Simultaneous determination of selected eicosanoids by reversed-phase HPLC method using fluorescence detection and application to rat and human plasma, and rat heart and kidney samples

Abstract

Eicosanoids are biologically active lipid-derived oxidative metabolites of arachidonic acid. We, herein, present an improved sensitive, selective and robust high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fluorescence assay for simultaneous quantification of eicosanoids in human plasma and rat tissues. Aliquots of 200μL of plasma or 30mg of heart or kidney tissues were spiked with 16-hydroxydecanoic acid as internal standard, and extracted with anhydrous acetonitrile using solid phase cartridges. The eluted samples were dried, reconstituted in anhydrous acetonitrile and labeled with 2-(2,3-naphthalimino)ethyl-trifluoromethanesulphonate in the presence of saturated potassium fluoride solution in anhydrous acetonitrile and N,N-diiospropylethylamine as catalyst. The derivatized eicosanoids were extracted with anhydrous acetonitrile using solid phase cartridges. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 reversed phase column using gradient mobile phase of 0.05% of formic acid:acetonitrile:water at 0.8mL/min flow rate. The analytes were detected at excitation and emission wavelength of 260 and 396nm, respectively. The assay was linear (r2≥0.98) in the concentration range of 0.01–2.5μg/mL. The intra-day and inter-day coefficients variation was less than 19.8%. Using this assay, we were able to quantify arachidonic acid metabolites simultaneously in human and rat biological samples.