Development of a method for the measurement of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Background: Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) is a steroid that is increasingly being recognized as a potential drug of abuse in many countries. This is due to its reputation as a hormone that may be able to retard the ageing process. The measurement of DHEAS is useful in the diagnosis of medical conditions such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovary syndrome. Thus, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed to determine DHEAS concentrations in human serum. Method: The chromatography was performed using a Waters™ 2795 Alliance HT LC system coupled to a Mercury Fusion-RP column fitted with a SecurityGuard™ column. Results: DHEAS and the internal standard, deuterated DHEAS, both had a retention time of 1.5 min. The transition determined by the Micromass Quattro™ tandem mass spectrometer for DHEAS was m/z 367.3 > 96.7 and for the internal standard m/z 369.3 > 96.6. The method was linear up to 20 μmol/L; the lower limit of detection and the lower limit of quantitation were both 1 μmol/L. The intra- and interassay imprecision were <11% over a concentration range of 1-18 μmol/L for the in-house quality control and <12% for the intra- and interassay imprecision for the Bio-Rad Lyphocheck QC. Conclusion: The measurement of DHEAS by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is robust and has a simple sample preparation procedure with a rapid cycle time of only 4 min. © 2005 The Association for Clinical Biochemistry.