Application of magnetic bead-assisted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for analyzing serum bile acid profiles: Advancing toward automated mass spectrometry

Yu Zhou; Jing Du; Yamei Liu; Jinfei Ma; Xiaofen Yuan; Jun Xia

doi:10.1016/j.cca.2024.120058

Application of magnetic bead-assisted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for analyzing serum bile acid profiles: Advancing toward automated mass spectrometry

Clin Chim Acta. 2024 Nov 21:120058. doi: 10.1016/j.cca.2024.120058. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yu Zhou¹, Jing Du², Yamei Liu³, Jinfei Ma⁴, Xiaofen Yuan⁵, Jun Xia⁶

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory Medicine Center, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Biomarkers and In Vitro Diagnosis Translation of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: zhouyu201378@163.com.
² Laboratory Medicine Center, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: dujing1@hmc.edu.cn.
³ Laboratory Medicine Center, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: yameiliu0303@163.com.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Digital Technology in Medical Diagnostics of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: jinfei.ma@calibradx.com.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Digital Technology in Medical Diagnostics of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: xiaofen.yuan@calibradx.com.
⁶ Laboratory Medicine Center, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: andisky_005@126.com.

PMID: 39579955
DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2024.120058

Abstract

Background: Magnetic bead-assisted extraction technology offers potential for automating mass spectrometry processes, yet research in this area remains limited. Here, we developed and validated a magnetic bead extraction method to simultaneously analyze 13 bile acid profiles in human serum.

Methods: A magnetic bead-assisted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was established for serum bile acid profiles. The linearity, accuracy, precision, matrix effect, carryover, stability test and interference test of the LC-MS/MS method were assessed. Comparative analysis involving 20 pregnant women evaluated different methodologies for diagnosing and monitoring intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).

Results: The magnetic bead extraction method demonstrated analytical performance comparable to the traditional protein precipitation method. The method exhibited linear responses across the clinical reference interval for all 13 bile acids. Meanwhile, the recovery rates for bile acid analytes ranged from 85.14 to 114.43%, and the repeatability was within 1.68 to 10.83%, meeting acceptance criteria. Our magnetic bead-assisted extraction method showed no obvious matrix effects and carryover effects. The extracted specimens remained stable in the autosampler for 24 h, and the interference test suggested the bile acid profile results would not be significantly affected under different interfering substances. Furthermore, comparative studies with traditional protein precipitation method showed comparable results, and our method exhibited robust clinical consistency in monitoring the efficacy of ICP patients.

Conclusions: We developed a straightforward magnetic bead extraction method coupled with LC-MS/MS for bile acid profiles. It can be applied to the clinical routine diagnosis of ICP and facilitate the automated mass spectrometry processes.

Keywords: Automation; Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy; Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; Magnetic bead-assisted extraction; Serum bile acid profiles.