Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric screening procedure for the identification of formaldehyde-derived tetrahydro-beta-carbolines in human urine.
A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for the identification of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline and four metabolites extracted from urine is described. In a first step the substances, formed by reaction of formaldehyde with biogenic amines, were derivatized in aqueous solution with methyl chloroformate to eliminate an artificial formation of these compounds via condensation of endogenous indole ethylamines with aldehydes or alpha-keto acids during the work-up procedure. This initial derivatization formed stable hydrophobic compounds and improved the extractability for a liquid-liquid extraction. Further clean-up was performed by solid-phase extraction on C18 sample preparation columns. The method can identify these compounds in the picogram range.
Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany.
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F
Musshoff
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T
Daldrup
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W
Bonte
D002243:Carbolines / Q000652:urine*; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans
D002243:Carbolines; D005557:Formaldehyde; C009804:tryptoline