Analysis of oxidative warfarin metabolites by thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Oxidative metabolites of the anticoagulant, warfarin [4-hydroxy-3-(3-oxo-1-phenylbutyl)-2 H-1-benzopyran-2-one], produced by the actions of cytochromes P450 were analyzed by thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Warfarin, dehydrowarfarin, and the 6-, 7-, 8-, and 4′-hydroxy derivatives of warfarin were found to ionize well by the thermospray process in the presence of ammonium acetate. Thermospray mass spectra of these compounds were generally dominated by the protonated molecule, (M + H) +, and ions formed by the loss of water from the protonated molecule, (M + H − H 2O) +. Fragment ions arising from the hydroxycoumarin, benzylhydroxycoumarin, and phenylbutanone portions of the molecules were observed, and the relative intensity of these fragment ions was greatly increased with filament ionization and application of a high repeller potential (100–130 V). Selected-ion monitoring of the (M + H) + and (M + H − H 2O) + ions provided sensitivities for these compounds in the 2 to 10 ng range. A method employing thermospray HPLC/MS with selected-ion monitoring and internal standard quantitation for the analysis of the oxidative metabolites of warfarin is described.