Development of a semi-automated LC/MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid, 14,15-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, leukotoxin and leukotoxin diol in human plasma as biomarkers of soluble epoxide hydrolase activity in vivo.

Substrates and products of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) such as 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-EET), 14,15-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-DHET), leukotoxin, and leukotoxin diol are potential biomarkers for assessing sEH activity in clinical trial subjects. To quantify them, we have developed and validated a semi-automated and relatively high-throughput assay in a 96-well plate format using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. 14,15-EET, 14,15-DHET, leukotoxin and leukotoxin diol, as well as their deuterium labeled internal standards were extracted from human plasma by liquid–liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. The four analytes were separated from other endogenous lipid isomers using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated over a concentration range of 0.05–50ng/mL. The validation results show that the method is precise, accurate and well-suited for analysis of clinical samples. The turn-around rate of the assay is approximately 200 samples per day.