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Ion trap liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry analysis of leukotriene B 4 in exhaled breath condensate
Author(s) -
Montuschi Paolo,
Martello Simona,
Felli Marialinda,
Mondino Chiara,
Chiarotti Marcello
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.1682
Subject(s) - chemistry , leukotriene b4 , exhaled breath condensate , chromatography , mass spectrometry , electrospray ionization , atmospheric pressure chemical ionization , leukotriene , chemical ionization , detection limit , selected reaction monitoring , ion trap , tandem mass spectrometry , ion , asthma , ionization , medicine , inflammation , organic chemistry
The objective of this study is the measurement of leukotriene B 4 (LTB 4 ), a potent inflammatory mediator, in exhaled breath condensate by using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS and LC/MS/MS). Condensation of exhaled breath is a non‐invasive method to collect airway secretions. Deuterated (d 4 )‐LTB 4 was used as internal standard. The MS and MS/MS behavior of LTB 4 and LTB 4 ‐d 4 was studied by electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in both positive and negative ion polarity mode. Preliminary results show that monitoring negative ions in ESI mode has the best sensitivity for both LTB 4 and LTB 4 ‐d 4 . Therefore, negative ESI was chosen, and the [MH] − ions at m/z 335 and 339 were selected for quantification. The lower limit of quantification for LTB 4 , expressed as the lowest point of the calibration curve, was 100 pg/mL. Using this technique, we measured LTB 4 in exhaled breath condensate in two healthy subjects, four asthmatic patients on anti‐inflammatory treatment, and four asthmatic patients who were not on anti‐inflammatory drugs. Exhaled LTB 4 concentrations were detected only in asthmatic patients who were not on anti‐inflammatory therapy. This method is potentially useful for non‐invasive assessment of airway inflammation, but the sensitivity of the technique needs to be improved. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.