Detection and validated quantification of toxic alkaloids in human blood plasma-comparison of LC-APCI-MS with LC-ESI-MS/MS

Poisonings with toxic plants may occur after abuse, intentional or accidental ingestion of plants. For diagnosis of such poisonings, multianalyte procedures were developed for detection and validated quantification of the toxic alkaloids aconitine, atropine, colchicine, coniine, cytisine, nicotine and its metabolite cotinine, physostigmine, and scopolamine in plasma using LC‐APCI‐MS and LC‐ESI‐MS/MS. After mixed‐mode solid‐phase extraction of 1 ml of plasma, the analytes were separated using a C8 base select separation column and gradient elution (acetonitrile/ammonium formate, pH 3.5). Calibration curves were used for quantification with cotinine‐d3, benzoylecgonine‐d3, and trimipramine‐d3 as internal standards. The method was validated according to international guidelines. Both assays were selective for the tested compounds. No instability was observed after repeated freezing and thawing or in processed samples. The assays were linear for coniine, cytisine, nicotine and its metabolite cotinine, from 50 to 1000 ng/ml using LC‐APCI‐MS and 1 to 1000 ng/ml using LC‐ESI‐MS/MS, respectively, and for aconitine, atropine, colchicine, physostigmine, and scopolamine from 5 to 100 ng/ml for LC‐APCI‐MS and 0.1 to 100 ng/ml for LC‐ESI‐MS/MS, respectively. Accuracy ranged from − 38.6 to 14.0%, repeatability from 2.5 to 13.5%, and intermediate precision from 4.8 to 13.5% using LC‐APCI‐MS and from − 38.3 to 8.3% for accuracy, from 3.5 to 13.8%, for repeatability, and from 4.3 to 14.7% for intermediate precision using LC‐ESI‐MS/MS. The lower limit of quantification was fixed at the lowest calibrator in the linearity experiments. With the exception of the greater sensitivity and higher identification power, LC‐ESI‐MS/MS had no major advantages over LC‐APCI‐MS. Both presented assays were applicable for sensitive detection of all studied analytes and for accurate and precise quantification, with the exception of the rather volatile nicotine. The applicability of the assays was demonstrated by analysis of plasma samples from suspected poisoning cases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.