Isotope dilution/mass spectrometry of serum cholesterol with [3,4-13C]cholesterol: proposed definitive method.

We describe a new gas-chromatographic/mass-spectrometric (GC/MS) isotope-dilution method for determination of serum cholesterol. The method has been fully optimized and documented to provide the high accuracy and precision expected for a Definitive Method. In the presence of [3,4-13C]cholesterol, cholesteryl esters in serum are hydrolyzed under optimum conditions and the entire cholesterol pool is extracted and derivatized to silyl ethers. The cholesterol derivatives are resolved from other sterols by gas-liquid chromatography on a fused silica column, and selected ions characteristic of cholesterol and the [3,4-13C]cholesterol are monitored with a GC/MS quandrupole system. We estimated the cholesterol content of samples by bracketing each sample with standards of comparable cholesterol concentration that also contained the [3,4-13C]cholesterol. The procedure was highly reproducible (CV less than 0.5%), better accuracy and precision being obtained with [3,4-13C]cholesterol than with heptadeuterated cholesterol. Mean values per gram of dry serum for one serum pool assayed by this method and that of the National Bureau of Standards differed by 0.5%. We conclude that the method satisfies the criteria for a Definitive Method.