Urinary polyamines and N-acetylated polyamines in four patients with Alzheimer's disease as their N-ethoxycarbonyl-N-pentafluoropropionyl derivatives by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode

Abstract

Simultaneous determination of putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine, N-1-acetyiputrescine, N-1-acetylcadaverine, N-1-acetylspermidine, N-8-acetylspermidine and N-1-acetylspermine in aqueous samples was achieved as their N-ethoxycarbonyl-N-pentafluoropropionyl derivatives by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The overall GC-SIM-MS method was linear (r >= 0.9987), repetitive (% relative standard deviation= 1.3-6.4), and accurate (% relative error= -2.1-8.6). As compared to normal subjects, the levels of putrescine, N-1-acetylspermine and spermine were significantly elevated while the levels of N-1-acetylputrescine, N'-acetylcadaverine and N-1-acetylspermidine were markedly reduced in all four Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. When star symbol plotting was applied to the normalized levels of nine polyamines relative to the corresponding normal mean values, each star pattern of the AD patients was deformed, thus being readily distinguishable from the nonagon shape of the normal group average. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.