Strategy and principles of the simultaneous analysis of prostanoids by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/selected-ion monitoring Original Research Article

The simultaneous analysis of prostanoids (prostaglandins (PGs) and thromboxane (TX)) by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/selected-ion monitoring (GC/MS/SIM) has been established for clinical specimens (plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and culture medium). Deuterated PGs and TX were used as internal standards for the isotope dilution assay method. They were derivatized to the methyl (Me) ester of the methoxime (MOX) dimethylisopropylsilyl (DMiPSi) ether form or the Me ester of the DMiPSi ether form by the same procedure. Samples were purified in three steps on an octadecyl silica column and a silicic acid column during the derivatization. The positive [M−43] fragments of the PGs, TX, and their deuterated internal standards were monitored simultaneously. The calibration curves of each PG and TX were expressed linearly from 10 to 100 ng by the isotope dilution method. With this method, the PG and TX content of plasma, urine, CSF, and cell culture media were assayed in a single experiment.