Ultra performance liquid chromatography-
tandem mass spectrometry(
UPLC-MS/MS) was used to establish the simultaneous
determination method of eight
neurotransmitters in
brain,
liver,
kidney,
adrenal gland,
serum and
urine,including
serotonin,5-hydroxyindole
acetic acid,
epinephrine,
norepinephrine,
dopamine,
glutamic acid,γ-
aminobutyric acid,and
acetylcholine,and then investigate the distribution characteristics of
neurotransmitters in
rat tissues,
blood and
urine. Waters ACQUITY
UPLC BEH C_(18) column( 2. 1 mm×100 mm,1. 7 μm) was used,with 0. 3% formic
acid solution-acetonitrile as the mobile phase for gradient elution.Multiple reaction
monitoring( MRM) scanning
method under positive mode by
atmospheric pressure electrospray ion source( ESI) was also performed to establish the
detection method of
neurotransmitters for methodological
research. The
plasma,
urine and
tissues of normal
rats were pre-treated including homogenization,centrifuging,and
protein removal,then the 2 μL supernatant was injected for
analysis. The results showed that eight kinds of
neurotransmitters could be accurately determined within 7 min,with linear correlation coefficients all greater than 0. 99. This
method showed high accuracy and good precision,with
specificity,stability,extraction recovery and matrix effects all complying with the
biological sample
analysis requirements. The most abundant transmitters in the
brain,
liver,
kidney,
kidney gland,
blood and
urine were γ-
aminobutyric acid,
glutamic acid,
glutamic acid,
adrenaline,
glutamic acid and
dopamine.The
method is sensitive,rapid,precise,accurate and specific,and can be used for simultaneous
quantitative analysis of eight
neurotransmitters in
biological samples. The investigation of the distribution ratio of transmitters in
rats is of important significance to
disease prevention and
treatment.