Separation and identification of F2-isoprostane regioisomers and diastereomers by novel liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric methods.

Isoprostanes are isomers of prostaglandins that are generated from free radical-initiated autoxidation of arachidonic acid. Quantification of F(2)-isoprostanes is regarded as the "gold standard" to assess oxidative stress in various human diseases. There are 32 possible racemic isoprostane isomers that exist as four sets of regioisomers. Each regioisomer is composed of eight diastereomers. We report liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric methods to separate and identify F(2)-isoprostane stereoisomers. These methods have been applied to the analysis of F(2)-isoprostanes derived from tissues of rats exposed to an oxidative stress and are useful to assess the relative formation of various regioisomers and stereoisomers generated in vitro and in vivo. The delineation of the more abundant isomers formed will allow for studies to examine the biological relevance of selected compounds in vivo.