Novel application of reversed-phase UPLC-oaTOF-MS for lipid analysis in complex biological mixtures: a new tool for lipidomics.

Ultra-Performance LC (UPLC) utilizing sub-2-mum porous stationary phase particles operating with high linear velocities at pressures >9000 psi was coupled with orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight (oaTOF) mass spectrometry and successfully employed for the rapid separation of lipids from complex matrices. The UPLC system produced information-rich chromatograms with typical measured peak widths of 3 s at peak base, generating peak capacities in excess of 200 in 10 min. Further UPLC coupled with MSE technology provided parent and fragment mass information of lipids in one chromatographic run, thus, providing an attractive alternative to current LC methods for targeted lipid analysis as well as lipidomic studies.