Comparison between one and two-dimensional liquid chromatographic approaches for the determination of plasmatic stroke biomarkers by isotope dilution and tandem mass spectrometry

This work presents the evaluation of one- and two-dimensional liquid chromatography for the quantification of three stroke outcome predictors in plasma. Isotopically labelled analogues of L-arginine (L-Arg), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) are used to quantify the three analytes by isotope dilution and tandem mass spectrometry. Chromatographic isotope effects were not observed between natural L-Arg and its 15N-labelled analogue but they were observed between natural ADMA and SDMA and their multiple deuterated analogues. Under these conditions, bidimensional chromatography through the use of an automated multiple heart cutting mode provided unsatisfactory results for ADMA and SDMA due to the different amounts of natural and labelled compounds transferred from the first to the second chromatographic dimension. In contrast, using one dimensional liquid chromatography after a derivatization step to esterify carboxylic groups, chromatographic isotope effects did not alter the initial mass balance as full coelution of natural and labelled analogues or baseline resolution between the analytes was not required. This method was successfully validated following the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines and applied to the analysis of plasma samples from patients who had suffered from an intraparenchymal haemorrhagic stroke.