Use of gas-liquid chromatography with glass capillary columns for steroid trace analysis in tissues

Quantitative analysis of corticosteroids in adrenal cell cultures by capillary column gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry

A quantitative method using glass capillary column gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) has been established for the analysis of corticosteroids in small biological samples such as a few milliliters of medium from steroidogenic cultured cells. The steroid extract is separated in three main thin-layer chromatographic fractions. The steroids assayed in these fractions are: less polar fraction (C21O2) steroids), 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone, pregnenolone and 20 alpha-dihydro-pregnenolone; intermediate fraction (C21O3 steroids), deoxycorticosterone, 11-oxo- and several hydroxy-20 alpha-dihydroprogesterones; corticosteroid fraction (C21O4 steroids), corticosterone and 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone. The method has been assessed by characterizing the steroid structures and checking the purity of GLC effluents through direct coupling of the capillary column to the electron-impact or chemical-ionization source of a computerized mass spectrometer. Applications to the quantitative evaluation of the endocrinological status of newborn rat adrenocortical cell cultures under various conditions of development, hormonal stimulation or specific inhibition by drugs are described.

Separation and determination of testosterone and testosterone esters in selected pharmaceutical formulations

A rapid quantitative procedure is presented for the separation of testosterone esters from their hydrolysis products through the use of the acetonitrile-infusorial earth column. The method was applied to testosterone cypionate, testosterone enanthate, and testosterone propionate. Recovery and replication of reference standard testosterone and its three esters through the proposed method ranged from 99.1 to 100.3%, and the percent relative standard deviation ranged from 0.6 to 1.0%. Two samples can be separated into testosterone and testosterone ester fractions in about 1.5 hr. The analyses of 20 injectable and one buccal tablet formulations made by 12 different manufacturers are reported.