Quantitation of Aldosterone in Serum or Plasma Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

Protocol
Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB, volume 1378)

Abstract

Accurate determination of serum and plasma aldosterone is essential for screening, diagnosis, and subtype classification of primary aldosteronism (PA). Its measurement is also used in the investigation of adrenal incidentaloma, adrenal carcinoma, Addison’s disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, renal artery stenosis, and renal tubular channelopathies. We describe a simple and robust method for the accurate and precise measurement of aldosterone in serum or plasma using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). After addition of internal standard, aldosterone is extracted from serum samples using supported liquid extraction (SLE) with methyl-t-butyl ether (MtBE). The MtBE is evaporated to dryness and sample is reconstituted with mobile phase before injection onto the LC-MS/MS and quantitation using an 8-point calibration curve. The assay calibration range is approximately 50–6500 pmol/L (0.16–234 ng/dL) with total imprecision between 6.8 and 4.1 % for concentrations between about 50 and 1000 pmol/L respectively.

Key words

Primary aldosteronism Mineralocorticoidhypertension Secondary hypertension Hypokalemia Aldosterone Plasma renin activity Mass spectrometry 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • J. Grace Van Der Gugten
    • 1
    • 2
  • Daniel T. Holmes
    • 1
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverCanada
  2. 2.Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineSt. Paul’s HospitalVancouverCanada

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