Method optimization and validation for the simultaneous determination of arachidonic acid metabolites in exhaled breath condensate by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND: Determinations of inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate were used to assess airway inflammation. The most applied method for this kind of determination is enzyme immunoassay. For research purposes to find new or to relate concrete biomarkers to different pulmonary diseases, a simultaneous determination of different inflammatory markers would be advantageous. METHODS: We developed an analytical method with on-line clean up and enrichment steps to determine 12 different inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate. A specific detection method ensures the unequivocally determination of each analyte at the same run. The method was optimized and validated to achieve a low limit of quantification up to 10 pg/mL each analyte. The precision of the method ranged between 4 and 16%. CONCLUSION: The presented method should serve as an easy and fast tool to assess the utility of inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate to different pulmonary diseases and for several related disciplines in medicine.