An online coupled breast cancer cell membrane chromatography with HPLC/MS for screening active compounds from Fructus evodiae

As a preliminary stage of drug discovery, the screening of active compounds from complex systems requires efficient and accurate techniques. In our study, a two dimensional liquid chromatography method was developed for the fast screening of anti-breast cancer compounds. MDA-MB-231 cell membrane chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy was combined online for recognition, separation, and identification of target components from the traditional Chinese medicine Fructus evodiae. Here, the breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 were used to prepare the chromatographic stationary phase in the first dimension. The target compounds had a retention characteristic on cell membrane chromatography. The retention fraction was enriched using an online C18 column and was analyzed by the second dimensional reversed phase chromatography. Finally, the activity of the retention fractions was tested through in vitro experiments. Results showed that the target compounds were evodiamine and rutaecarpine and their IC50 values were 33.4 mu M and 73.4 mu M, respectively, which illustrated that they could inhibit the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells. These results support the conclusion that this coupled analytical technique could be an efficient method in drug discovery.