Consolidation of vitamin A and E methods onto a multiplexing liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry platform simplifies laboratory workflow

Abstract Background Vitamin A and E are routinely monitored to assess nutritional status. The most commonly used approach for their measurement involves laborious liquid-liquid extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis on dedicated instrumentation. We describe a simple, rapid protocol for measurement of vitamins A and E and their integration into an existing online sample preparation liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (SPLC-MS/MS) workflow. Methods We performed a method comparison between the SPLC-MS/MS and HPLC methods for vitamin A and E by measuring patient specimens across the concentration range 11–81 µg/dl for vitamin A and 1–18 mg/l for vitamin E. The analysis times on each platform were also compared. Results SPLC-MS/MS and HPLC methods were comparable with regards to analytical performance; mean bias across the measured range was 2.538% (95% CL: -11.56–16.64%) for vitamin A and -2.036% (95% CL: -18.20–14.12%) for vitamin E. Total analysis times were 7 minutes and 15 min for SPLC-MS/MS and HPLC respectively. Conclusions The development of a simplified sample preparation protocol and the use of multiplexing SPLC-MS/MS have reduced sample analysis times for vitamin A and E. This method has also optimized clinical workflow through consolidation of previously independent benches.