An automated method to measure monoamines and metabolites using elevated temperature reversed phase HPLC with electrochemical detection. Application to striatal dopamine and hippocampal serotonin turnover.

High pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection has been successfully used for the analysis of noradrenaline, dopamine(DA), serotonin(5-HT), and selected metabolites in brain. Automated sample injection allows up to 100 samples per day to be analyzed; precise thermostatic control of the chromatography at 45 degrees C increases both method reproducibility and separation efficiency while increasing column life. The method requires minimal sample pretreatment and is rapid and inexpensive. It has been applied to the analysis of rat and mouse whole brain and, in particular, to milligram samples of rat striatum and hippocampus, thus permitting the measurement of regional DA and 5-HT turnover. Effects of selected psychotropic drugs on these processes illustrate the value of the method to either DA or 5-HT turnover studies.