Development and application of a multi-sugar assay to assess intestinal permeability

Aim: Bioanalytical assays to measure rhamnose, erythritol, lactulose and sucralose in human urine and plasma were developed to support an indomethacin challenge study for intestinal permeability assessment in healthy participants.Methods: The multi-sugar assays utilized 5-μl sample matrix and a simple chemical derivatization with acetic anhydride, followed by RPLC-MS/MS detection.Results: Rhamnose and erythritol quantification was established between 1.00-1,000 μg/ml in urine and 250-250,000 ng/ml in plasma. For lactulose and sucralose, dynamic ranges of 0.1-100 μg/ml (urine) and 25-25,000 ng/ml (plasma) were applied for biological measurements.Conclusion: This work helped overcome some of the common analytical challenges associated with the bioanalysis of mono- and disaccharides and achieved improved limits of quantification.