci amplification. A modified PAGE system for VNTR separation was established. Under these conditions, new longer alleles in the 01580 locus were discovered and 025123 pattern changes in colorectal tumors were observed. These technical tips are valuable for detecting various amplified fragment length polymorphisms.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.59-64
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• 2020

Mertansine, a thiol-containing maytansinoid, is a tubulin inhibitor used as the cytotoxic component of antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was described for the determination of mertansine in rat plasma. 50-μL rat plasma sample was pretreated with 25 μL of 20 mM tris-(2-carboxyethyl)-phosphine, a reducing reagent, and further vortex-mixing with 50 μL of 50 mM N-ethylmaleimide for 3 min resulted in the alkylation of thiol group in mertansine. Alkylation reaction was stopped by addition of 100 μL of sildenafil in acetonitrile (200 ng/mL), and following centrifugation, aliquot of the supernatant was analyzed by the selected reaction monitoring mode. The standard curve was linear over the range of 1-1000 ng/mL in rat plasma with the lower limit of quantification level at 1 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day accuracies and coefficient variations for mertansine at four quality control concentrations were 96.7-113.1% and 2.6-15.0%, respectively. Using this method, the pharmacokinetics of mertansine were evaluated after intravenous administration of mertansine at doses of 0.2, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg to female Sprague Dawley rats.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 2013

A simple and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of ${\varepsilon}$-acetamidocaproic acid (AACA), the primary metabolite of zinc acexamate (ZAC), in rat plasma by using normetanephrine as an internal standard. Sample preparation involved protein precipitation using methanol. Separation was achieved on a Gemini-NX $C_{18}$ column ($150mm{\times}2.0mm$, i.d., 3 ${\mu}m$ particle size) using a mixture of 0.1% formic acid-water : acetonitrile (80 : 20, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 200 ${\mu}l/min$. Quantification was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer employing electrospray ionization and operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and positive ion mode. The total chromatographic run time was 4.0 min, and the calibration curves of AACA were linear over the concentration range of 20~5000 ng/ml in rat plasma. The coefficient of variation and relative error at four QC levels were ranged from 1.0% to 5.8% and from -8.4% to 6.6%, respectively. The present method was successfully applied for estimating the pharmacokinetic parameters of AACA following intravenous or oral administration of ZAC to rats.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1202-1206
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• 2004

A rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/ MS) method for the determination of lithospermic acid B (LSB) in rat serum was developed. LSB and internal standard, 7-hydroxy-3-phenyl-chromen-4-one (HPC) were extracted from rat serum with methyl-tert-butyl ether at acidic pH and analyzed on a Luna $C_8$ column with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-ammonium formate (10 mM, pH 6.5) (50:50, v/v). The analytes were detected using a negative electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple- reaction-monitoring mode. The standard curve was linear $(r^2 = 0.997)$ over the concentration range of 10.0-500 ng/mL. The coefficient of variation and relative error for intra- and interassay at three QC levels were 1.1~6.2% and -10.3~-2.7%, respectively. The recovery of LSB from serum sample ranged from 73.2 to 79.5%, with that of HPC (internal standard) being 75.1 %. The lower limit of quantification for LSB was 10 ng/mL using 50 ${\mu}L$ of serum sample.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.55-58
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• 2013

Dioscin is a biologically active steroidal saponin with anticancer and hepatoprotective effects. A rapid, selective, and sensitive liquid chromatographic method with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the quantification of dioscin in rat plasma. Dioscin was extracted from rat plasma using ethyl acetate at acidic pH. The analytes were separated on a Halo C18 column using gradient elution of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid and detected by tandem mass spectrometry in selected reaction monitoring mode. The standard curve was linear ($r^2$ = 0.998) over the concentration range of 1-100 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification was 1.0 ng/mL using 50 ${\mu}L$ of plasma sample. The coefficient of variation and relative error for intra- and inter-assay at four QC levels were 1.3 to 8.0% and -5.4 to 10.0%, respectively. This method was applied successfully to the pharmacokinetic study of dioscin after oral administration of dioscin at a dose of 29.2 mg/kg in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.82-91
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• 2022

Grayanotoxin-contaminated honey exhibits toxicity. In this study, a reliable and sensitive liquid-chromatography-tandem-mass-spectrometric method (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the quantitation of grayanotoxin I and grayanotoxin III in honey. The grayanotoxins were extracted from honey via solid phase extraction and separated on a biphenyl column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.5 % acetic acid in water and methanol. Mass spectrometric detection was performed in the multiple-reaction monitoring mode with positive electrospray ionization. The calibration curve covered the range 0.25 to 100 ㎍/g. The intra- and inter-day deviations were less than 10.6 %, and the accuracy was between 94.3 and 114.0 %. The validated method was successfully applied to the determination of grayanotoxins in mad honey from Nepal. The concentrations of grayanotoxin I and grayanotoxin III in 33 out of 60 mad honey samples were 0.75 - 64.86 ㎍/g and 0.25 - 63.99 ㎍/g, respectively. The method established herein would help in preventing and confirming grayanotoxin poisoning.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.141-146
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• 2023

Liraglutide is a medication prescribed for the management of type 2 diabetes and chronic obesity. A simple, sensitive, and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantitative analysis of liraglutide in rat plasma. After a simple protein precipitation step, liraglutide was chromatographically separated using the ACQUITY Premier Peptide BEH C18 Column with mobile phases comprising 50% acetonitrile and 50% methanol, and water with 0.3% FA. Positive ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode was used to achieve detection. Good linearity was observed in the 5-600 ng/mL concentration range (R² > 0.99). Liraglutide had intra- and inter-day precision values of 2.13%-9.86% and 4.14%-8.36%, respectively. The accuracy ranged from -2.36% to 2.58%. The recovery and matrix effect were within acceptable limits. This selective LC-MS/MS method was used to study the pharmacokinetic properties of liraglutide after subcutaneous administration in rats.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.104-109
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• 2023

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are used illegally to enhance muscle development and increase strength and power. In this study, a reliable, and sensitive quantitative method was developed and validated using heptafluorobutyric acid anhydride (HFPA) derivatives for the simultaneous detection of prohibited AAS (testosterone [TS], boldenone [BD], 5α-estrane-3β,17α-diol [EAD]) using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). For processing the samples, solid phase extraction, methanolic hydrolysis, and liquid-liquid extraction were used. For detection using mass spectrometry, the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used with the electron ionization (EI) positive mode. The method was evaluated for selectivity, linearity, lower limit of quantification, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy, and stability. The results showed that the method was accurate and reproducible for the quantitation of the three steroids. The developed method was finally applied to the analysis of a suspect gelding urine sample received from the Asian Quality Assurance Program (AQAP).

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.309-315
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• 2011

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatographic method coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the analysis of ambroxol (active moiety of acebrophylline). After acetonitrile precipitation of proteins from plasma samples, ambroxol and the domperidone (internal standard, IS) were eluted on a C18 column. The isocratic mobile phase was consisted of 10 mM ammonium acetate and methanol (10 : 90, v/v), with flow rate at 0.2 mL/min. A tandem mass spectrometer, as detector, was used for quantitative analysis in positive mode by a multiple reaction monitoring mode to monitor the m/z 379.2${\rightarrow}$264.0 and the m/z 426.2${\rightarrow}$175.1 transitions for ambroxol and the IS, respectively. Twenty four healthy Korean male subjects received two capsules (100 mg ${\times}$ 2) of either the test or the reference formulation of acebrophylline HCl in a 2 ${\times}$ 2 crossover study, this was followed by a 1week washout period between either formulation. $AUC_{0-t}$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. The 90% confidence intervals for the log transformed data were acceptable range of log 0.8 to log 1.25 (e.g., log 0.8964 - log 0.9910 for $AUC_{0-t}$ log 0.8690 - log 1.0750 for $C_{max}$). The major parameters, $AUC_{0-t}$ and $C_{max}$ met the criteria of Korea Food and Drug Administration for bioequivalence indicating that Acephyll$^{(R)}$ capsule (test) is bioequivalent to Surfolase$^{(R)}$ capsule (reference).