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A fast method for the detection of irinotecan in plasma samples by combining solid phase extraction and differential pulse voltammetry

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Abstract

In this paper, a fast method for the detection of irinotecan (CPT-11) in plasma samples was investigated. CPT-11 is widely used in a number of chemotherapeutic treatments of several solid tumors. The method is based on the combination of a solid phase extraction and an electrochemical detection step. The extraction of CPT-11 from plasma was performed using solid phase extraction (SPE) columns and acetonitrile as eluent. The procedure included also a cleaning step to eliminate interference due to plasma endogenous compounds and the co-therapeutics 5-fluoroacil (5-FU) and folinic acid (FA). The latter are administered together with CPT-11 in the FOLFIRI regimen. The detection of CPT-11 was performed by differential pulse voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in basified acetonitrile media. Under these conditions, a well-defined peak due to the oxidation of the tertiary ammine end of CPT-11, also free from interference due to main metabolites, was obtained. Calibration plots showed a good linear response with limit of detection and quantification of 1.10 × 10−7 and 3.74 × 10−7 M, respectively. The suitability of the method proposed here for clinical applications was verified by determining the concentration of CPT-11 in plasma samples of an oncological patient, collected after 30 and 180 min from the infusion of the drug.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) under the grant assigned for the Project 12214 (Innovative Tools for cancer risk assessment and early diagnosis—5 × 1000) and the Regione Friuli-Venezia-Giulia under the grant assigned for the Project “NADIATools” (Nano Diagnostic and Automated Therapeutic Tools for Oncology—POR-FESR 2014-2020, call 1.3b Smart Health).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Science and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, Mestre-Venezia, 30172, Venice, Italy

    Gregorio Bonazza, Federico Polo & Salvatore Daniele

  2. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Via Franco Gallini 2, 33081, Aviano, Pordenone, Italy

    Stefano Tartaggia & Giuseppe Toffoli

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  1. Gregorio Bonazza
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  2. Stefano Tartaggia
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  3. Giuseppe Toffoli
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  4. Federico Polo
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  5. Salvatore Daniele
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Correspondence to Salvatore Daniele.

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For all experiments conducted with patient plasma, informed consent was obtained and approval was granted by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), Italy.

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Bonazza, G., Tartaggia, S., Toffoli, G. et al. A fast method for the detection of irinotecan in plasma samples by combining solid phase extraction and differential pulse voltammetry. Anal Bioanal Chem 412, 1585–1595 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02386-1

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