Quantitative determination of adrenaline and noradrenaline in urine using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The quantitative determination of adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (N) in human urine provides a helpful tool for sports sciences as well as clinical purposes. A rapid and highly specific procedure based on an off-line sample preparation using weak cation exchange solid phase extraction (CX-SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) was developed that allowed the unambiguous identification of the target analytes at low (10 ng mL(-1) A and N), medium and high (500 ng mL(-1) A and N) physiological concentration levels. Recovery rates ranged from 104 to 111 %, precisions of better than 15% and a linear approximation in the aimed working range were obtained for both compounds. Thus, this method provides a rugged and highly specific alternative to the commonly used electrochemical or fluorescence detection strategies. In- and out-of-competition catecholamine concentrations in urine samples of six professional German first division soccer players were determined demonstrating an obvious decrease of the N/A-ratio post-competition, compared to pre-competition and out-of-competition values providing a parameter for the estimation of physiological and psychological stress.