A semiautomated analysis method for catecholamines, indoleamines, and some prominent metabolites in microdissected regions of the nervous system: an isocratic HPLC technique employing coulometric detection and minimal sample preparation.

The application of a commercially available coulometric electrochemical detector to the automated HPLC analysis of some monoamines and their metabolites in microdissected areas of the rat nervous system is described. Apart from the stability and high sensitivity of the system, other appealing features of the technique are the facile sample preparation and long-term sample storage characteristics which show minimal analyte degradation. Basal values of some regional monoamine and metabolite concentration are listed together with a brief appendix that serves as a user's guide to the operation and maintenance of the detection system.