A simple liquid extraction protocol for overcoming the ion suppression of triacylglycerols by phospholipids in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry studies

Talanta. 2016 Feb 1:148:463-71. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2015.11.016. Epub 2015 Nov 11.

Abstract

It is well-known that triacylglycerol (TAG) ions are suppressed by phospholipid (PL) ions in regiospecific analysis of TAG by mass spectrometry (MS). Hence, it is essential to remove the PL during sample preparation prior to MS analysis. The present article proposes a cost-effective liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method to remove PL from TAG in different kinds of biological samples by using methanol, hexane and water. High performance thin layer chromatography confirmed the lack of PL in krill oil and salmon liver samples, submitted to the proposed LLE protocol, and liquid chromatography tandem MS confirmed that the identified TAG ions were highly enhanced after implementing the LLE procedure.

Keywords: High perfomance thin layer chromatography; Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric; Liquid–liquid extraction; Regiospecific analysis; Signal supression; Triacylglycerols.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods
  • Euphausiacea
  • Fish Oils / analysis*
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Phospholipids / analysis*
  • Salmon
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Triglycerides / analysis*

Substances

  • Fish Oils
  • Phospholipids
  • Triglycerides