Application of a capillary gas chromatographic-selected-ion recording mass spectrometric technique to the analysis of diethylstilbestrol and its phosphorylated precursors in plasma and tissues.

A method for the analysis of diethylstilbestrol (DES) which is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies has been developed using capillary gas chromatographic (GC) separation and detection with selected-ion mass spectrometry (MS). This technique has been applied to a variety of samples including human plasma samples and extracts of animal tissues including prostate and liver. To investigate the pharmacokinetics of stilphostrol (diethylstilbestrol diphosphate) we have modified the GC-MS method in two ways. One modification involves a dual assay for DES; the first a direct assay, and the second after hydrolysis of a sample with alkaline phosphatase. The difference in these values is the amount of phosphorylated DES present. The other modification separates stilphostrol and DES using a reversed-phase, ion-paired high-performance liquid chromatographic method followed by alkaline phosphatase hydrolysis followed by the GC-MS method. The details of these three methods are described and some representative data are shown.