Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry applications for quantification of endogenous sex hormones

Abstract

Liquid chromatography, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, presents a powerful tool for the quantification of the sex steroid hormones 17-β estradiol, progesterone and testosterone from biological matrices. The importance of accurate quantification with these hormones, even at endogenous levels, has evolved with our understanding of the role these regulators play in human development, fertility and disease risk and manifestation. Routine monitoring of these analytes can be accomplished by immunoassay techniques, which face limitations on specificity and sensitivity, or using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. LC-MS/MS is growing in capability and acceptance for clinically relevant quantification of sex steroid hormones in biological matrices and is able to overcome many of the limitations of immunoassays. Analyte specificity has improved through the use of novel derivatizing agents, and sensitivity has been refined through the use of high-resolution chromatography and mass spectrometric technology. This review highlights these innovations, among others, in LC-MS/MS steroid hormone analysis captured in the literature over the last decade.

Cold-induced phase separation for the simple and reliable extraction of sex hormones for subsequent LC-MS/MS analysis

“…Numerous methodologies have been developed recently (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). As excellently summarized in the latest reviews, to achieve sex hormones profiling, most, if not all, of the published methods introduced liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or solid phase extraction (SPE) for sample preparation (17,18).…”

“…In modern clinical laboratories, LC-MS/MS has become the preferred platform for analyzing endogenous sex hormones ( 4 ). Numerous methodologies have been developed recently ( 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ). As excellently summarized in the latest reviews, to achieve profiling of sex hormones, most, if not all, of the published methods introduced liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or solid phase extraction (SPE) for sample preparation ( 17 , 18 ).…”

Low Progesterone and Low Estradiol Levels Associate With Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Men

“…The use of isotope-labeled versions of the analytes compensates for the matrix effects, resulting in an assay with low intra- and interassay CVs and high accuracy. Further, technical advances such as 2-dimensional chromatography, improved MS equipment, and ammonium fluoride as a mobile phase additive all contribute to the high performance of our assay ( 31 ). The assay is highly sensitive for the 8 included sex steroids/sex steroid precursors without requiring labor-intensive derivatization of the samples.…”

Questions of control of hormone content in fish and other aquatic organisms (metaanalysis)

“…The HPLC method combined with combination mass spectrometry (MS/MS) (HPLC-MS/MS) allows the simultaneous determination of several analytes, while both free and conjugated hormones can be analyzed. This method possesses high specificity, selectivity and sensitivity, and allows achieving low values of quantitative determination [19,20].…”