• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.320-328
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• 2017

Yongdamsagan-tang has been used to treat the urinary disorders, acute- and chronic-urethritis, and cystitis in Korea. In this study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous analysis of the 20 bioactive marker compounds, geniposidic acid, chlorogenic acid, geniposide, liquiritin apioside, acteoside, calceolarioside B, liquiritin, nodakenin, baicalin, liquiritigenin, wogonoside, baicalein, glycyrrhizin, wogonin, glycyrrhizin, wogonin, saikosaponin A, decursin, decursinol angelate, alisol B, alisol B acetate, and pachymic acid in traditional herbal formula, Yongdamsagan-tang. Chromatographic separations of all marker compounds were conducted using a Waters Acquity UPLC BEH $C_{18}$ analytical column ($2.1{\times}100mm$, $1.7{\mu}m$) at $45^{\circ}C$ using a mobile phase of 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water and acetonitrile with gradient elution. The MS analysis was performed using a Waters ACQUITY TQD LC-MS/MS coupled with an electrospray ionization source in the positive and negative modes. The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min and injection volume was $2.0{\mu}L$. The correlation coefficient of 20 marker compounds in the test ranges was 0.9943-1.0000. The limits of detection and quantification values of the all marker components were 0.11-6.66 and 0.34-19.99 ng/mL, respectively. As a result of the analysis using the optimized LC-ESI-MS/MS method, three compounds, geniposidic acid (from Plantaginis Semen), alisol B (from Alismatis Rhizoma), and pachymic acid (from Poria Sclerotium), were not detected in this sample. While the amounts of the 17 compounds except for the geniposidic acid, alisol B, and pachymic acid were $0.04-548.13{\mu}g/g$ in Yongdamsagan-tang sample. Among these compounds, baicalin, bioactive marker compound of Scutellariae Radix, was detected at the highest amount as a $548.13{\mu}g/g$.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.172-179
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• 2021

Oleanane-type triterpenoids exist as secondary metabolites in various plants. In particular, soyasaponin, an oleanane-type triterpenoid, is abundant in the hypocotyl of soybean, one of the most widely cultivated crops in the world. Depending on their chemical structure, soyasaponins are categorized as group A saponins or group DDMP (2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one) saponins. The different soyasaponin chemical structures present different health functionalities and taste characteristics. However, conventional phenotype screening of soybean requires a substantial amount of time for functionality of soyasaponins. Therefore, we attempted to use liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-PDA/MS/MS) for accurately predicting the phenotype and chemical structure of soyasaponins in the hypocotyl of five common soybean natural mutants. In this method, the aglycones (soyasapogenol A [SS-A] and soyasapogenol B [SS-B]) were detected after acid hydrolysis. These results indicated that the base peak and fragmentation differ depending on the chemical structure of soyasaponin with aglycone. Thus, a fragmentation database can help predict the chemical structure of soyasaponins in soyfoods and plants.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3727-3734
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• 2012

An analytical method has been developed for the rapid determination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in human serum samples. The extraction and purification of PFCs from human serum were performed by the modified method of previous report. Ten PFCs were rapidly separated within 3.3 min by C18-monolithic column liquid chromatography (LC) and detected by electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) in negative ion mode. The runtime of PFCs on monolithic column LC was up to 4-fold faster than that on conventional column LC. The effect of triethylamine (TEA) to the mobile phase has investigated on the overall MS detection sensitivity of PFCs in ESI ionization. Quantification was performed by LC-MS/MS in multiple-ion reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, using $^{13}C$-labeled internal standards. Method validation was performed to determine recovery, linearity, precision, and limits of quantification, followed by, the analysis of a standard reference material (SRM 1957 from NIST). The overall recoveries ranged between 81.5 and 106.3% with RSDs of 3.4 to 16.2% for the entire procedure. The calibration range extended from 0.33 to 50 $ng\;mL^{-1}$, with a correlation coefficient ($R^2$) greater than 0.995 and the limits of quantification with 0.08 to 0.46 $ng\;mL^{-1}$. This approach can be used for rapid and sensitive quantitative analysis of 10 PFCs in human serum with high performance and accuracy.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.225-231
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• 2018

Benzoic acid, methyl paraben, and butyl paraben are preservatives that have been used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food products. However, as their toxicities for human have been reported, many nations and organizations including Korea have established a regulation limit for thier usage of these preservatives in food products. The present study developed the isotope dilution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method for accurate determination of three target preseratives in soysauce. In this study, the isotope dilution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method was developed for accurate determination of three target preservatives in soy sauce. LC separation was optimized considering the pKa of benzoic acid which is lower than those of methyl and butyl parabens. A C18 column was used with 5 mM ammonium acetate and methanol as mobile phases. Mass spectrometry was operated in negative mode and selected reaction monitoring mode (SRM). Soy sauce sample was cleaned-up with C18 SPE cartridge for removing matrix inferences and color material. Optimized conditions and the method were validated with soy sauce reference materials for the analysis of food preservatives from Health Science Authority in Singapore. The measured values of benzoic acid, methyl and butyl paraben agreed well with reference values within their uncertainties.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.7
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• pp.506-511
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• 2010

The levels of salivary cortisol and cortisone in Korean adults were measured for the first time using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The salivary cortisol and cortisone were separated within 10 min. The regression coefficients (r) of the calibration curves were greater than 0.999 for the two steroids. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) were 0.2 ng/ml for cortisol and 1 ng/ml for cortisone. The intra-day precisions of the assay were <3.9% and 8.6% for cortisol and cortisone respectively, and the inter-day precisions were <1.9% and 4.3% for cortisol and cortisone, respectively. The salivary cortisone concentrations were approximately 4-9 times higher than those of salivary cortisol during the daytime. Diurnal rhythms, during which the cortisol and cortisone concentrations were higher in the morning than in the afternoon, were also observed. The present assay may be useful for the diagnosis of several adrenal dysfunctions in clinical biochemistry.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.354-359
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• 2008

A survey for zearalenone contamination was conducted on 27 soy bean samples, 27 red bean samples, 16 black bean samples, 19 seoritae samples, 14 seomoktae samples, for a total of 127 commercial Korean samples. Zearalenone was quantified by the immunoaffinity column clean-up method with high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD), and was confirmed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS). The limits of detection and quantification were $2.0{\mu}g/kg$ and $6.0{\mu}g/kg$, respectively. The recovery in the beans ranged from 82.2 to 98.4%. According to HPLC-FLD, zearalenone was detected in 13 samples (10.2% incidence), including 1 soybean and 12 red bean samples. The zearalenone contamination levels were in the range of 8.01${\sim}38.98{\mu}g/kg$. Finally, LC-MS/MS analysis was conducted in the contaminated samples to verify the results of HPLC-FLD. The LC-MS/MS results confirmed the presence of zearalenone in all 13 samples. The contamination level was lower than that of EU, which is below $100{\mu}g/kg$ for raw grains.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.230-237
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: To identify the sources of inaccuracy in LC/MS/MS methods used in the routine quantitation of small molecules are described and discussed. METHODS AND RESULTS: Various UPLC coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and time of flight (TOF) were used to identify the potential sources of inaccuracy and inducing the pitfalls of qualification and quntitation during the veterinary drug residue analysis. Some of stable isotope labelled veterinary drugs, which were used as internal standards, presented "cross-talk", regardless of manufactures of mass spectrometer and types of spectrometer. Group of sulfonamides also presented inaccuracy qualification and quantitation due to the multi-residue analytical method with the same fragment ions at the close retention times. CONCLUSION: The phenomena of "cross-talk" occurring between subsequently monitored transition from stable isotope labelled and isotope non-labelled authentic chemical were identified. To prevent errors and achieve more accurate data during the analysis of small molecules by LC/MS/MS SRM method, Followings should be taken care of and kept checking; purity and concentration of stable isotope as an internal standard, prevention of carry-over during the separation in column, minimizing the ion suppression by matrix effect, identification of retention time, precursor ion and product ion, and full knowledge of data processing including smoothing and peak integration.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.23-28
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• 2017

Arctigenin is the main active ingredient of Fructus Arctii, which has been reported with a variety of therapeutic activities including anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-virus, and anti-obesity effects. In this study, a simple and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of arctigenin in rat plasma. The assay utilized a simple protein precipitation with methanol and the mobile phase consisted of 100% methanol and water containing 0.1% formic acid (65:35 v/v). Arctigenin and the internal standard (psoralen) were monitored using a positive electrospray turbo ionspray mode with multiple reaction monitoring transitions of m/z $373.2{\rightarrow}136.9$ and m/z $187.2{\rightarrow}130.9$, respectively, and total chromatographic run time was within 5 min. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of arctigenin was 5 ng/mL in the rat plasma. The intra- and inter-day accuracy of arctigenin at LLOQ and matrix-matched quality control samples ranged 97.4 - 104.8% and 97.2 - 102.0%, respectively. The intra-day precision was within 4.80% and the inter-day precision was within 5.92%. Application of the present method was demonstrated through a pharmacokinetic study after intravenous and oral administration of arctigenin in male Sprague Dawley rats.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2006

Gabapentin, 1-(aminomethyl-1-cyclohexyl)acetic acid, is anew antiepileptic drug related to ${\gamma}-aminobutyric$ acid(GABA) currently being introduced in therapy worldwide. The bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of gabapentin capsules were examined in 22 volunteers who received a single oral dose in the fasting state by randomized balanced $2{\times}2$ crossover design. After dosing, blood samples were collected for a period of 24 hours and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Time course of plasma gabapentin concentration was analyzed with non-compartmental and compartmental approaches. $WinNonlin^{(R)}$, the kinetic computer program, was used for compartmental analysis. One compartment model with first-order input, first-order output with no lag time and weighting by $1/(predieted\;y)^2$ was chosen as the most appropriate pharmacokinetic model for the volunteers. The major pharmacokinetic parameters $(AUC_{0-24hr},\;AUC_{inf},\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max})$ and other parameters $(K_a,\;K_{el},\;V_d/F\;and\;Cl/F)$ of $Gapentin^{TM}$ (test drug) and $Neurontin^{TM}$ (reference drug) were estimated by non-compartmental analysis and compartmental analysis. The 90% confidence intervals of mean difference of logarithmic transformed $AUC_{0-24hr}\;and\;C_{max}$ were $log(0.9106){\sim}log(1.l254)\;and\;log(0.8521){\sim}log(1.0505)$, respectively. It shows that the bioavailability of the test drug is equivalent with that of the reference drug. There was no statistically significant difference between the two drugs in all pharmacokinetic parameters.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.194-204
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• 2017

Direct injection (DI) and solid phase extraction (SPE) methods for the simultaneous determination of pendimethalin (PDM) and dinoseb (DNS) in environmental water have been optimized using the ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method. The limits of quantification (LOQs) of PDM and DNS were $0.01{\mu}g/L$ using the DI method and $0.0001-0.0002{\mu}g/L$ using the SPE method. The precision by SPE UPLC-MS/MS was less than 11 % for intra-day and inter-day analyses. When the proposed SPE method was used to analyze two analytes in environmental water, PDM was detected in a concentration range of $0.0002-0.011{\mu}g/L$ in 31 samples of the 114 surface water samples, and DNS was detected in a concentration range of $0.0005-0.045{\mu}g/L$ in 17 samples of the 114 surface water samples analyzed. When the DI method was used to analyze target compounds in the same samples, the detected concentrations of the two analytes were within 21% in samples with concentrations above $0.01{\mu}g/L$. The DI UPLC-MS/MS method can thus be used for the routine monitoring of PDM and DNS in environmental water, and the SPE LC-MS/MS method can be used for the determination of the ultra-trace PDM and DNS residues in environmental water.