Chemometric-Assisted Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Gadolinium-Based Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent in Liposomes

Gadodiamide (Gd-DTPA-BMA) is a gadolinium (Gd) chelate composed of two carboxylate groups of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and two amide groups (BMA). Gd complexes are the most widely used contrast agents in nuclear magnetic resonance. Furthermore, our research group has demonstrated the potential of liposomes containing Gd-DTPA-BMA for cancer therapy. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a chemometric-assisted method by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) for determination of Gd-DTPA-BMA in liposomes. The chromatographic conditions obtained were: Sequant® ZIC®-HILIC Merck (150 × 4.6 mm, 3.5 µm, 100 Å) column, mobile phase composed of 5 mmol L-1 ACN/NH4FA, pH 4.5 (60:40 v/v) at 0.6 mL min-1, injection volume of 20 µL, temperature of 30 ºC, and detection at 210 nm. The linear range was of 40 to 120 nmol mL-1. The use of chemometrics allowed obtaining optimal chromatographic parameters, in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, resolution, and asymmetry.