Shuijun Li

Determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in human urine by a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Melamine was found to be the etiological factor for the urinary stones epidemic in infants and young children in China in 2008. Urine level of melamine and its analog cyanuric acid may be useful markers for the evaluation of toxic effects. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods for the individual determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in human urine are described. Using isotope labeled internal standards during liquid-liquid extraction, the method was fully validated by verifying specificity, linearity, LLOQ, intra- and inter-assay precision and accuracy, matrix effect, recovery and stability. Calibration curves with good linearity (r=0.9999) over the concentration range from 10 to 5000 ng/ml, intra-assay precision <10% and inter-assay precision <15%, accuracy between 93.0 and 111.6% were obtained with multiple reaction monitoring mode for melamine and cyanuric acid in human urine. The methods were successfully applied to the analysis of urine samples collected from 86 infants and 110 adults.

Dependence of strength, elongation, and toughness on grain size in metallic structural materials

The dependence of yield strength, uniform elongation, and toughness on grain size in metallic structural materials was discussed. The toughness is defined as the product of yield strength and uniform elongation. The yield strength versus grain size can be well described by the Hall-Petch relation; however, the uniform elongation versus grain size is not well understood yet. A simple model involving the densities of geometrically necessary dislocations and statistically stored dislocations was proposed to estimate the uniform elongation versus grain size. Existing data for low carbon steels and aluminum indicate that, in the grain size less than 1 mu m, the materials usually exhibit high strength and low uniform elongation and, in the grain size greater than 10 mu m, the materials usually exhibit low strength and high elongation; in either case the toughness is low. However, in the grain size of several micrometers, the toughness is the highest. It is suggested that we should pay more attention to develop the metallic materials with grain size of several micrometers for structural applications. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Pharmacokinetic study of melamine in rhesus monkey after a single oral administration of a tolerable daily intake dose.

To perform pharmacokinetic study of melamine in rhesus monkey, melamine was orally administered to three experimental monkeys at a single dose of 1.4 mg/kg body weight. Plasma and urine were collected for the determination of melamine and cyanuric acid with a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method. The mean+/-SD area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to 48 h (AUC0-t) was 14,145+/-2002 microg/Lh. The maximum concentration of melamine in plasma (C(max)) was 1767+/-252 microg/L. The time to maximum concentration (T(max)) was 2.67+/-1.16 h and the half-life of melamine in plasma (t(1/2)) was 4.41+/-0.43 h. Following oral administration, melamine was rapidly excreted, mainly through urinary clearance. No significant correlation was found between melamine and cyanuric acid, suggesting that cyanuric acid may not be derived from melamine.

Improved and simplified LC-ESI-MS/MS method for homocysteine determination in human plasma : Application to the study of cardiovascular diseases

A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of human plasma homocysteine (Hcy), an important independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, with a simplified sample pretreatment procedure and a zero blank free of endogenous Hcy for calibrator/QC preparation. Following protein precipitation, chromatographic separation was performed on Hypersil Aquasil C18 column (50 mm x 2.1mm, 5 microm, Thermo) using mobile phase of aqueous 10% methanol containing 0.02% formic acid at 0.25 mL/min. Hcy and deuterated internal standard were detected in the multiple reaction monitoring mode with precursor to product ion transitions of m/z 136.1/90.0 and 140.1/94.0, respectively. The retention time was 1.2 min, and the total run time was 2 min per injection. A streamlined three-point calibration curve and one-point QC was used. Excellent linearity was observed with correlation coefficient (r)>0.99. The intra- and inter-batch were < or =3.24% and < or =4.04%, and accuracy was within +/-10%. Method comparison between the proposed method (y) and FPIA assay (x) demonstrated a correlation equation of y=1.003x + 0.4318 (r=0.9589). The developed method, improved for automation with cost-effective reagents, was proven to be suitable for high-throughput quantitative determination of Hcy in clinical practice by successfully applying it to the cardiovascular disease study.

Therapeutic monitoring of serum digoxin for patients with heart failure using a rapid LC-MS/MS method

OBJECTIVE Here we develop a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of digoxin in serum. DESIGN AND METHODS The serum samples were extracted with methyl tert-butyl ether using an isotope-labeled digoxin-d3 as internal standard. The analyte was separated on a reverse phase Capcell C18 column and detected in positive electrospray ionization multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. RESULTS The chromatographic analysis was carried out within 3 min, but the complete analysis took longer because of the liquid-liquid extraction. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mL for digoxin. The intra- and inter-batch precisions were less than 12%, and the bias ranged from -9.1% to 10.7%. The external quality assessment (EQA) results obtained with the LC-MS/MS method were comparable to target values. Subsequently, this method has been applied to the therapeutic monitoring of digoxin in a clinical setting. CONCLUSION In this study, we have developed a rapid and reliable LC-MS/MS method for the therapeutic monitoring of digoxin in human serum.

Giant magnetoresistance in Fe/Mo multilayers formed by magnetron sputtering

Fe/Mo multilayers have been prepared by magnetron sputtering. Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) has been found in the samples with an antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling. The magnetoresistance (MR) ratio exceeds 12% at 4.2 K, and it oscillates as a function of Mo spacer thickness. The oscillation period is about 10–12 A, which is consistent with the case of the reported Kerr effect. The results suggest that the presence of antiferromagnetic coupling and the absence of GMR are the result of the sharp interfaces, and that relatively rough interfaces and moderately thin Fe layer thickness are the key factors for enhancing MR in the sputtered films.

Pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence evaluation of two formulations of 10-mg amlodipine besylate: An open-label, single-dose, randomized, two-way crossover study in healthy chinese male volunteers

BACKGROUND Amlodipine is a third-generation dihydropyridine calcium antagonist for the treatment of angina and hypertension. The relative bioavailability of a newly developed dispersible tablet as compared with an established branded formulation has not been reported in a Chinese population. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess and compare the pharmacokinetic properties, bioavailability, and bioequivalence of a newly developed dispersible tablet formulation of amlodipine besylate with those of an established branded formulation in healthy Chinese adult male volunteers. METHODS An open-label, single-dose, randomized, 2-way crossover study was conducted in fasted healthy Chinese male volunteers. Eligible participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive 2 tablets (5 mg each) of the test or reference formulation, followed by a 2-week washout period and administration of the alternate formulation. The study drugs were administered after a 10-hour overnight fast. Serum samples were collected over 120 hours. Amlodipine concentrations in the serum were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with positive ion electrospray ionization using the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The visible detection of the method was in the range of 0.2 to 32.0 ng/mL, and the lower limit of quantification for amlodipine was 0.2 ng/mL. The amlodipine serum concentration-time curves were used to obtain pharmacokinetic parameters including AUC(0-t), AUC(0-infinity)), and C(max). The criteria for bioequivalence were 90% CIs of 80% to 125% for AUC and 70% to 143% for C(max), according to guidelines of the State Food and Drug Administration of the Peoples Republic of China. Tolerability was based on the recording of adverse events (AEs), monitoring vital signs, electrocardiograms, and clinical laboratory tests at baseline and completion of the study. RESULTS A total of 20 healthy Chinese male volunteers (mean [SD] age, 21.4 [2.6] years [range, 1926 years]; weight, 61.3 [5.4] kg [range, 54.0-75.0 kg]; and height, 171.2 [3.6] cm [range, 162.0-177.0 cm) were included in the study. The mean (SD) C(max), T(max), AUC(0-t), and AUC(0-infinity)) values after administration of the test and reference formulations, respectively, were as follows: 5.46 (1.13) versus 5.88 (1.24) ng/mL, 7.70 (2.08) versus 9.20 (4.18) hours, 284.56 (77.59) versus 311.34 (75.97) ng/mL/h, and 331.37 (111.03) versus 358.74 (101.10) ng/mL/h. The mean (SD) t(1/2) was 38.52 (10.51) hours for the test formulation and 38.75 (7.07) hours for the reference formulation. On analysis of variance, no period or sequence effects were observed for any pharmacokinetic property; however, a significant formulation effect was observed for C(max), AUC(0-t), and AUC(0-infinity)). The relative bioavailability of the test formulation was 90.9% by mean AUC(0-t) and 91.2% by mean AUC(0-infinity). The 90% CIs for the ratios of C(max), AUC(0-t), and AUC(0-infinity) were 88.4% to 97.5%, 86.4% to 95.7%, and 85.8% to 97.0%, respectively, meeting the predetermined criteria for bioequivalence. One subject (5%) reported 2 AEs. The AEs were mild, possibly associated with study drug, and resolved spontaneously by the next evaluation. No serious AEs were reported. CONCLUSIONS In this small study in healthy Chinese adult male volunteers, a single 10-mg dose of the dispersible tablet formulation (test) of amlodipine besylate met the regulatory criteria for bioequivalence to the established tablet formulation (reference) based on the rate and extent of absorption. Both formulations were well tolerated.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of N-acetylcysteine in human plasma using an isotope-labeled internal standard

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed to determine total N-acetylcysteine in human plasma. Mass spectrometric detection was achieved in positive electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring mode. The mass transition pairs of N-acetylcysteine and the isotope-labeled internal standard d3-N-acetylcysteine were 164 → 122 and 167 → 123, respectively. The method was linear over the range of 10-5000 ng/mL in human plasma. The adoption of trichloroacetic acid significantly enhanced the extraction recovery. The blank matrix was screened to minimize the influence of endogenous N-acetylcysteine. After being fully validated, the method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic and bioequivalent study of N-acetylcysteine after oral administration of 600 mg tablets to 24 healthy Chinese volunteers.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of N-acetylglucosamine concentration in human plasma

A simple, reliable and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for quantification of N-acetylglucosamine in human plasma. Plasma samples were pretreated with acetonitrile for protein precipitation. The chromatographic separation was performed on Hypersil Silica column (150mmx2mm, 5microm). The deprotonated analyte ion was detected in negative ionization mode by multiple reaction monitoring mode. The mass transition pairs of m/z 220.3-->118.9 and m/z 226.4-->123.2 were used to detect N-acetylglucosamine and internal standard 13C6-N-acetylglucosamine, respectively. The assay exhibited a linear range from 20 to 1280ng/ml for N-acetylglucosamine in human plasma. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations of the calibration standard and quality control. The validated method was successfully applied to analyze human plasma samples in a pharmacokinetic study.

Determination of glycemic monitoring marker 1,5-anhydroglucitol in plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Previous studies have shown that plasma 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG) is markedly reduced among diabetic patients and therefore serves as a sensitive marker for short-term glycemic control. The current study describes the development of the liquid chromatography negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to measure 1,5-AG in human plasma. The samples were pre-treated with protein precipitation and an isotope-labeled internal standard was used. Chromatographic separation was achieved on amide column (150 mm x 2.0mm i.d., 5 microm) followed by detection with multiple reaction monitoring mode. Linearity, accuracy, precision, recovery, matrix effect, and stability were evaluated during method validation over the range of 1-50 microg/mL. The validated method has been clinically applied among 159 type 2 diabetic patients and 290 control subjects. A marked reduction in 1,5-AG levels among the diabetic patients and significant between-gender difference in nondiabetic subjects were observed.