title: Accurate measurement of female genital tract fluid dilution in cervicovaginal lavage samples.
abstract: An ion chromatographic method with conductivity detection for the precise and accurate analysis of lithium ions in phosphate-buffered saline, used as a cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) fluid, was developed and validated. The lithium ion dilution factor during the CVL is used to calculate the volume of cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) collected. Initial CVL Li(+) concentrations of 1mM and 10mM were evaluated. The method is robust, practical, and afforded an accurate measurement (5% of the measurement, or better) at 24μL of vaginal fluid simulant collected per mL of CVL fluid, as low as 5μLmL(-1) using 10mM Li(+) with a measurement accuracy of 6.7%. Ion chromatograms of real-world CVL samples collected in vivo from common animal models (sheep and pig-tailed macaque) and a human volunteer demonstrate that the analysis is interference-free. The method is readily transferrable and should enable the accurate measurement of CVF volume collected during CVLs benefitting a broad range of research disciplines, including pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, metabolomic, and microbiome studies.
authors.affiliation: Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 2285 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Churchman
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, 128-132 W. Chestnut Ave., Monrovia, CA, United States.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Oak Crest Institute of Science, 128-132 W. Chestnut Ave., Monrovia, CA, United States. Electronic address: m.baum@oak-crest.org.
authors.forename: Marc M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Baum
mesh_terms: D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation; D014621:Vagina / Q000378:metabolism*
keywords: Cervicovaginal fluid dilution; Cervicovaginal lavage; Ion chromatography; Lithium