Characterization and quantification of paf-acether (platelet-activating factor) as a heptafluorobutyrate derivative of 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol by capillary column gas chromatography with electron-capture detection

A gas chromatographic method with a glass capillary column and electron-capture detection is proposed for the characterization and quantification of 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PAF C16) using the corresponding 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-heptafluorobutyrate derivative and, as an internal standard, 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. The reproducibility was approximately 5% and amounts as low as 20 pg could be measured. The method was specific and allowed the quantification of PAF C16 in supernatants from stimulated human polymorphonuclear neutrophils.