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LC-MS/MS ESI METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF OESTROGENS AND ANDROGENS IN BIOLOGICAL MATRIX – A MINIREVIEW

IBOLYA FÜLÖP, CAMIL-EUGEN VARI*, AMALIA MIKLOS, SILVIA IMRE

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This paper presents some of the determination methods of oestrogens (oestrone, oestradiol and oestriol) and androgens (testosterone and 15α-testosterone) in biological matrix, highlighting the mass spectrometry (MS) technique. In clinical laboratories, hormone measurements are based on immunoassay or liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with MS. Due to the diversity of methods, the limits of normal values of oestrogens and androgens vary, making the interpretation of results difficult. The scientific literature data shows that the LC-MS methods are the best choice for quantitative determination of low levels of hormones. The most common ionization technique used for LC-MS analysis is electrospray ionization (ESI). Sample preparation techniques, LC conditions, and MS parameters are revealed in order to compare the performances (limits of detection and quantification) of different LC-ESI-MS/MS methods.