The simultaneous determination of the prostaglandins by chemospecific deuteration with separation and quantification by combined gas chromatography — chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Abstract

A new gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (g.c./m.s.) procedure is described which simultaneously quantifies eight prostaglandins using one internal standard. The method could easily be extended to include more prostaglandins. The basis of the new method derives from two developments; 1) the discovery of quantitative chemospecific deuteration conditions for the C 5–C 6 double bonds of the prostaglandins (PG 2), and 2) the development of special computer software to solve the analytical problem. Eight prostaglandins, present in the 1–100 ppm range, were determined with errors only occasionally over 10%. Substantially better performance may be expected with a more stable mass spectrometer. Samples with only 2 prostaglandins showed errors only occasionally over 1%.