Daniel J. Liberato

Thermospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the analysis of L-carnitine and its short-chain acyl derivatives

A method utilizing thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the separation and direct analysis of carnitine, acetylcarnitine, and propionylcarnitine is described. On-column analysis of mixtures of the acylcarnitines with their corresponding stable, isotope-labeled analogs at nanomolar concentrations has indicated that isotope dilution assays can be applied towards the analysis of carnitine and short-chain acylcarnitines present in biological samples.

Structure of the adduct of glutathione and activated 3-methylindole.

3-Methylindole (3MI) is a pneumotoxic metabolite of tryptophan fermentation in ruminants. The toxicity of 3MI is organ, cell, and species specific. In ruminants and horses, the most susceptible species, the lung is the target organ. Type I alveolar epithelial and nonciliated bronchiolar epithelial (Clara) cells are the most susceptible targets within the lungs of ruminants, 2,3 while Clara cells only are primarily damaged by 3MI in horses.4 Exposure of man to 3MI is through intestinal absorption and by cigarette smoke although the toxic manifestations of this exposure have not yet been assessed.5–7