Zur gas-chromatographisch-massenspektrometrischen Bestimmung von Steroidhormonen in Körperflüssigkeiten unter Verwendung eines Multiple Ion Detectors (Fragmentographie)

The quantitative determination of small amounts of steroids in body fluids by physical-chemical methods (gas chromatography, double isotope derivative dilution) requires a considerable amount of time and effort. The use of the combination gas chromatography-mass spectrometry provides a simple method which is highly specific and sensitive. The mass spectrometer can be used as a specific detector for gas chromatography; this is achieved by adjusting to a suitablem/e value. By means of the multiple ion detector, it is possible to record several masses simultaneously. The applicability of this method is demonstrated by the determination of the following steroid hormones: testosterone in plasma, aldosterone in urine, oestradiol-17β and oestrone in plasma. For the determination of oestrogens, the use of the corresponding dideutero compounds as standards offers a special advantage. Preliminary experiments showed that the lower limits of detection are 1 ng for aldosterone and testosterone, and 0.05 ng for oestradiol-17β and oestrone.