Sequential solvent induced phase transition extraction for profiling of endogenous phytohormones in plants by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

In the current study, a novel method for high-throughput and sensitive determination of 12 phytohormones in plants was developed by using sequential solvent induced phase transition extraction (SIPTE) coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). In sequential SIPTE, 0.1% formic acid (v/v) and 50mM NaHCO3 aqueous solution were used for enrichment and purification of alkaline and acidic phytohormones from the acetonitrile extract of plant tissues in sequence, in which hydrophobic solvent (toluene) was added to the acetonitrile aqueous mixture for driving the phase separation.