Isotope-dilution mass spectrometry for quantification of urinary active androgens separated by gas chromatography

Cross reacting antibodies can cause an overestimation of the results of immunoassays. Therefore, alternative methods are needed for the accurate quantification of steroids. Gas chromatography combined with isotope-dilution mass spectrometry (GC-IDMS) is developed to quantify urinary active androgens, testosterone, epitestosterone and dihydrotestosterone, which are clinically relevant androgens to both hair-loss and prostate diseases. The method devised involves enzymatic hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase, solid-phase extraction, liquid-liquid extraction using methyl tert-butyl ether and subsequent conversion to pen-tafluorophenyldimethylsilyl-trimethylsilyl (flophemesyl-TMS) derivatives for sensitive and selective analysis in selected-ion monitoring mode. Flophemesyl-TMS derivatization not only eliminates matrix interference but also has a good peak resolution within a 6 min-run. A selective and sensitive GC technique with flophemesyl-TMS derivatives also allows accurate quantitative analysis of three active androgens when combined with IDMS. The limit of quantification of the three analytes was <50 pg/mL, and extraction recoveries ranged from 91.9 to 102.1%. The precision and accuracy were 1.2~6.5% and 89.0~106.7%, respectively. This GC-IDMS method can be useful for evaluating the drug efficacy and monitoring the biological processes responsible for male-pattern baldness and prostate diseases.