High-performance liquid-chromatographic assay for prostaglandins with the use of p-(9-anthroyloxy)phenacyl bromide.

Gastric mucosa of rats and swine was incubated in buffer for 1 min to produce prostaglandins (PGs). After extraction and derivatization with p-(9-anthroyloxy)phenacyl bromide, the prostaglandin esters were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. A 20-microliter sample was injected into a microparticulate silica gel column with a mobile phase of dichloromethane-acetonitrile-methanol (90:9:1). At a flow-rate of 1.5 ml/min the retention times of the prostaglandin esters were 7.14 min (internal standard), 7.90 min (PGF2), 10.05 min (thromboxane2), 12.26 min (6 alpha-keto-PGF1 alpha) and 13.98 min (PGF2 alpha). In spite of high sensitivity (0.1 ng per sample) for PGE2 and PGF2 alpha, only PGE2 synthesis was observed.