Rapid micro-scale assay for homocysteine by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
OBJECTIVE
Increased total homocysteine (tHcy) level is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Here, we describe a rapid tHcy micro-scale assay.


METHODS
We developed an easy sample preparation and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the measurement of tHcy in human serum and plasma, respectively.


RESULTS
The tHcy assay was linear up to 61.6 micromol/L, the detection limit was 1.0 micromol/L, the lower limit of quantification was 1.8 micromol/L, the imprecision in the range of 9.30-25.9 micromol/L was less than 5.9% and the analytical recovery was 94.7 +/- 6.3%.


CONCLUSIONS
Our novel tHcy LC-MS/MS assay is a quick, precise and robust method for tHcy determination in routine diagnostics.
Kuhn
Joachim
J
Institut für Laboratoriums- und Transfusionsmedizin, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen, Universitätsklinik der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. jkuhn@hdz-nrw.de
Götting
Christian
C
Kleesiek
Knut
K
D001681:Biological Assay; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D006710:Homocysteine