A new ultrafast and high-throughput mass spectrometric approach for the therapeutic drug monitoring of the multi-targeted anti-folate pemetrexed in plasma from lung cancer patients

An analytical assay has been developed and validated for ultrafast and high-throughput mass spectrometric determination of pemetrexed concentrations in plasma using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization–triple quadrupole–tandem mass spectrometry. Patient plasma samples spiked with the internal standard methotrexate were measured by multiple reaction monitoring. The detection limit was 0.4 fmol/μL, lower limit of quantification was 0.9 fmol/μL, and upper limit of quantification was 60 fmol/μL, respectively. Overall observed pemetrexed concentrations in patient samples ranged between 8.7 (1.4) and 142.7 (20.3) pmol/μL (SD). The newly developed mass spectrometric assay is applicable for (routine) therapeutic drug monitoring of pemetrexed concentrations in plasma from non-small cell lung cancer patients

Advances in mass spectrometry-based post-column bioaffinity profiling of mixtures

In the screening of complex mixtures, for example combinatorial libraries, natural extracts, and metabolic incubations, different approaches are used for integrated bioaffinity screening. Four major strategies can be used for screening of bioactive mixtures for protein targets—pre-column and post-column off-line, at-line, and on-line strategies. The focus of this review is on recent developments in post-column on-line screening, and the role of mass spectrometry (MS) in these systems. On-line screening systems integrate separation sciences, mass spectrometry, and biochemical methodology, enabling screening for active compounds in complex mixtures. There are three main variants of on-line MS based bioassays: the mass spectrometer is used for ligand identification only; the mass spectrometer is used for both ligand identification and bioassay readout; or MS detection is conducted in parallel with at-line microfractionation with off-line bioaffinity analysis. On the basis of the different fields of application of on-line screening, the principles are explained and their usefulness in the different fields of drug research is critically evaluated. Furthermore, off-line screening is discussed briefly with the on-line and at-line approaches

Quantitative analysis of HIV-1 protease inhibitors in cell lysates using MALDI-FTICR mass spectrometry.

Contains fulltext : 71284.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In this report we explore the use of MALDI-FTICR mass spectrometry for the quantitative analysis of five HIV-1 protease inhibitors in cell lysates. 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) was used as the matrix. From a quantitative perspective, DHB is usually a poor matrix due to its poor shot-to-shot and poor spot-to-spot reproducibilities. We found that the quantitative precisions improved significantly when DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) was added to the matrix solution. For lopinavir and ritonavir, currently the most frequently prescribed HIV-1 protease inhibitors, the signal-to-noise ratios improved significantly when potassium iodide was added to the matrix solution. The mean quantitative precisions, expressed as % relative standard deviation, were 6.4% for saquinavir, 7.3% for lopinavir, 8.5% for ritonavir, 11.1% for indinavir, and 7.2% for nelfinavir. The mean quantitative accuracies, expressed as % deviation, were 4.5% for saquinavir, 6.0% for lopinavir, 5.9% for ritonavir, 6.6% for indinavir, and 8.0% for nelfinavir. The concentrations measured for the individual quality control samples were all within 85-117% of the theoretical concentrations. The lower limits of quantification in cell lysates were 4 fmol/microL for saquinavir, 16 fmol/microL for lopinavir, 31 fmol/microL for ritonavir, and 100 fmol/microL for indinavir and nelfinavir. The mean mass accuracies for the protease inhibitors were 0.28 ppm using external calibration. Our results show that MALDI-FTICR mass spectrometry can be successfully used for precise, accurate, and selective quantitative analyses of HIV-1 protease inhibitors in cell lysates. In addition, the lower limits of quantification obtained allow clinical applications of the technique