A New Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for In-Tube SPME/UHPLC-MS/MS of Anandamide in Plasma Samples

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons. There is substantial evidence that the endocannabinoid system modulates the dopaminergic activity in the basal ganglia, a forebrain system that integrates cortical information to coordinate motor activity regulating signals. In this article, a fused-silica capillary with a molecularly imprinted polymer was developed for in-tube solid-phase microextraction of the endocannabinoid anandamide in plasma samples from Parkinson’s disease patients and further analysis by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The molecularly imprinted polymer capillary presented recognition sites with complementary shape, size, and functionality to anandamide. Scanning electron micrographs and Fouriertransform infrared spectra illustrated the physical and chemical modification of the printed and non-printed capillary surface. The in-tube solid-phase microextraction ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method presented a linear range from 0.1 to 20 ng mL-1, precision with coefficient of variation values ranging from 1.2 to 13%, and relative standard deviation accuracy ranging from -3.6 to 7.5%. The method developed herein can adequately determine anandamide in plasma samples from Parkinson’s disease patients. By applying the standard addition approach, the anandamide plasmatic concentration in these samples was found to range from 0.2 to 0.4 ng mL-1.