Cold-induced phase separation for the simple and reliable extraction of sex hormones for subsequent LC-MS/MS analysis.

ABSTRACT: Sex hormones, including androgens, estrogens, and progestogens, are important biomarkers for various diseases. Quantification of sex hormones is typically conducted by LC-MS/MS. At present, most methods require liquid-liquid extraction or solid phase extraction for sample preparation. However, these pretreatments are prone to compromise LC-MS/MS throughput. To improve on the current standard practices, we investigated cold-induced phase separation for sex hormone extraction. After protein precipitation with acetonitrile and adjusting the solution constitution with water, samples were stored at -30°C for 10 min to generate two distinct phases: an acetonitrile-rich layer on top of a water-rich layer. During this process, the hydrophobic sex hormones spontaneously separate into the upper laye

SUBMITTER: Peng R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8953666 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature