Simultaneous liquid chromatographic determination of seventeen of the major monoamine neurotransmitters, precursors and metabolites. I. Optimization of the mobile phase using factorial designs and a computer program to predict chromatograms

Utilizing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection and optimization of the mobile phase using factorial designs and a constructed computer program to predict chromatograms, it has been possible to obtain a satisfactory resolution of seventeen of the major monoamine neurotransmitters, precursors and metabolites. A rapid (less than 25 min) isocratic system for the simultaneous determination of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, dopamine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-methoxytyramine, homovanillic acid, norepinephrine, normetanephrine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylene glycol, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, epinephrine, metanephrine, vanillylmandelic acid, 5-hydroxytryptophan, serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophol and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in addition to the internal standard isoproterenol is presented. The optimization strategy included selection of variables to optimize by a reduced factorial design a detailed study of these variables by a complete factorial design, theoretical predictions of chromatograms by a constructed computer program and test on the HPLC system. This optimization strategy can easily be applied to any problem of solute separation by liquid chromatography.     

Determination of urinary catecholamines with capillary electrophoresis after solid-phase extraction

The stabilities of 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine (DHBA), dopamine, 3-methoxytyramine, normetanephrine and metanephrine standards under acid, base and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions were studied. Basic incubation media were not suitable for 3,4-dihydroxy compounds, but acid and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions were applicable to all the compounds. The results of acid and enzymatic hydrolysis were comparable and the enzymatic hydrolysis was applied to a urine matrix. A method including solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a copolymer sorbent was developed for purification of the urine samples. Due to poor recovery of DHBA, the most frequently used internal standard in catecholamine analysis, this compound was replaced with the 3-O-methoxy structure. The recoveries of the compounds in spiked urine samples in SPE were between 96.4 and 124.4%. The repeatability of the combination of enzymatic hydrolysis and SPE pretreatment was good for all the compounds, except for dopamine and 3-methoxytyramine due to some matrix compounds still interfering with the separation. The analyses were performed with capillary electrophoresis in an ammonium acetate buffer with UV detection. The validation data for the compounds including limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity and repeatability of the method are presented.     

Derivatization and mass spectrometric behaviour of catecholamines and their 3-O-methylated metabolites

A method has been developed for the derivatization of both catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline) and their 3-O-methylated metabolites (3-methoxytyramine, normetanephrine and metanephrine) in a single run. The compounds were first incubated with methanolic hydrochloric acid to methylate those compounds that contain a benzylic hydroxyl group and were subsequently converted into their pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. The derivatives thus prepared, showed good gas chromatographic and electron-impact mass spectrometric properties and can be analysed in a single gas chromatographic run. The effect of the derivatization on exchange reactions in the aromatic ring was investigated because standard compounds with deuterium label in that part of the molecule are often used in isotope dilution measurements. The exchange of deuterium for hydrogen in the aromatic ring under derivatization conditions was found to be limited.     

Determination of urinary normetanephrine, metanephrine and 3-methoxytyramine by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection: comparison between automated column-switching and manual dual-column sample purification methods.

This report describes a high-performance liquid chromatographic method with electrochemical detection for the simultaneous quantitation of urinary metanephrine, normetanephrine and 3-methoxytyramine. This method, which involves manual dual-column purification steps for the routine determination of urinary metanephrines, is compared with the previously used spectrophotometric Pisano method and an on-line sample preparation procedure, where the automated sequential trace enrichment (ASTED) apparatus is used for the column-switching procedure. In order to automate the metanephrine assay, the enrichment technique was evaluated against the reference chromatographic method. Bio-Rad urine controls gave coefficients of variation of less than 9% at all levels for the reference method. Values of less than 19% were found in the reference range with the enrichment method, and the recovery of 3-methoxytyramine was also too poor to be measured in normal concentrations. The linearity of both methods is sufficient to determine pathological levels of these biogenic amines. Future developments should be focused on decreasing the variation of between-day assays in an on-line, automated procedure.     

Simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of catecholamine-related compounds by post-column derivatization involving coulometric oxidation followed by fluorescence reaction

A highly selective and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine) and related compounds (L-DOPA, normetanephrine, metanephrine, 3-methoxytyramine, 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid, vanillylmandelic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylene glycol, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethylene glycol and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethanol) with a post-column technique involving coulometric oxidation followed by fluorescence derivatization is described. These compounds, 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine and ferulic acid are separated within 35 min by ion-pair reversed-phase chromatography using acidic buffers (pH 3.1) with methanol-acetonitrile (3:2, v/v) gradient elution, and then oxidized by a commercial coulometric detector to the corresponding o-quinones, which are converted into fluorescent derivatives by reaction with 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) on-column are 1.5-4 pmol for the two mandelic acids, 600 fmol for L-DOPA and 20-70 fmol for the others.     

Hochdruck-Flüssigkeits-Chromatographie von O-Methyl-Catecholamin-Metaboliten als DANS-Derivate

The reaction of the O-methyl-catecholamine metabolites 3-methoxytyramine, normetanephrine, metanephrine, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol with DANS-Cl to fluorescent derivatives are studied and optimized with regard to the influence of the pH value, kind of buffer, content of water in the acetone-water reaction mixture, temperature and time of the reaction and excess of DANS-Cl. The DANS-O-methyl-catecholamines are separable not only by adsorption but also by reversed-phase chromatography. For the analysis of MHPG only adsorption chromatography is suitable because of the small solubility of the DANS-derivative in polar solvents. With the fluorescence detector in connection with an integrator 500 pg of the amines are determinable after HPLC-separation.     

Measurement of catecholamines, their precursor and metabolites in human urine and plasma by solid-phase extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence derivatization

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination in human urine and plasma of catecholamines, their precursor and metabolites [amino compounds (norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, normetanephrine, metanephrine, 3-methoxytyramine and L-DOPA), acidic compounds (3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, vanillylmandelic acid and homovanillic acid) and alcoholic compounds (3,4-dihydroxyphenylethyleneglycol and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethyleneglycol)]. Urine (0.5 ml) containing 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid (internal standards) is deproteinized with perchloric acid, and the resulting solution is fractionated by solid-phase extraction on a strong cation-exchange resin cartridge (Toyopak IC-SP S) into two fractions (amine fraction and acid-alcohol fraction), which include 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid, respectively. Plasma (0.7 ml) is deproteinized in the presence of 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine (internal standard) in the same manner, and the resulting solution is directly used as an acid-alcohol fraction, while an amine fraction is obtained as for urine. Each fraction is subjected to the previously established ion-pair reversed-phase chromatography with post-column derivatization involving coulometric oxidation followed by fluorescence reaction with 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine. The detection limits, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5, of the compounds measured in urine are 300 pmol/ml for the two mandelic acids, 2-7 pmol/ml for the other acidic and alcoholic compounds, 12 pmol/ml for L-DOPA and 0.6-2 pmol/ml for the other amino compounds; the corresponding values for plasma samples are 80, 0.5-3, 10 and 0.6-3 pmol/ml, respectively.     

The Determination of Catecholamines,Indoleamines, Metabolites,and Related Enzymatic Activities Using Three Micron Liquid Chromatography Columns

Abstract

Liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection has become an established technique for the determination of catechol-amines, indoleamines, precursors, metabolites, and related enzymatic activities in tissues and fluids. Previously available instrumentation, however, has limited the number of individual species readily and simultaneously accessible with reasonable throughput to only a few. Determinations of other species required either extended amounts of time per individual chromatogram or the use of an entirely separate chromatographic setup employing different columns and eluting solvents. Using reversed-phase columns packed with 3 micron particles, we have been able to produce the separation of 16 different catecholamine and in-doleamine related species and two different internal standard compounds in 5 or 7 minutes. Samples may be analyzed directly after only homogenization, centrifugation, and clarification by filtration. No further purification steps are required. The enzymatic activities of 6 separate enzymes may be determined using the same chromatographic apparatus and simply monitoring selected metabolites following appropriate incubation of pretreatment. The metabolites and transmitters currently accessible with this apparatus include norepinephrine, dopamine, epinephrine, serotonin, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, normetanephrine, metanephrine, 3-methoxytyramine, 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylethyleneglycol, vanillylmandelic acid, homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxytryptophan, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 5-hydroxytryptophol, and N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine. The enzymatic activities include tyrosine hydroxylase, tryptophan hydroxylase, dopa decarboxylase, 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase, monoamine oxidase, and catechol-O-methyltransferase.     

Sample Preparation for the Analysis of Catecholamines and their Metabolites in Human Urine

Abstract

A specific, sensitive, qualitative and quantitative extraction procedure followed by an high pressure liquid chromatography equipped with electrochemical detector assay of catecholamines (CATs) and their metabolites from human urine has been developed. Using an unique multiple interaction bonded silica gel disposable solid phase extraction (SPE) column, various analytes were selectively isolated from the urine components. After following three different extraction procedures, the presence of free CATs (epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine) and their basic (normetanephrine, metanephrine, and 3-methoxydopamine) and acidic (vanillylmandelic acid, homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) metabolites was confirmed and quantitated by electrochemical detector.     

Development of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for plasma-free metanephrines with ion-pairing turbulent flow online extraction

Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry has become the preferred technology to measure unconjugated metanephrine and normetanephrine in plasma because of its high sensitivity and specificity over immunoassay and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. In our earlier study, plasma metanephrines were extracted with offline ion-pairing solid-phase extraction and quantified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry with porous graphitic carbon column based chromatography. In this study, we aim to automate the sample preparation with turbulent flow online extraction technology and maintain or improve the analytical performance previously achieved from the offline approach. The online extraction was done with a mixed-mode cation exchange turbulent flow chromatography column assisted with ion-pairing reagent and porous graphitic column was used for chromatographic separation. The total online extraction and analytical LC runtime was 12 min. This method was linear from 6.3 to 455.4 pg/mL for metanephrine; 12.6 to 954.5 pg/mL for normetanephrine with an accuracy of 80.6% to 93.5% and 80.9% to 101.7%, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation was 6.3 pg/mL for metanephrine and 12.6 pg/mL for normetanephrine. Inter-assay and intra-assay precision for metanephrine and normetanephrine at low and high concentration levels ranged from 2.0% to 10.5%. In conclusion, we have developed a fast and sensitive automated online turbulent flow extraction method for the quantitative analysis of plasma metanephrines. Ion-pairing reagent was necessary for the success of this method.     

Determination of the biogenic amines and their major metabolites in single human brain tissue samples using a combined extraction procedure and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A combined extraction system for the selective and quantitative isolation of the monoamines norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and their metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, homovanillic acid and 3-methoxytyramine from one single brain tissue sample is described. The extraction system is a combination of an ethyl acetate extraction for 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid, and two successive ion-pair extractions. In a first step, the catecholamines are quantitatively isolated by extracting with heptane--octanol (99:1) containing 0.25% tetraoctylammonium bromide as an ion-pairing agent in the presence of 0.2% diphenylborate. In a second step, 3-methoxytyramine and 5-hydroxytryptamine are isolated from the aqueous phase with di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid as counter-ion in chloroform. Dihydroxybenzylamine, isohomovanillic acid and 5-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine are used as the internal standards.     

Specific ion-exchange chromatography and fluorimetric assay for urinary 3-O-methyldopamine.

A technique for the selective extraction of 3-O-methyldopamine, normetanephrine and metanephrine from a single urine sample has been investigated. After hydrolysis of the conjugates, the diluted mixture is passed through a Dowex 50W-X2 column and the methoxylated amines are eluted by means of concentrated ammonia. The eluate, containing metanephrine, normetanephrine and 3-O-methyldopamine is evaporated, and a solution of the residue in borate buffer is fractionated under strictly controlled conditions on an Amberlite CG-50 column. The three amines so separated are estimated by specific fluorimetric methods. The extraction recovery is 80 +/- 3% for pure solutions and 78 +/- 4% for 3-O-methyldopamine added to urine. The fluorimetric procedure, carried out under well-defined conditions, allows the estimation of 10 ng of 3-O-methethyldopamine. The spectral characteristics of the fluorescent derivative are similar to those obtained with dopamine, so that it can be assumed that iodine oxidation of 3-O-methyldopamine demethylates this compound and oxidises the resulting dopamine to the dopamine fluorophore (5,6-dihydroxy-indole). Of the compounds that might interfere in the fluorimetric procedure, dopamine, DOPA and alpha-methyl-DOPA are destroyed by the ammoniacal elution from the Dowex column and 3-O-methyl-DOPA is eliminated in the effluent from the Amberlite column. The elimination of interfering compounds and the improved separation on Amberlite ensure high specificity for this procedure. We have applied the method to normal urine and to pathological urines from patients with adrenergic tumours or untreated and treated parkinsonian subjects; vital information has been obtained on the prognosis of adrenergic tumours. The presence of large amounts of dopamine, normetanephrine and/or metanephrine does not affect the assay for 3-O-methyldopamine. The method is also applicable to rat and dog urine, and can be applied to tissue extracts with little modification.     

Determination of catecholamines and their 3-O-methyl metabolites in mouse plasma

The determination of catecholamines and their 3-O-methyl metabolites in a single mouse plasma is necessary to understand the role of the sympathetic nervous activity, while the inactivation of catecholamines by catechol-O-methyltransferase indicates the activity of blood pressure regulation in animals. Here we report the basal catecholamines and their 3-O-methyl metabolite concentrations obtained from 15 microL of mouse plasma utilizing semi-microcolumn high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection system. The concentrations were 6.63 +/- 1.37 pmol/mL plasma, 0.49 +/- 0.10 pmol/mL plasma, 5.25 +/- 2.30 pmol/mL plasma, 3.23 +/- 0.84 pmol/mL plasma, 0.44 +/- 0.11 pmol/mL plasma, and 3.39 +/- 1.67 pmol/mL plasma for norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, normetanephrine, metanephrine and 3-methoxytyramine, respectively (n = 5-7). Further, when blood pressure was reduced by minoxidil, plasma catecholamines were found to be significantly increased by the baroreflex-mediated response in mouse.     

Preparation of an optimum mobile phase for the simultaneous determination of neurochemicals in mouse brain tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

A systematic method is described for the optimization of a mobile phase for the simultaneous determination of 24 neurochemicals consisting of catecholamine, serotonin, their precursors and metabolites and related materials. This mobile phase contained sodium acetate (0.04 M), citric acid (0.01 M), sodium chloride (0.0126 M), sodium octyl sulfate (91 mg/l), tetrasodium EDTA (50 mg/l) and 10% (v/v) methanol. When this optimum mobile phase was applied to the analysis of brain tissues of the Swiss male mouse, twelve neurochemicals were quantified in the free state: tyrosine, L-beta-3,4-dihydroxyphenylanine, dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetic acid, norepinephrine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, DL-3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid, DL-4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid, serotonin, L-tryptophan, 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid and DL-synephrine and normetanephrine, appearing as a fused peak. This fused peak was present on the chromatogram tracings of all the mouse brain tissues. The separable neurochemicals not found by this procedure in the Swiss male mouse tissues were DL-3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol,5-hydroxytryptophan, epinephrine, DL-octopamine, metanephrine, deoxyepinephrine, homovanillyl alcohol, N-acetylserotonin, tyramine and 3-methyltyramine.     

Electrophoretic determination of biogenic amines in biological fluids

The capabilities of the electrophoretic separation of biogenic amines (adrenalin, noradrenalin, dopamine, serotonin, metanephrine, and normetanephrine) under conditions of capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography with the introduction of complex-forming agents (18-crown-6, 4,13-diaza-18-crown-6, and sodium dodecyl sulfate as an ion-pair reagent) and acetonitrile as the constituents of a working electrolyte were demonstrated. A technique for the sampling of biological fluids (urine, blood plasma, and serum) with the use of solid-phase extraction on aluminum oxide and a C18 reversed-phase sorbent was developed. The capabilities of various versions of the preconcentration of biogenic amines were determined, which allowed us to decrease the limits of detection by a factor of hundreds.     

Automatische Analyse der fluorimetrisch bestimmbaren Verbindungen aus dem Katecholamin-Stoffwechsel mit einem Reaktionssystem

Zusammenfassung Es werden die optimalen Bedingungen für die automatisch-fluorimetrische Bestimmung folgender Verbindungen aus dem Katecholamin-Stoff-wechsel mitgeteilt: Dopa, Dopamin, Noradrenalin, Adrenalin, 3-Methoxytyramin, Normetanephrin, Metanephrin und Homovanillinsäure. Die Bestimmungen können mit einem einfachen Reaktionssystem durch Veränderung der chemischen und physikalischen Bedingungen im Analysenautomaten durchgeführt werden. Die sehr empfindliche fluorimetrische Analyse im Nanogrammbereich beruht auf der Oxidation der einzelnen Verbindungen und anschließenden Umwandlung der Zwischenprodukte in Fluorophore.

---

Automatic analysis of the fluorimetrically determinable compounds from the catecholamine metabolism with one reaction system

Summary Optimal conditions are reported for the following compounds: dopa, dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline, 3-methoxytyramine, normetanephrine, metanephrine, homovanillic acid. The determinations are realized in one simple reaction system with the variation of chemical and physical system. The very sensitive fluorimetric analysis in the nanogram range is based on the oxidation of the single compounds and the following change of the intermediate products into fluorophores.

     

Dual-Template Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Simultaneous Determination of Spot Urine Metanephrines and 3-Methoxytyramine for the Diagnosis of Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas

A novel dual-template magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) was synthesized to extract normetanephrine (NMN), metanephrine (MN) and 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) from spot urine samples. As the adsorbent of dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE), the MMIP was prepared using dopamine and MN as dual templates, methacrylic acid as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinking reagent and magnetic nanoparticles as the magnetic core. NMN, MN, 3-MT and creatinine (Cr) in spot urine samples were selectively enriched by d-SPE and detected by HPLC-fluorescence detection/ultraviolet detection. The peak area (A) ratios of NMN, MN and 3-MT to Cr were used for the diagnosis of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs). The results showed that the adsorption efficiencies of MMIP for target analytes were all higher than 89.0%, and the coefficient variation precisions of intra-assay and inter-assay for the analytes were within 4.9% and 6.3%, respectively. The recoveries of the analytes were from 93.2% to 112.8%. The MMIP was still functional within 14 days and could be reused at least seven times. The d-SPE and recommended solid-phase extraction (SPE) were both used to pretreat spot urine samples from 18 PPGLs patients and 22 healthy controls. The correlation coefficients of A_NMN/A_Cr and A_MN/A_Cr between d-SPE and SPE were both higher than 0.95. In addition, the areas under the receiver operator curves for spot urine A_NMN/A_Cr, A_MN/A_Cr and plasma free NMN and MN were 0.975, 0.773 and 0.990, 0.821, respectively, indicating the two methods had the similar performances. The d-SPE method took only 20 min, which was effective in clinical application.     

Analysis of the O-methylated metabolites of isoprenaline, adrenaline and noradrenaline in physiological salt solutions by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

This study provides the first report of a sensitive, simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay for the simultaneous analysis of isoprenaline and its metabolite, 3-O-methylisoprenaline, in samples of physiological salt solutions. The assay does not require time-consuming sample clean-up or extraction procedures and uses a Nova-Pak C18 column, an isocratic mobile phase and an amperometric detector. In addition, small modifications to the composition of the mobile phase have also provided sensitive assays for noradrenaline and adrenaline and their O-methylated or O-methylated deaminated metabolites (normetanephrine, metanephrine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid). These HPLC assays are sufficiently sensitive and rapid to replace the use of [3H]amines and column chromatographic separation of the metabolites for most in vitro studies on the uptake and subsequent metabolism of catecholamines by monoamine oxidase and/or catechol-O-methyltransferase in tissues.     

Application of silica-based monolith as solid phase extraction cartridge for extracting polar compounds from urine

The silica monolith with ionizable silanol groups and large surface area was found able to function as an offline cation exchange solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge for extracting polar analytes. The prepared cartridge was housed in a 2-mL syringe fixed over a SPE vacuum manifold. The unique property of this silica monolithic cartridge was demonstrated by extracting epinephrine, normetanephrine and metanephrine from urine samples. These analytes were chosen as model compounds for testing because of their high hydrophilicity, and being candidates monitored for clinical diagnosis. The extracted analytes, after concentration and reconstitution were then quantitated by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (HPLC/ESI/MS). Multiple reactions monitoring was carried out with transitions: 184 → 107, 184 → 134 and 198 → 148 for analyzing epinephrine, normetanephrine and metanephrine, respectively. The limit of detection was 3 ng/mL for metanephrine and 5 ng/mL for normetanephrine and epinephrine. The relative standard deviations of measurements ranged from 2 to 10%. The sorbent offered good linearity with coefficient of determination (r²) > 0.99, over a concentration range of 20-200 ng/mL. The relative recoveries ranged from 60 to 67%, 55 to 59% and 99 to 105% for epinephrine, normetanephrine and metanephrine, respectively. The prepared cartridge had shown potential and was found robust in extracting the polar analytes repeatedly without any significant loss in efficiency.     

Determination of free and conjugated normetanephrine and metanephrine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A simple method for the simultaneous assay of normetanephrine and metanephrine (both free and conjugated) in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection has been developed. The hydrolysed plasma is purified on a Dowex 50 H+ column, and the methoxylated amines are eluted with ammonia-methanol. The methoxyamines are assayed using a dual-series electrode arrangement with differential current measurement. This system greatly improves the assay specificity toward endogenous or exogenous metabolites and drugs. The high sensitivity of the method enables the determination in normal subjects of levels of normetanephrine and metanephrine.