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Determination of serum glucose by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: a candidate reference measurement procedure

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Abstract

Accurate and precise glucose measurements are requisite for ensuring appropriate diagnosis and management of diseases related to hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. It is necessary to have a higher order method to provide an accuracy base to which routine methods can be compared. We developed and evaluated a highly reliable measurement procedure based on isotope dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (ID LC-MS/MS) with a simple one-step derivatization. An appropriate amount of serum was accurately weighed and spiked with an isotope-labeled internal standard. After protein precipitation, the supernatant was reacted with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone for chemical structural transformation. The glucose derivatives were analyzed with LC-MS/MS in positive electrospray ionization mode. The within-run and total CVs ranged from 0.28 to 0.42 % and from 0.42 to 0.76 %, respectively, for a concentration range of 1.691 to 15.676 mmol/L. A regression comparison of the presented method to an existing RMP based on ID GC-MS showed agreement with no statistical difference (Y = 0.9985X-0.008; 95 % CI for the slope, 0.9966 to 1.001; 95 % CI for the intercept, −0.012 to 0.019). The structural analogs of glucose with a molecular mass of 180 were tested, and no significant interference effect was found. The limit of quantification was estimated to 0.8 ng glucose in absolute amount. This method is accurate, simple, and can serve as a candidate reference measurement procedure (RMP) in the establishment of a serum glucose reference system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital, No. 1 Dahua Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China

    Tianjiao Zhang, Chuanbao Zhang, Haijian Zhao, Jie Zeng, Jiangtao Zhang, Weiyan Zhou, Ying Yan, Yufei Wang, Mo Wang & Wenxiang Chen

  2. Beijing Engineering Research Center of Laboratory Medicine, No. 1 Dahua Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China

    Tianjiao Zhang, Chuanbao Zhang, Haijian Zhao, Jie Zeng, Jiangtao Zhang, Weiyan Zhou, Ying Yan, Yufei Wang, Mo Wang & Wenxiang Chen

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  1. Tianjiao Zhang
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  2. Chuanbao Zhang
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  9. Mo Wang
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  10. Wenxiang Chen
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Correspondence to Wenxiang Chen.

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The study has been approved by the Beijing Hospital Ethics Committee and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards.

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We have no conflict of interest to declare.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 81301488)

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Zhang, T., Zhang, C., Zhao, H. et al. Determination of serum glucose by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: a candidate reference measurement procedure. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 7403–7411 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9817-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9817-0

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