High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of ecdysteroid titers in the house fly

Simultaneous quantification of individual intermediate steroids in silkworm ecdysone biosynthesis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with multiple reaction monitoring

The concentration changes of endogenous ecdysteroids are closely related to the regulation of insect growth and development. Although they are frequently measured by immunoassays with anti-steroid antibodies, the separate estimations of the individual concentrations of ecdysone and other ecdysteroids with similar chemical structures are quite difficult to accomplish. In this study, an efficient method for the simultaneous, individual quantification of intermediate steroids in ecdysone biosynthesis was developed, using LC-MS/MS. By employing multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in the MS detection, the selectivity and sensitivity of the method were greatly enhanced, allowing the estimation of trace amounts of steroids in biological samples from silkworm prothoracic glands and hemolymph.

Structural characterization and identification of ecdysteroids from Sida rhombifolia L. in positive electrospray ionization by tandem mass spectrometry

Seven ecdysteroids isolated from Sida rhombifolia L. were studied by electrospray ionization multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)) in the positive ion mode using an ion trap analyzer and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode-array detector (HPLC/DAD). The HPLC experiments were performed by means of a reversed-phase C(18) column and a binary mobile phase system consisting of water (containing 0.05% formic acid) and acetonitrile (containing 0.05% formic acid) under gradient elution conditions. According to mass spectral features and the substitution at C-2, C-20, C-24 and C-25, ecdysteroids in S. rhombifolia were classified into three sub-groups. Structural identification of these three sub-groups of ecdysteroids was established by LC/multi-stage ion trap mass spectrometry on-line or off-line. The fragmentation patterns of ecdysteroids yielded ions of successive loss of 1-4 water molecules. Furthermore, ions corresponding to the complete loss of the side chain at C-17 will help to identify the sub-groups of ecdysteroids in addition to containing a hydroxyl moiety at one of the above-mentioned positions. Based on the HPLC retention behavior, the diagnostic UV spectra and the molecular structural information provided by ESI-MS(n) spectra, a total of nine naturally occurring ecdysteroids were identified, of these two are identified for the first time in S. rhombifolia.

Profiling of ecdysteroids in complex biological samples using liquid chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry

A sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization source (HPLC/ESI-MS) was developed for detection of ecdysteroids in biological samples. We report here for the first time that ecdysteroids can be classified into three groups based on ESI full-scan mass spectra: group 1 (ecdysone (E), 2-deoxyecdysone (2dE), 2,22-dideoxyecdysone (3beta5beta-KT), and 3alpha5alpha[H]-dihydroxycholest-7-en-6-one (3alpha5alpha-KD)), in which loss of one molecule of water from the protonated molecular ion ([M+H](+)) represents the dominant ion; group 2 (20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), makisterone A (MakA), 3beta5beta-KD, and 3beta5alpha-KD), in which [M+H](+) is a major ion but some water loss is observed; and group 3 (muristerone A (MurA) and ponasterone A (PonA)), in which [M+H](+) is the dominant ion with no water loss observed. Based on the analytical procedure in combination with structural information from the group classification and with the application of source-induced dissociation, we identified free ecdysteroids in biological samples: 20,26-dihydroxyecdysone and ecdysonic acid in the larval hemolymph, and the progressive metabolism of 26-hydroxyecdysone (26E) to 3alpha-26E from day-1 to day-3 embryos of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta.