Analysis of oxycodol and noroxycodol stereoisomers in biological samples by capillary electrophoresis

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the separation of the diastereoisomers of 6-oxycodol (6OCOL) and nor-6-oxycodol (N6OCOL), the 6-keto-reduced metabolites of oxycodone (OCOD) and noroxycodone (NOCOD), respectively, is reported and employed to assess the stereoselectivity of these metabolic steps in vivo, in vitro, and in chemical synthesis. CE in an untreated fused-silica capillary with acidic buffers containing 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, randomly sulfated beta-cyclodextrin, or single isomer heptakis(2,3-diacetyl-6-sulfato)-beta-cyclodextrin (HDAS-beta-CD) is shown to permit the simultaneous separation of the stereoisomers of 6OCOL and N6OCOL. A 100 mM phosphate buffer of pH 2.0 containing 2.05% w/v HDAS-beta-CD provides a medium for rapid analysis and unambiguous identification of these stereoisomers in solid-phase extracts of (i) urines stemming from patients under pharmacotherapy with OCOD, (ii) incubations of OCOD and NOCOD with human liver cytosol and the human liver S9 fraction, and (iii) after chemical synthesis from OCOD and NOCOD using NaBH(4). In all cases, alpha-N6OCOL is shown to be the predominant stereoisomer of N6OCOL. For 6OCOL, the same is true for in vitro formation and for chemical synthesis. In urine, however, beta-6OCOL is observed to be excreted in a higher amount than alpha-6OCOL. For the urinary alpha-/beta-isomer ratio of 6OCOL and N6OCOL, there are no differences between the data obtained for nonhydrolyzed and enzymatically hydrolyzed urines. The data document the stereoselectivity of the 6-keto-reduction of OCOD and NOCOD in man.