Measurement of plasma pristanic, phytanic and very long chain fatty acids by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry for the diagnosis of peroxisomal disorders

High pressure liquid chromatography with a narrow bore C8 column has been used to separate pristanic, phytanic and very long chain fatty acids, important in the diagnosis of peroxisomal disorders, for their accurate isotope dilution quantification by tandem mass spectrometry. The fatty acids, isolated from plasma, were analysed as trimethylaminoethyl ester (quaternary ammonium) derivatives. Analysis time was 2.5 h and sample requirement was 10 μl of plasma. Good agreement with GC–MS methods for the levels of pristanic and phytanic acids, C26:0/C22:0 and C24:0/C22:0 ratios were obtained for 12 plasma samples from peroxisomal disorder patients and a set of controls.