The comparison of methods for the quantitative determination of coenzyme Q10

Background. Coenzyme Q10 is a biologically active compound that performs many important functions in the body: electron transfer in the mitochondrial cascade of adenosine triphosphate synthesis, antioxidant, preventing lipid peroxidation. Study Objective. The aim is to develop and compare methods for the quantitative determination of coenzyme Q10 in order to identify the most sensitive, simple and reproducible one. Materials and methods. Coenzyme Q10 was determined using high performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotomet-ric and mass spectrometric detectors. In developing the HPLC-MS / MS it was used the electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive mode. Detection was carried out in the mode of monitoring multiple reactions (MRM). Results. The study developed and validated two methods for the determination of coenzyme Q10 in plasma. It was shown that the most sensitive and reproducible technique was HPLC-MS / MS (the LLOQ constituted 0.10 μg / ml). One-step sample preparation involving proteins precipitation, used in the HPLC-MS / MS method was more convenient than in HPLC-UV one. The LLOQ of ubiquinone in the HPLC-UV method was 0.5 μg / ml. Using the HPLC-MS / MS technique, we analyzed the average concentration of endogenous CoQ10 in patients with cardiovascular pathologies administrating statins, p-blockers and calcium channel blockers, which constituted 0.39 μg / ml. Conclusion. It was concluded that the HPLC-UV method is unsuitable for routine practice use due to the high LLOQ (0.5 μg / ml) and its low sensitivity. While the of HPLC-MS / MS method was selective, sensitive, fast and convenient for introduction into routine practice.

CoQ, C0Q, ubiquinone, HPLC-UV, HPLC-MS/MS