Determination of polyamines in plasma by capillary gas chromatography and some applications

An analytical method is presented making it possible to measure spermidine concentration in 0.2 ml plasma. After derivatization and extraction following an existing procedure, spermidine was measured by gas chromatography using nitrogen-phosphorus detection. Mounting capillary columns decreased the limit of determination to 0.05 nanomole/ml for routine determination. Some applications of the method in animal model systems are shown. The method is also applicable to other polyamines.