A new solid-phase extraction method for human urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol

Abstract

A new solid-phase extraction procedure for urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) was established. Sep-Pak Diol cartridge was used, because MHPG is a neutral and alcoholic compound. Aqueous samples were adsorbed to the cartridge, then MHPG was eluted by the addition of ethyl acetate. After the eluate was evaporated, the residuum was dissolved with HPLC mobile phase and injected into HPLC. The extraction procedure was highly specific to MHPG, and none of other acidic catecholamine metabolites, such as vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), was extracted. The recovery of MHPG using this method was over 90% and higher than those using previously described methods such as liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Of the three vanillyl alcohol isomers, isovanillyl alcohol was the most suitable as an internal standard for the correction of column-to-column variation of the recovery. Human urinary unconjugated MHPG extracted by the new procedure could be measured by HPLC with a fluorescence detection. Further complicated derivatization and more sensitive detection systems, such as GC-MS and HPLC-electrochemical detector (ECD), were not needed due to high selectivity and high recovery of the extraction procedure. In addition, the urinary total (conjugated plus unconjugated) MHPG content could also be determined by the same procedure after an enzymatic hydrolysis of conjugated MHPG. The newly developed extraction procedure was simple, rapid and highly specific, and might be applicable to the analysis of MHPG in various body fluids.