[Simultaneous determination of catecholamines, serotonin, and their precursors and metabolites in body fluid by an HPLC system with multi-electrode electrochemical detector].

We have developed two HPLC systems for the simultaneous determination of CA, 5-HT and their precursors and metabolites in human body fluid. One system consisted of two reversed-phase columns, a column switching device, a pair of electrodes for elimination of interferents and two sets of new electrochemical detectors with four electrodes. Using this system, adequate separation of peaks for 17 kinds of CA, 5-HT and their related metabolites in a standard solution required only 17 min. NE, MHPG, DOPAC, 5-HIAA, HVA and TRP levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were determined without any pretreatment of the CSF samples. The concentrations of DOPAC, 5-HIAA and HVA in CSF were significantly lower in Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and Parkinson's disease than in the controls. The other system was developed for determination of CA acidic metabolites and 5-HIAA in human urine. This system consisted of a mixed-mode column (C18/anion) and 8-channel electrochemical detector with isocratic elution of citrate buffer. Detection limits, precision and analytical recoveries of this method were satisfactory for clinical use.