Qualitative Distribution of Endogenous Cholesteryl Esters in Plasma of Humans and Three Rodent Species Using Stepwise UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS.

Objective: Cholesteryl esters (CEs) are composed of various fatty acyl chains attached to the hydroxyl groups of cholesterol, and abnormalities in their metabolism are related to many diseases. This study aimed to develop an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole exactive mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive MS) method to identify the CEs in plasma.

Methods: First, the MS fragmentation patterns were investigated using seven commercial CE standards.