Gas chromatography of the prostaglandins

Gas chromatography is the most widely used chromatographic technique. Its strength lies in the fact that three distinct operations--separation, detection, and quantitation--can be performed on all the components of mixtures within a reasonable time, and that qualitative information about the compound identity is associated with its retention time. Despite a prominent position in other areas of biochemistry, its success in the prostaglandin field has been rather limited. The technique itself is not at fault since samples with reasonable levels of prostaglandins have been analyzed without overwhelming difficulty. However, many samples demand a sensitivity exceeding the limits of either electron capture or flame ionization detectors. Shifts in research problems have contributed to its decline, but it is fair to add that these shifts were associated with the appearance of more sensitive and accurate analytical methods. Let us not despair for gas chromatography because its competitors, radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, also have deficiencies. In this chapter we have described several traditional gas chromatographic methods for prostaglandin analysis and outlined their strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully, this will prevent the misapplication of a useful analytical tool and also serve as an incentive to provoke contributions to this somewhat neglected technology. In conclusion, it cannot be stressed enough that all instrumental methods are at the mercy of chemistry. Chemistry can be exploited to enhance the value of a technique, or it can be disregarded to discredit the technique. The rise of sophisticated instruments has falsely diminished the value of chemistry in analytical methods development. It is imperative that we remind ourselves of its place and use it properly.