Quantitative profiling of prostaglandins and thromboxane by high-resolution gas chromatography-selected--ion monitoring.

The development and biological application of a rapid method for quantitative profiling of prostaglandins and thromboxane using high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) coupled with mass spectrometry in the selected-ion monitoring technique (SIM) are described. The method is based on the single-step extraction of prostaglandins from biological samples on C18 reversed-phase cartridges after addition of deuterated analogues as internal standards, followed by derivatization of functional groups and final analysis by HRGC-SIM with wall-coated open tubular persilanized capillary columns. Biological applications include the determination of endogenous arachidonic acid cascade profiles in rat tissue homogenates and thromboxane synthetase inhibition studies in human serum.