Abstract
Metabolite identification and metabolite profiling are of major importance in the pharmaceutical and clinical context. However, anions of biological relevance such as sulfates, sulfonates, and phosphates are rarely included in common techniques for metabolite studies. In this protocol, we demonstrate a unique method to selectively determine these anions. The method comprises a capillary electrophoresis separation using an acidic background electrolyte (pH ≤ 2) and anodic detection by mass spectrometry via negative electrospray ionization. In this way, only anions of strong acids like sulfates are determined. The selectivity for sulfur-containing species is proved based on the specific isotopic ratios. In conjunction with the accurate mass from the time-of-flight mass spectrometer, the presented method is well suited for clinical and pharmaceutical applications to identify possible metabolites and to quantify known metabolites.
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Acknowledgements
Prof. W. Weinmann from University in Bern is greatly acknowledged for valuable discussions and the gift of deuterated ethylsulfate.
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Bunz, SC., Neusüß, C. (2013). The Selective Determination of Sulfates, Sulfonates, and Phosphates in Urine by Capillary Electrophoresis/Mass Spectrometry. In: Phillips, T., Kalish, H. (eds) Clinical Applications of Capillary Electrophoresis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 919. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-029-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-029-8_3
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Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-028-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-029-8
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