Cyanoacetohydrazide as a Novel Derivatization Agent for the Determination of UHPLC-HRMS Steroids in Urine

The possibility of cyanoacetohydrazide usage as a novel derivatizing agent is demonstrated in the presented article, and a comparison with hydroxylamine as the most commonly used reagent is provided. Optimal conditions for steroid derivatization with cyanoacetohydrazide are provided. According to the collected data, the maximum yield of derivatives was observed at pH 2.8 within 70 min at 40 °C with 5 ng/mL limit of detection for all investigated analytes. It was shown that cyanoacetohydrazide derivatives produces both syn- and anti-forms as well as hydroxylamine, and their ratios were evaluated and shown in presented work. An efficiency enchantment from two to up to five times was achieved with a novel derivatization reagent. Its applicability for qualitative analysis of steroids in urine was presented at real samples. Additionally, the reproducible fragmentation of the derivatizing agent in collision-induced dissociation offers opportunities for simplified non-targeted steroidomic screening. Furthermore, cyanoacetohydrazide increases ionization efficiency in positive mode, which can eliminate the need for redundant high-resolution instrument runs required for both positive and negative mode analyses.

A review of bioanalytical applications of microextraction techniques combined with derivatization

Microextraction techniques have attracted the attention of many researchers working in the field of bioanalysis due to their unique advantages, mainly in downsizing the scale of sample preparation steps. In parallel, analytical derivatization offers a powerful combination in terms of additional sensitivity, selectivity and compatibility with modern separation techniques. The aim of this review is to discuss the most recent advances in bioanalytical sample preparation based on the combination of microextraction and analytical derivatization. Both innovative fundamental reports and analyte-targeted applications are included and discussed. Dispersive liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction are the most common techniques that typically combined with derivatization, while the development of novel and greener protocols is receiving substantial consideration in the field of analytical chemistry.

Solid-phase analytical derivatization as a tool for the quantification of steroid hormones in human urine with HPLC-Q-ToF detection

A possibility of application of solid-phase analytical derivatization (SPAD) for the quantification of seven steroid hormones (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, cortisone, cortisol, progesterone, 11α-hydroxyprogesterone, and estrone) in human urine was evaluated. To prepare urine samples for instrumental analysis, SPAD with hydroxylamine was applied after enzymatic hydrolysis of the sample. To achieve high recovery values, extraction and derivatization conditions were optimized. Cartridges packed with end-capped octadecylsilyl silica sorbent provided optimum extraction of target analytes, while the reaction with hydroxylamine in the cartridge was found as a simple and efficient way for the chemical derivatization of steroids. The obtained derivatives were detected by using reversed-phase ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The proposed procedure was validated and applied to the analysis of real urine samples to prove the applicability of the proposed method for the routine analysis.