The identification of unusual bile acid metabolites by tandem mass spectrometry: use of low-energy collision-induced dissociation to produce informative spectra.

Abstract

The use of collision-induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been shown to produce fragmentation that is useful for the structural analysis of bile acids and their conjugates. Low-energy CID using a triple quadrupole has been used to help characterise bile acid identity but the majority of work has been conducted using high-energy CID on specialised instrumentation. This paper describes the use of low-energy CID as a rapid method for identification of urinary bile acids and presents some examples of its use in the diagnosis of liver disease in infants. These include the differential diagnosis of peroxisomal disorders, identification of compounds (e.g. 3 beta,7 alpha-dihydroxy-5-cholenoic acid 3-sulphate) indicative of 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-C27-steroid dehydrogenase/isomerase deficiency and the confirmation of the identity of an unusual bile acid series consisting of different conjugates of lithocholic acid. The use of lithium cationisation and derivatisation with aminosulfonic acids for the analysis of unconjugated and glycine-conjugated bile acids has also been evaluated.