Desmosine DES and isodesmosine IDES are both pyridinium amino acid isomers that serve as cross-linking molecules binding the polymeric chains of amino acids into elastin. Found in urine, they are markers for the degradation of elastin which occurs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD . In this study, a robust method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry UPLC-MS/MS with selected reaction monitoring SRM mode was developed for the analysis of DES and IDES in human urine. Pyridylethyl-cysteine PE-Cys as internal standard I.S. was employed for the quantifi cation of DES and IDES. The analytes and I.S. were extracted by solid-phase extraction with Oasis MCX cartridges and separated on an AccQ-Tag TM Ultra column. The assay was accurate -6.8% to 14.5% and precise 2.8% to 13.8% within the concentration range of 1 to 250 pmol/mL. Moreover, the recovery and stability working/ I.S. solution, urine samples with added elastin, and pretreated sample was investigated, and these parameters were found acceptable. The UPLC-MS/MS method was validated and had good reproducibility and stability for the quantifi cation of DES and IDES, which requires only 100 μL of human urine. This assay will be a useful means for measuring DES and IDES levels in urine with robustness and characterizing patients with COPD.
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