Quantification of Oxidized and Unsaturated Bile Alcohols in Sea Lamprey Tissues by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A sensitive and reliable method was developed and validated for the determination of unsaturated bile alcohols in sea lamprey tissues using liquid-liquid extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The liver, kidney, and intestine samples were extracted with acetonitrile and defatted by n-hexane. Gradient UHPLC separation was performed using an Acquity BEH C18 column with a mobile phase of water and methanol containing 20 mM triethylamine. Multiple reaction monitoring modes of precursor-product ion transitions for each analyte was used. This method displayed good linearity, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99, and was validated. Precision and accuracy (RSD %) were in the range of 0.31%–5.28%, while mean recoveries were between 84.3%–96.3%. With this technique, sea lamprey tissue samples were analyzed for unsaturated bile alcohol analytes. This method is practical and particularly suitable for widespread putative pheromone residue analysis.