Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry method to improve the determination of dansylated polyamines.
Determination of polyamine pools is still a step impossible to circumvent in studies aimed at determining the pathophysiological role of natural polyamines. In addition, polyamine measurement in biological fluids and tissues may have clinical relevance, especially in cancer patients. Among the wide panel of analytical methods developed for the quantification of polyamines, high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of polyamines after derivatization with dansyl chloride remains the most commonly used method. In this work, we show that atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (MS) can be used to detect and quantify biologically relevant polyamines after dansylation, without chromatographic separation. Positive-ion mass spectra for each dansylated polyamine were generated after optimization by flow injection analysis (FIA). FIA coupled with MS detection by selected ion monitoring greatly increased the sensitivity of the polyamine detection. The method is linear over a wide range of polyamine concentrations and allows detection of quantities as low as 5 fmol. The FIA/MS method is about 50-fold more sensitive than the conventional HPLC/fluorimetry procedure. A good correlation (r>0.98) between these two methods was observed. The FIA/MS method notably reduces the time of analysis per sample to 1.5 min and turns out to be rapid, efficient, cost saving, reproducible, and sufficiently simple to allow its routine application.
Gaboriau
François
F
Groupe de Recherche en Thérapeutique Anticancéreuse, Faculté de Médecine, 2 Av. du Pr. Léon Bernard, F-35043 Rennes Cedex, France. francois.gaboriau@univ-rennes1.fr
Havouis
René
R
Moulinoux
Jacques-Philippe
JP
Delcros
Jean-Guy
JG
D000818:Animals; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D016466:CHO Cells; D006224:Cricetinae; D003619:Dansyl Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D011073:Polyamines / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D003619:Dansyl Compounds; D011073:Polyamines