Liquid-phase microextraction for rapid AP-MALDI and quantitation of nortriptyline in biological matrices

A liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) method using a micropipette with disposable tips was demonstrated for coupling to atmospheric pressure MALDI-MS (AP-MALDI/MS) as a concentrating probe for rapid analysis and quantitative determination of nortriptyline drug from biological matrices including human urine and human plasma. This technique was named as micropipette extraction (MPE). The best optimized parameters of MPE coupled to AP-MALDI/MS experiments were extraction solvent, toluene; extraction time, 5 min; sample agitation rate, 480 rpm; sample pH, 7; salt concentration, 30%; hole size of micropipette tips, 0.61 mm (id); and matrix concentration, 1000 ppm using alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) as a matrix. Three detection modes of AP-MALDI/MS analysis including full scan, selective ion monitor (SIM), and selective reaction monitor (SRM) of MS/MS were also compared for the MPE performance. The results clearly demonstrated that the MS/MS method provides a wider linear range and lower LODs but poor RSDs than the full scan and SIM methods. The LOD values for the MPE under SIM and MS/MS modes in water, urine, and plasma were 6.26, 47.5, and 94.9 nM, respectively. The enrichment factors (EFs) of this current approach were 36.5-43.0 fold in water. In addition, compared to single drop microextraction (SDME) and LPME using a dual gauge microsyringe with a hollow fiber (LPME-HF) technique, the LODs acquired by the MPE method under MS/MS modes were comparable to those of LPME-HF and SDME but it is more convenient than both methods. The advantages of this novel method are simple, easy to use, low cost, and no contamination between experiments since disposable tips were used for the micropipettes. The MPE has the potential to be widely used in the future because it only requires a simple micropipette to perform all extraction processes. We believe that this technique can be a powerful tool for MALDI/MS analysis of biological samples and clinical applications.