High-Throughput LC-MS/MS Quantification of 17-Hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) in Human Blood Serum for Clinical Research Purposes

Instrument Type: LCMSMS

17-Hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) is a biosynthetic precursor to other steroids such as corticosteroids, androgens, and estrogens. It is converted to 11-deoxycortisol by 21-alpha-hydroxylase or to androstenedione by 17, 20 lyase. Researchers investigating how these enzymes function need to measure 17-OHP within an analytical range of 10 to 1,000 ng/dL (0.3 to 30 nmol/L) in blood serum. 17-OHP readily forms positive ions by atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI), which is less prone to matrix effects than electrospray ionization (ESI).

High-Throughput LC-MS/MS Quantification of Pregnenolone in Human Blood Serum for Clinical Research Purposes

Instrument Type: LCMSMS

Pregnenolone is a biosynthetic precursor to other steroids such as corticosteroids, androgens, and estrogens. Researchers investigating conversion to progesterone or to 17-OH-pregnenolone need to quantify pregnenolone within an analytical range of 0.3 to 1.5 nmol/L in blood serum. Since pregnenolone does not ionize well, derivatization with hydroxyl amine was necessary to reliably achieve the desired detection. We pursued this strategy along with liquid-liquid extraction to develop a simple sample preparation that would provide robust and sensitive quantitation of pregnenolone using ESI.