Progress of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in measurement of vitamin D metabolites and analogues

Objective: Clinical testing for vitamin D nutritional status has experienced tremendous growth in the past several years, driven by research results linking various diseases with low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH)13] levels. Meanwhile, interest in the pathophysiological mechanism elucidation and pharmaceutical applications requires measurement of vitamin D metabolites and analogues. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been increasingly utilized in these applications. In this work, our objective was to critically review the progress of LC-MS application in measuring vitamin D metabolites and analogues in biological fluids. Methods: The LC-MS methods included were selected from those searchable in PubMed up to January 2010. Results and Conclusion: LC-MS has unique advantages in measuring various vitamin D metabolites and analogues due to its flexibility, sensitivity, and specificity. Despite some controversies over serum 25(OH)D tests, LC-MS will be used for standardizing serum 25(OH)D assays using reference materials available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (C) 2010 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.