High-throughput phospholipid profiling system based on supercritical fluid extraction-supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry for dried plasma spot analysis

The dried blood spots (DBS) and dried plasma spots (DPS) analysis is available as a diagnostic tool for genetic diseases and is useful for the screening of biomarkers. In this study, a high-throughput analytical system based on supercritical fluid extraction-supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (SFE-SFC/MS/MS) was constructed for phospholipids profiling of DPS. This system is able to simultaneously perform extraction and separation, allowing phospholipid; that have common polar head groups to be analyzed. Phospholipids in only 3 mu l of plasma can be extracted in 5 min and analyzed within 15 min using this system. A total of 134 phospholipids, including phosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, phosphatidylethanolamine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine, were annotated, and 74 phospholipids were analyzed with good repeatability. The SFE-SFC/MS/MS, which is able to perform high-throughput lipid profiling analysis for clinical diagnosis and drug discovery, may also be suitable for the screening of biomarkers. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.