Mass spectrometry with derivatization method for concurrent measurement of amino acids and acylcarnitines in plasma of diabetic type 2 patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Background: Amino acids (AAs) and acylcarnitines play a key role in metabolic disease and can be used as biomarkers of various diseases such as malignancies, type 2 diabetes (T2D), insulin resistance, and cardiovascular diseases, therefore, designing an accurate and simple laboratory method that simultaneously measure both groups of substances, could improve the process of analytes quantification. In this research, a flow injection tandem mass spectrometry (FI-MS/MS) method for simultaneous measurement of AAs and acylcarnitines in addition to results of validation is explained.

Methods: Samples were mixed with internal standards and after derivatization (with butanolic-HCL), AAs, and acylcarnitines were quantified by tandem mass spectrometry (SCIEX API 3200) Analytical performance studies were designed based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines including precision, accuracy, linearity, and limit of detection-quantification (LOD-LOQ) experiments.