(S)-1-(5-(4-Methylpiperazin-1-yl)-2,4-dinitrophenyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid as a derivatization reagent for ultrasensitive detection of amine enantiomers by HPLC-MS/MS and its application to the chiral metabolite analysis of (R)-1-aminoindan in saliva

(S)-1-(5-(4-Methylpiperazin-1-yl)-2,4-dinitrophenyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (Pro-PPZ) was employed as a chiral derivatization reagent (CDR) for the efficient enantioseparation and ultrasensitive mass spectrometric detection of chiral amines. Pro-PPZ was prepared from the one-step reaction of 1-(5-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl)-4-methylpiperazine (PPZ) and l -proline. Two amines and two amino acid methyl esters were selected as model chiral amines, which were easily labeled with Pro-PPZ under mild reaction conditions (35 °C for 10 min) generating Pro-PPZ-amine derivatives. The resulting diastereomers were completely separated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) using an ODS column ( R s = 3.4–17.0 for amines). Ultrasensitive detection limits on femtomolar level were obtained for the tested amines using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) chromatograms at a single monitoring ion, m/z 289 (0.1–5.0 fmol for amines). The practical metabolite analysis of (R)-1-aminoindan (R-AI) in saliva samples was performed by LC–MS/MS using the Pro-PPZ derivatization method. The method was validated in terms of precision, accuracy, and linearity. Using this method, R-AI concentrations in saliva were determined after a single oral administration of the drug rasagiline to healthy male and female subjects, but no (S)-1-aminoindan (S-AI) was detected, which suggesting that R-AI was not converted into S-enantiomer in the metabolic process. R-AI concentrations in four healthy volunteers ranged from 32.85 nM to 49.45 nM, with an average value of 43.76 nM. To date, there is no LC–MS (or MS/MS) method reported for the enantioselective determination of R-AI in human saliva samples.