High performance liquid quantitative bioanalysis

Jemal M., Xia Y., and Whigan D.B., 1998. The use of high-flow high performance liquid chromatography coupled with positive and negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry for quantitative bioanalysis via direct injection of the plasma/serum samples. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 12 1389. 

In bioanalysis, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is the analytical technique most frequently used. Often, extended sample preparation is required to make a biological sample (the matrix) suitable for HPLC-analysis. The compound of interest, the analyte, has to be isolated from the matrix as selective and quantitative as possible. The quality of the sample preparation largely determines the quality of the total analysis procedure. In a survey Majors [2] showed that approximately 30% of an error generated during sample analysis was due to sample preparation, which indicates the need for error reduction and quality improvement in sample preparation. 

Currently, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with atmospheric pressure ionization (API) triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) is the predominate quantitative technique used in modem pharmaceutical bioanalysis. The key technological achievement in API-MS was the efficient ionization in a liquid stream and transference of ions from atmosphere to vacuum. Of the API approaches developed, electrospray ionization (ESI) is the most commonly used. ESI provides an efficient means of soft ionization amenable to most molecules encountered in a dmg discovery setting. An alternative soft ionization approach is the use of desorption ionization (DI) techniques. The major distinguishing feature of DI techniques is that ions are typically produced from dried samples. 

Jemal, M. Qing, Y. Whigan, D.B. The Use of High-Flow High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Positive and Negative Ion Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Quantitative Bioanalysis via Direct Injection of the Plasma/Serum Samples, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 12, 1389-1399 (1998). 

Jemal M, Almond RB, Teitz DS. Quantitative bioanalysis utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry via selected-ion monitoring of the sodium ion adduct [M + Na] +. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 1997 11 1083-8. 

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