Improvements in automated analysis of catecholamine and related metabolites in biological samples by column-switching...

Previously two fully automated methods based on column switching and high-performance liquid chromatography have been described, one for plasma and urinary catecholamines and the other for catecholamine urinary metabolites. Improvements in these methods, after 3 years of routine application, are now reported. The sample processing scheme was changed in order to eliminate memory effects and, in the procedure for plasma catecholamines, a pre-analytical deproteinization step was added which enhances the analytical column lifetime. The applied voltages for the electrochemical detector have been optimized, resulting in an automated method, suitable for the simultaneous determination of vanillylmandelic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. The sensitivity of the methods allows the detection of 2-3 ng/l of plasma catecholamines and 0.01-0.06 mg/l of urinary metabolites. Also, it is possible to switch from one method to the other in only 30 min. The normal values obtained from 200 healthy people are reported, together with a list of 57 potential interfering substances tested.