A Rapid Method for the Measurement of Androgen Kinetics and Conversion to Estrogens Using Sephadex LH-20 Column Chromatography

A rapid precise technique for the determination of the metabolic clearance rates of androstenedione and testosterone, their respective interconversions and conversions to the estrogens in plasma, is presented using a combination of Sephadex LH-20 column and thin-layer chromatography. The overall recovery of each steroid with this procedure was approximately 65–80%. Sequential crystallization demonstrated the purity of the precursor and product steroids. The metabolic clearance data was compared with the method of Horton and Tait using plasma samples from the same infusion. There was no significant difference in the values obtained with the exception of a sex difference in the conversion ratio of testosterone to androstenedione noted with the LH-20 method.