Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels for clinical assessment of vitamin D deficiency

Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels for clinical assessment of vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D is responsible for multiple metabolic functions in humans. Rickets are the mostcommon disease caused by vitamin D deficiency. It is caused by poor calcium intakeresulting in poor serum-ionized calcium. The purpose of this study is to develop a rapid,sensitive, and feasible method to determine the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) levelsin blood samples for clinical assessment. In this study, gas chromatography coupled massspectrometry with trimethylsilyl derivatization (TMS-GC-MS) is the most suitable protocolfor quantitative analyses of 25(OH)D3. Performance of method was evaluated andcompared with liquid chromatography and immunoassay. Method validation has beencarried out with plasma specimens. The limit of quantitation of TMS-GC-MS method is1.5 ppb with good linear correlation. Furthermore, the dietary intake and nutritional statusof vegetarian and non-vegetarians in Taiwan were assessed by our validated method. As aresult, this vitamin D nutrition survey demonstrates that most Taiwanese people haveinsufficient vitamin D. Due to dietary habits; the male vegans may have the highest risk ofvitamin D deficiency.