Recent advances in the methods and applications used to analyze eicosanoids

Abstract

Eicosanoids are a large family derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids, including prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes. They are biologically active lipid mediators and are known to play an important role in numerous physiological and pathophysiological proces⁃ ses, such as inflammation. This complete enzymatic system produces hundreds of eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acids and related polyunsaturated fatty acids with very similar struc⁃ tures, chemistries and physical properties which makes the analysis of eicosanoids a challenging task, especially in biological samples. In this article, we review and discuss the methods and applications published over the last five years that have been used to analyze eico⁃ sanoids in biological samples, and emphasize the recent advances and the latest developments.