Analysis of taxol and related diterpenoids from cell cultures by liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry.

Authentic taxanes (taxol, 10-deacetyltaxol, cephalomannine, 10-deacetylcephalomannine, baccatin III) and extracts from cell cultures derived from various yew tree species have been analyzed by microbore high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS). All gave excellent positive-ion ES spectra with dominant protonated molecules at low nozzle-to-skimmer bias value (45 V). By increasing the voltage value to 85 V, fragmentation increased and structurally informative spectra were obtained. The fragments found were both of the C-13 side-chain and of the taxane ring, so their analysis gave important information about the taxane structure and any chemical modifications at different positions of the molecule. When tandem MS was used (argon gas, 25 eV collision energy), fragments similar to those obtained from collision-induced dissociation in the source were detected. The cell culture extracts were analyzed by microbore HPLC-ESMS and excellent spectra were obtained on 5-10 ng of separated compounds; even greater selectivity and sensitivity were obtained through use of selected-ion monitoring (SIM). With SIM, 100 pg of all taxanes could readily be detected. In the HPLC-ESMS mode, only 10% of the eluent was mass-analyzed, so 90% would be available for recovery through fraction collecting.