Background:The quaternary ammonium compounds, choline and betaine, and dimethylglycine (DMG) reside along a metabolic pathway linked to the synthesis of neurotransmitters and membrane phospholipids and to homocysteine remethylation and, therefore, folate status. Lack of a convenient, high-throughput method for the determination of these compounds has prevented population-based studies of their possible associations with lifestyle, nutrition, and chronic diseases. Methods: Serum or plasma samples were deproteinized by mixing with three volumes of acetonitrile that contained d 9 -choline and d 9 -betaine as internal standards. We used a normal-phase silica column for the separation of choline (retention time, 2.8 min), betaine (1.3 min), DMG (1.15 min), and internal standards, which were detected as positive ions by tandem mass spectroscopy in the multiple-reaction monitoring mode, using the molecular transitions m/z 104360 (choline), m/z 113369 (d 9 -choline), m/z 118359 (betaine), m/z 127368 (d 9 -betaine), and m/z 104358 (DMG). Results: For all three metabolites, the assay was linear in the range 0.4 -400 mol/L, and the lower limit of the detection (signal-to-noise ratio ‫؍‬ 5) was <0.3 mol/L. The within-and between-day imprecision (CVs) was 2.1-7.2% and 3.5-8.8%, respectively. The analytical recovery was 87-105%. The fasting plasma concentrations (median, 25th-75th percentiles) were 8.0 (7.0 -9.3) mol/L for choline, 31.7 (27.0 -41.1) mol/L for betaine, and 1.66 (1.30 -2.02) mol/L for DMG in 60 healthy blood donors. In individuals who had eaten a light breakfast, plasma concentrations of all three metabolites

We have developed a modified version of our fully automated column-switching HPLC method for determining total plasma homocysteine based on single-column (reversed-phase) separation. Homocysteine, cysteine, and cysteinylglycine in plasma (total concentrations), acid-precipitated plasma (non-protein-bound concentrations), and urine can be determined. The derivatization and chromatography were performed automatically by a sample processor. The successful separation of all thiol species (within 15 min) was accomplished by accurate adjustment of the pH of the mobile phase to 3.65 (plasma) or 3.50 (acid-precipitated plasma, urine). Maximal fluorescence yield of cysteine, cysteinylglycine, and, to a lesser degree, homocysteine was dependent on optimal concentrations of EDTA and dithioerythritol during reduction (with NaBH4) and derivatization (with monobromobimane). The method is sensitive (detection limit approximately 0.05 pmol) and has a high degree of precision (CV &lt; 5%). The sample output is approximately 70 samples in 24 h. Serum and heparin plasma can also be analyzed. Hemolysis up to approximately 2.0 g/L of hemoglobin did not interfere with the analytical recovery of homocysteine or cysteine. Collection of blood, separation of plasma from whole blood, and acid precipitation must be standardized to obtain reproducible thiol results. Our modifications and the standardization of blood-sampling procedures have substantially improved the method and broadened its applications.

Risk of chronic diseases, like cardiovascular disease and cancer, has been associated with biomarkers related to one-carbon metabolism, which comprises a metabolic network of cross-talking pathways. To address this complexity in epidemiological studies, we have established an isotope dilution HPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of 12 biomarkers and metabolites. All sample handling is performed by a robotic workstation. The assay uses 45 μL of plasma, and sample treatment consists of protein precipitation by trichloroacetic acid. The analytes were separated on a Fortis Phenyl column using an isocratic mobile phase that contained water, methanol and acetic acid. Methionine, methionine sulfoxide, choline, betaine, dimethylglycine, arginine, asymmetric dimethylarginine, symmetric dimethylarginine, homoarginine, creatinine, cystathionine and trimethyllysine all showed limits of detection well below the 5th percentile of plasma distributions in healthy humans, coefficients of variation were in the range 2.2-12.3 %, and recoveries were 80-131 %. Simple sample processing, low-volume consumption, multiplexing and high capacity/short run time of this method make it suitable for large-scale metabolic profiling of precious biobank samples.

Background:The combined measurement of methylmalonic acid (MMA) and total homocysteine (tHcy) in serum or plasma is useful in diagnosing and distinguishing between cobalamin and folate deficiencies. We developed and validated an isotope-dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method with automated sample workup for the determination of MMA, tHcy, and the related amino acids Met, total cysteine (tCys), Ser, and Gly in serum or plasma. Methods: Serum or plasma samples (100 L) were treated with a reductant (dithioerythritol), deproteinized with ethanol, and derivatized and extracted in a single step by the addition of methylchloroformate and toluene. All liquid handling was performed in 96-well (1 mL) microtiter plates by a robotic workstation. The N(S)-methoxycarbonyl ethyl ester derivatives were analyzed by GC-MS in the selected-ion monitoring mode. Results: Detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio, 5:1) were between 0.03 mol/L (MMA) and 10 mol/L (Ser, tCys). The assay was linear to 100 mol/L for MMA and tHcy and to 1000 mol/L for Met, tCys, Ser, and Gly. The within-day CVs ranged from 0.7% to 3.6% (n ‫؍‬ 20), and the between-day CVs from 2.1% to 8.1% (n ‫؍‬ 20). The recovery was between 79% and 99% for the different analytes. Conclusion: This assay combines a simple and automated sample preparation with selective and sensitive

Targeted metabolic profiling characterized by complementary platforms, multiplexing and low volume consumption are increasingly used for studies using biobank material. Using liquid-liquid extraction, we developed a sample workup suitable for quantification of 6 fat- and 26 water-soluble biomarkers. 50 μL of serum/plasma was mixed with dithioerythritol, ethanol, and isooctane/chloroform. The organic layer was used for analysis of the fat-soluble vitamins all-trans retinol (A), 25-hydroxyvitamin D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, α-tocopherol (E), γ-tocopherol (E), and phylloquinone (K1) by LC-MS/MS. The remaining aqueous fraction was mixed with ethanol, water, pyridine, and methylchloroformate (in toluene) to derivatize the water-soluble biomarkers. The resulting toluene layer was used for GC-MS/MS analysis of alanine, α-ketoglutarate, asparagine, aspartic acid, cystathionine, total cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, total homocysteine, isoleucine, kynurenine, leucine, lysine, methionine, methylmalonic acid, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, sarcosine, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. Isotope-labeled internal standards were used for all analytes. Chromatographic run times for the LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS were 4.5 and 11 min, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) for the low-concentration analytes (25-hydroxyvitamin D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, and phylloquinone) were 25, 17, and 0.33 nM, respectively, while all other analytes demonstrated sensitivity significantly lower than endogenous concentrations. Recoveries ranged from 85.5-109.9% and within- and between-day coefficients of variance (CVs) were 0.7-9.4% and 1.1-17.5%, respectively. This low-volume, high-throughput multianalyte assay is currently in use in our laboratory for quantification of 32 serum/plasma biomarkers in epidemiological studies.